News Archive

Captain’s Letter – Repair & Maintenance Project

The Board is currently preparing a detailed outline of plans and construction schedules for presentation to Members. We expect to be able to do this this in April when Members will be provided with a more detailed explanation of why the project to renew greens, bunkers and tees is critical to the longer-term survival and retention of our “A Grade” course. I outlined much of this in my note to Members in December 2023. This will also include the proposed changes in more detail.

In the interim and as previously informed, our course refresh project is programmed to commence in March-April while the soil is warm.  In preparation for that, we are commencing early works in the form of suitable temporary greens including the full reconstruction of 16A.

You will notice new works on the 1st and 5th fairways, including 250-300m ² of new (temporary) greens, roughly the size of the current 7th green and 150m ² of new teeing surface. This will be followed in June/July with works on the 10th fairway bunkers which will be reduced to one bunker and the inclusion of a new (temporary) green and the full reconstruction of 16A. This will allow a full 18 holes of golf to be played throughout the construction period over various configurations of old, new and temporary holes.

It is important to be ready for the scheduled program as both contractors and resources need to be booked and ordered 6-12 months ahead in some cases.

Starting on the temporary greens and tees over the next six (6) months or so, will give them adequate time to grow in and be in top condition before they come into play.

In terms of an update on the detailed designs:

– All 18 greens have been designed and specifications provided by the architect.

– Costings have been undertaken and will be presented to the Board in March/April before being provided to Members.

We have also been asked the question by some Members as to why we need new greens, I note:

– The rebuild has been on Board discussions for over 30yrs.

– The greens don’t drain well and are often unplayable in rain periods.

– A number of reports have been commissioned over the years. The first was by “Turf-Force” an independent turf consulting group, that undertook soil testing, root penetration, drainage analysis etc. for the Board in 1992. Their report concluded at this time that our greens be reconstructed. The need to reconstruct our greens was again noted in February 1998 when the Long Term Course Plan was published. It noted:

“With the exception of the recently constructed 5th green, all greens at Pennant Hills are in need of rebuilding to modern standards. This fact was highlighted by the Turforce Report done on the 5 greens closest to Devlins Creek in May 1992 and has been confirmed by later technical advice. The decision to rebuild the greens is partly economic, in that maintaining the greens with problems of grass type, poor surface drainage and soil profiles is not cost effective. New greens not only cost less to maintain they also require less renovation and are therefore not out of play to Members as often.”

– Most recently after an extreme heat event when the Club nearly lost a number of greens, Turf Consultant John Neylan found that the prime causative reason was the lack of drainage on the affected greens leading to general poor health and inadequate root penetration.

– The reduction in length of Holes 2 and 3 are to address, in some form and without too much drastic change to the layout, golf balls leaving the course and the potential harm they could do to the public.

The need to rebuild our bunkers, greens and surrounds has been evident for many years and has now become acute both to improve playability for Members and to keep pace with developments at our peer clubs.

Members are reminded that a successful Subordinated Note issue will underpin the construction timeline and cost of the course renewal project. The Board is deeply appreciative of those Members who have been early subscribers and lodged their applications and funds. The Board, also encourages those who qualify as investors to consider the opportunity and respond appropriately.

Damian Maguire
Captain

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Why do they dig holes in our greens?

With greens renovations carried out recently, we can all benefit from being reminded of the benefits we all gain from the inconvenience of no play or slow greens .

The attached video, called ” why do they dig holes in our greens,” gives a great demonstration of the processes followed in renovation and how we benefit from this being done twice each year.

Click here to view video.

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President’s Update – Applications Due for Subordinated Notes

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Living History – From Honorary to General

The latest from Bruce Jones who notes:

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President’s Letter – ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

I am writing to set out subscription increases and explain some budgetary issues prior to sending out the annual invoices in March. Subscription increases in the past two (2) years have been in the order of 3% in 2022/23 and 7% in 2023/24.

The Club is now operating with a waiting list for admission to Full Membership, the course is at capacity on most Saturdays and many Sundays, cost increases can only be met by raising individual subscriptions. The volume effect of the past three years has come to an end, the unavoidable and general increase for 2024/25 will be 8.5%.

The Board is willing to accommodate some movements between membership categories within the caps that have been set. Transfers for Men and Women to Limited Playing as well as transfers for Men to 6 Day 2 will be considered. This creates space to admit more Full Playing Members who pay the current Entrance Fee of $8,000. Members who are ill or who face extenuating circumstances are eligible to transfer to become Absentee Members. This maintains their golf link number and enables them to play golf according to the conditions and entitlements of an Absentee Member and to return when their circumstances allow.

Emeritus Membership is available to Members generally over the age of 70 and who have been Members for 20 years or so. Members who meet these criteria may seek transfer to become Emeritus Members as part of the membership renewal process. This new category has been a wonderful success and was introduced to recognise and celebrate the contribution of long serving Members of our Club. It allows the cohort to attend the AGM and provides them to continue their ongoing relationship with their Club and each other. The recent Foundation sponsored function for our 40-year Members was a spectacular success.

Setting the budget for 2024/25 and in the medium term out to 2026/27 has not been a simple exercise. It has included the consideration of immediate inflationary pressures that have made their way to our normal operating costs and the ability to fund the course project of new tees, greens as well as cart paths. It is important to understand that the Club does not shop at the supermarket, our major costs are fuel, chemicals, power and wages where the increases are above the published CPI data that is based on a very different basket of goods. Be assured, the Board is constantly seeking ways to develop efficiencies and discover smarter ways of doing things.

It is also important to understand that as we develop and improve the golf course at Pennant Hills that to maintain it as an A Grade facility will also mean increased cost. Capital expenditure to improve generally means increased spending to maintain and preserve.

Subscriptions are set according to the needs and priorities of our Club; they are not set relative to fees at other Clubs. However, it is sensible to check that we are not pricing in relation to what the market is charging and the following table provides a comparison of Full Playing categories.

Due to our membership year commencing 1 April we are comparing our 2024 subscription with the 2023 subscription of other clubs that will be re-setting their fees from 30 June. Comparison of membership options other than Full Playing are difficult due to substantial variation in playing rights, however they are all relative to the Full Playing fee.

The rates of subscription for 2024/25 and the actual cash increase over the previous year are outlined in the following table. A more comprehensive table including age, senior and special playing categories can be found on our web site at click here to view.

We conducted a recent exercise to determine what is the base cost “Per Golfing Member” of running the Club or, the cost that presents the course in pristine condition daily with only essential bar and food service and then dividing that with the number of playing golfers. The table below shows these costs and highlights the need to increase subscriptions at the tabled rate:

Membership invoices will follow this letter; I trust it puts the fees and the fee setting process in perspective.

Good luck with your golf,

Michael Rowan
President

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