MNCDGA President and Delegates Report for 2014
The Presidents and GolfNSW Delegates Report will again be presented as a one report .
MNCDGA has many great members and as usual I would like to acknowledge the golfing
achievements during the year. Special thanks to Captain Don in his amazing efforts to produce great
events and also for our District to always field a competitive team. This years Regionals would not
have happened if it had not been for Don’s persistence. We did very well to record InterDistrict wins
against Lower North Coast away at Camden Haven and at Woolgoolga against Northern Rivers. Very
satisfying I think Don would agree. The Regionals did not produce the individual winner however our
we did come home with plenty of trophies in other sections and in the Teams events. A huge thanks
to all who played in our District teams.
Captain Don will have a long list of players and results in his report however I do like to mention the
Pennant winners for 2014from Divisions 1 to 6- Woolgoolga, Kempsey, Coffs, Sawtell, Woolgoolga
and Urunga. Don has also been working on a pennant format that is in line with other Districts and a
new Regional Championship format. Exciting changes I think.
I would like to include some information from my report from last year which went something like
this- Some facts you maybe aware of include Membership down by 16% at metro clubs and 24% at
country Clubs, 66% of Metro Clubs in Financial distress and 62% of Country Clubs in financial
distress.
General Info from the Golf Industry
Golf Australia Report being released on the Golf Industry for 2013, some of the findings included:
• 2 out 3 golfers are non-club golfers, playing socially
• There had been a 1.6% decrease in playing members but a .3% increase in Metropolitan
memberships.
• 18% of clubs reported membership growth of more than 10% (which he doubted)
• 21% of the playing populations are females.
• 5% of members are juniors
• 51% of Australian Golf Clubs have less than 100 members
• Only 42% of clubs in NSW had a paid manager
• 50% of all clubs across the country are in financial distress
• 60% of the Membership base is ages 55 and older
• Average Handicaps 19.5 for men and 31 for women
Information that your Club should be aware of is that GolfNSW has a program to assist its member
Clubs. It is called Enhanced Club Health
Enhanced Club Health- Many Clubs throughout the State have already asked for support
and GolfNSW is now providing assistance. This service is available to all and all you need to
do is ask. Contact can be made to GolfNSW direct or by contacting us at MNCDGA. Don’t
do it on your own.
The Golf Foundation is also a source of revenue to all clubs. The Foundation will donate to
worthy causes and this includes items such a mowers and tractors. Conditions apply to
these gifts and more information can be found out on the GolfNSW website, MNCDGA
website or by contacting the District Secretary .
Buddy System- GolfNSW is working towards this program which looks to link City and
Country Clubs. Benefits include visits by staff from each Club , disposal of outdated
equipment and swapping of ideas. The program is set to launch in early 2015. We can all
help so it’s a matter of asking for assistance.
These programs are all part of GolfNSW Strategic Plan and they are looking to continue with the
next stages of the Plan in 2015- I will endeavour to broadcast these changes as they occur. The mix
of Men/women/City/country and reducing the sheer size of the Golf Council appear to be the areas
which will take longest to streamline.
In MNCDGA we have this year been asked to justify our role and what the Association does for its
members. Rather than take that as an affront it gives us reason to check ourselves and ask “what do
we do for our members?”. There is no possible way each member will get their “money’s worth”
but I do hope we spread the funds around the Clubs as much as possible. We are also hear to listen
to our clubs and we urge your Club delegates to offer the Committee any suggestions on how funds
should be spent.
The District had already noted the need to spent less and Graeme will probably note that we did not
send a team to Country Championships and a couple of other events. We also see the need to spent
your $$ wisely and balance that with keeping Clubs affiliation contributions low. We need to
improve income or decrease costs and that is the challenge. I would also like at this point to
acknowledge and thank Graeme for his great work as the District secretary.
This change of Constituation item was
Course ratings-The Slope system and the final pieces of the Handicap system were introduced in
February and as we approach the end of the first twelve months it is certainly time to review how
your members view the system. At GolfNSW Council meeting the general feeling is that the system is
ok whilst in our area in most cases I am hearing the opposite. Clubs with lower Slope and course
ratings appear to be satisfied with the system. The system is not set in stone or perfect, slope ratings
can be adjusted , the avenues for changes are available. I can suggest that all Clubs review their
handicaps for the past 12 months(we can assist) and if you think a review is required(we can assist) .
There are already Request for Review forms on the MNCDGA website that can be completed and
sent to GolfNSW.
Junior golf
Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia recently entered an historic joint venture agreement
resulting in both bodies endorsing and promoting MyGolf as the nationally recognised junior
golf program. A comprehensive review of the MyGolf program has been conducted and a
number of important and exciting changes will be implemented including a new, fun and
flexible program curriculum that aligns with the school term as well as a significantly
enhanced website with full participant registration and payment capabilities. This
information all comes from the website but the truth of the matter is that it takes dedicated
Club members to make it work and develop the junior programs in your Club- from what I
am hearing this is a struggle at all our Clubs. Jack Newton territory manager Ray Robbins is a
positive source of assistance to all Clubs and has been slowly getting into schools in our
area. Your Club needs to follow up with these schools and that’s where the dedicated Club
volunteer is required. Am sure they can be found but it may need some incentives.
MNCDGA has funded many juniors and junior events however as far as initiating programs
we are way behind the CNLGA and indeed many other Associations. A dedicated Junior
Promotions Officer is required and this person can assist JNJGF and our Clubs to increase
junior participation in staring to play the game but also participation in events for those who
play already. We really do not have a junior tournament in our area and each time they are
scheduled lack of numbers is cited for the cancellation. Numbers are low or non existent at
our Clubs and in reality we don’t know how many we have playing the game.