Club Email

President Pete’s Paragraph

Storm Recovery and Insurance Claim

Thanks to our hard-working greens staff and volunteers, the cleanup on the golf course following the severe storms in January is now complete, and our course is in great condition. Special thanks to the 30 volunteers who helped remove debris and Brad McKay for providing use of a tipper truck. Our administration staff are in the process of lodging an insurance claim with our broker for damages to the property, which includes replacement of the sign at the front entrance, repairs to our maintenance shed where a branch has fallen through the lunch room, removal of several fallen or overhanging trees and business interruptions.

Golf NSW Senior Amateur

Plans are well underway as we look forward to co-hosting 260 of the country's best golfers on the 4^th and 5^th of March. We will have limited tee times available for members on these days, but we encourage all members to come out and watch some good golf being played! Alternatively, members can book a game of golf at a number of our neighbouring courses. It is great to see these courses offering discounted green fees and providing tee times. We hope our members can utilise the offers noted below. Alternatively, if any members wish to help with marshalling or ball spotting, please get in touch with Duard Nel at golf@nelsonbaygolf.com.au. Members offering help during the tournament will be provided lunch and drinks by Golf NSW.

General Manager's Update

Members Cart Shed Break-in

In late January, we had 2 x break-ins to our member's cart shed. Several carts were taken for joyrides through the golf course, and some carts through the neighbouring streets. There has been substantial damage to several golf carts. The Club has since upgraded the security of the cart sheds to prevent carts from being driven out. Our greater concern is that significant damage could be done to the course and property of the Club that could negatively impact our business. Members accessing the cart sheds are reminded to lock the roller door, lock the new gates and lock the main gate.

Private Golf Carts - Parking at Proshop

Golf Cart Parking in and around the Proshop continues to be congested. Members with their own golf carts are now encouraged to park their carts away from the main entrances and thoroughfares near the Proshop. Due to congestion, our Proshop staff have had significant difficulties manoeuvring and issuing golf carts to both members and visiting golfers on several occasions recently. We kindly ask that private cart users park in the Directors or Professional car parking spaces.

Membership Closing

Our membership continues to be in a strong position, with several new Provisional Members joining the Club in recent weeks. This strong uptake of new members results in Full Playing Membership closing once we reach 20 Provisional Members. This is expected to occur in the next 6-8 weeks. New members seeking to join after this time will be placed on our waiting list with a 50% non-refundable joining fee (the balance paid when a position opens). Flexi Membership also continues to remain closed.

Members Register for Request to Transfer

Last month, we noted a freeze was placed on membership transfers for all Full Playing and Flexi Membership Categories. Members wishing to transfer membership categories will be required to register their interest with reception@nelsonbaygolf.com.au. This register will be used for our upcoming membership renewals, and if positions become available, members will be transferred to their requested category at this time.

Course Update

Our Tee rebuilds on the 4^th and 9^th are well underway. The playing surfaces will be turfed out this week, and the surrounds will be turfed out the following week. Once the turf is well established, we expect to have these tees playable in 6-8 weeks. The tee areas for both tees have been significantly increased, which will provide several options for tee placements and turf management.

David Lulham

General Manager

Finance Director Update

Quarterly Finance Results

After a challenging first quarter of this FY, it was pleasing to see the Club bounce back with a positive 2nd quarter of this year. For your reference, the quarterly Finance Report ending December 31st 2024, is available on the members' notice board or here.

John Elsworth

Finance Director

Opening Weekend and Presentation

It was great to see so many members support our Opening Weekend and Presentation of last year's major prize winners. We had a great afternoon playing golf and then celebrating and acknowledging our golfing achievements of 2024. You can view the full gallery of photos here.

Club Championships 2025

This year, our Club Championships for Men and Ladies will be played over 3 rounds, not 4 rounds like in previous years. After reviewing and analysing data, the aim is to make the event more attractive to time-poor members who would otherwise find the commitment of four rounds of golf challenging. Instead of four rounds, this year, we will play three rounds, with the final round considered to be an optional round. Participants who are "in the run" for a gross or nett prize would typically opt to play the final round/s. We are confident a revised format will increase participation and be a successful event. Below is a snippet of the program for the Club Championships for 2025.

A Grade Pennants

Congratulations to our A Grade Pennant Team who have won their first matches against Horizons and Tanilba Bay. It was great seeing support from many of our members out on the course on Sunday, watching and supporting our Team. Members interested in following pennant results can see this on the District Golf Association website here.

Ladies Weekend Pennants

Our Weekend Ladies Pennant Team has also commenced their season with a first rounds loss against Belmont Golf Club. On Sunday our ladies battled hard for a draw against Waratah Golf Club in testing conditions. Our Weekend Ladies Pennant has many debutants to pennants and we wish them a succesful season!

