| G'day Members,
Apologies to all for this edition of RTT being late. The terrible late season weather forced the postponement of the Piccones Cairns Open, which involves a significant amount of work behind the scenes. The reschedule to May 15 & 16th was the absolute last resort and the last thing that the Match Committee and staff wanted, but even the Bruce Highway can’t handle 850mm of rain in 8 days. If it was 300mm, we would have played but 850mm is a whole different ballgame. Basically, the on-course team weren’t able to mow fairways for 10 days in the leadup to the event, which would have made a very unpleasant experience for all players. The course has responded very well since and the team have been burning plenty of diesel getting us back in tip top shape.
Next Friday the 14th of May the course will be closed for the entire day. We have a Corporate Day in the afternoon and need the morning free to finalise preparations for the Piccones Cairns Open starting the next day. Apologies for the inconvenience and the driving range will be open all day for all to use.
The purists will be happy to hear that the State Government has relaxed the Covid restrictions for outdoor sports which means golf is basically back to normal (i.e. pre Covid). You can take the pin out if you choose, rakes are back in bunkers and swapping of scorecards is good to go and NTP’s are back on Course.
And just to clarify for all, with the re-introduction of NTP’s the daily prize winner amounts will drop slightly to allow for the NTP’s. The Club’s “Return to Player” figure is still 40% for regular competitions, well above the 23 – 30% offered by many other Clubs (of similar size and demographics to CGC). For example: 100 players paying $15 comp fee each sees 40% of $1500 being returned in prizes. $600, which is then divided amongst NTP’s, grades & places etc.
As mandated by the State Govt, from May 1st all licensed venues now have to use the “Check in QLD” App. It is incredibly simple and you only now need to scan in once when you come to the Club (whether you go to the Range, Golf Shop or Clubhouse). We still have the QR scan signage at all doors in the Clubhouse and the front of the Golf Shop. We have been visited several times by Govt staff to ensure we are using the “Check in QLD” App, so I please ask all members and visitors to do their bit and continue to scan in once each time you visit.
Shane McHenry, CGC’s new PGA Teaching Pro has hit the ground with Junior MyGolf classes and 23 Women enrolled in Get into Golf programs as well as several private lessons. Plenty of positive feedback from all and he’s going to be a real asset to our Club. You can book private lessons with him via the Golf Shop to get your game in shape ahead of the busy tournament season.
The Club recently picked up another $10,000 grant from the State Government to assist with our modernising of the Golf Software and POS operations. The funded hardware will stat to appear in the coming weeks as the new software starts to come to the fore.
This Saturday Night the Clubhouse is hosting a 60th Birthday party necessitating the closure of the main room at 5pm. The back bar will of course be open for all players to use for a cool post game drink.
If you are in the market for some new golf gear, please don’t forget that our Golf Shop is able to price match and often beat other advertised prices. Not only does that benefit you the member, it means when you spend here, the money stays here, and helps us build you a better golf club. Of course, if the product you see online is a left handed, 3 model old wedge that is not accessible by our Shop, we’ll tell you to buy it online. But please don’t be afraid to ask our staff if they can match or even beat any advertised price.
In closing, here is some big news for all CGC Members out of last weekends Board Meeting! The Board has voted to freeze Membership fees for the next financial year meaning no increase to the $1267 Annual/7 Day subscription costs from July 1st 2021 for the 21/22 financial year. This is a great outcome and reward for members who have been supporting our club through a very challenging period, but is also a nod to the fact that the Club is trading very well in all areas. Social play and Driving Range usage has certainly lead the charge, enabling the savings to be passed onto our loyal CGC Members.
Hope to see you round the traps!
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