Keep up the good work!

Irish Albert Comedy Night

We are pleased to support Irish Albert, who has organised an Irish Comedy Night for Saturday, 5 April.

The proceeds from this event will be donated to the Nelson Bay Golf Club's junior golfers.

Tickets are $55 per person and are now available to be purchased at reception.

Rakes in Bunkers

The Placement of Rakes in Bunkers has been noticeably erratic. Some players just throw them "Willy Nilly" back into the bunkers without considering how a ball may rest against the rake. As a general reference, we propose placing the rake on a flat surface in the Bunker, parallel to the "Line of Play" of the hole being played.

Upcoming Events

Our Second "Monthly Medal" for the year will be played on Saturday, 1^st of March. All corresponding "Pointcore" Events will be in conjunction with the playing of this Medal. The 1st Round of the L&Z Chalmers was played on Sunday, 16^th of February—many thanks to our sponsors, Richard & Gwenda Bates. The 2^nd Round of The L&Z Chalmers Mixed Pairs Overall Yearly Pointscore will be contested on Sunday, 23^rd of March.

We are still seeking sponsors for several events this year. If you are interested, please get in touch with Mark Barden at marnik546@outlook.com.

Mark Barden

Club Captain

Ladies President's Update

Thanks to our Committee

Six months ago, I booked a holiday to Tasmania, ensuring I would be away at the busiest time of the year. February is the month when Opening Day, Gala Day, Pennants, and Breast Cancer Day are either occurring or being organised, but all has gone smoothly. A huge thanks to the Ladies Committee, particularly Vice President Anita Hutchinson, for successfully organising all these events. The photos on Facebook are a testament to the creativity and enjoyment evident on the "Wild West" Gala Day.

Many thanks to Ben George from Aspect Real Estate for his sponsorship of Gala Day.

New Lady Members

The Ladies Committee has prepared a new Welcome Letter for new members, updating the previous version and including links to relevant information. We are also taking the initiative of inviting all new members to an 18-hole comp game or two over the next few months, partly to get to know each other and partly to continue learning and managing their time. This process will start later this month.

Bay Buddies Update

Bay Buddies for 2025 commenced on Wednesday, 5 February. Potential new members expressed high interest, and current members mentored them extensively. As always, Ann Turner is the point person, managing rosters and communications.

Breast Cancer Day

Our Breast Cancer Day "Sink it in Pink" is filling up fast. This is just a reminder that all entries are via MiTournament. You must already have a profile on MiTournament before you can register for the event.

If you need advice or help with this, please ask any of the Ladies Committee members for help. It's only a 5-minute process. More and more of our events can only be entered this way, as it streamlines the administration across the board, including handicaps, entry fees, results, and dietary requirements.

Bookings can be made through Mitournament.

Over the past two weeks, I've played golf at some of the "best" courses in Victoria and Tasmania. While in every case, the course won, it was a great opportunity to reflect on our own facility. I was envious of all the fun that was evident on Gala Day and the sense of community and camaraderie that goes with it. We have a great program over the rest of the year, and I hope you're looking forward to being part of it.

Nicky Bethwaite
President, NBGC Ladies Committee

Ladies Captain's Update

Our annual Gala Day was a great success! The costumes and comradery we see on his day are always fantastic! Congratulations to all the winners, and well done with the great outfits.

Upcoming Events

Our Open Day and 1st Medal were smaller than most years, but hopefully, our fields will pick up as the cooler months approach. The qualifying round for the Captain's Trophy was played, and the top 16 qualifiers were notified. The draw is on the notice board, so make sure you are down to play in the next round. The 1st round of the weekend pennants was played with a few new team players. Unfortunately, they put up a great fight going down to a very strong Belmont team, but I am sure the experience will help them in the next round.

Congratulations to Barbara Frost for her win in the super seniors tournament at Belmont and 3rd place in the Great Lakes Tournament at Tuncurry.

Slow Play Reminder

Players are reminded to keep up with the group in front, this is the entire group's responsibility as we all need to be mindful of the golfers who could be held up behind slower groups.

Gail Murray

Lady Captain

Congratulations to Wal Harris on his stunning round in our 9-hole Stableford competition on Monday, February 3. He scored 25 points in a round where everything was aligned, and with his 4 bonus points, he won his division with 29 Stableford points. The second-place finisher (Karl Jorgensen) was 7 points behind, with a healthy 22 points.

What is our Bonus Point System & why do we have it?

In our Monday competitions, each player's handicap (45 max) score is adjusted by a Vets bonus point system. This is an accumulative bonus point system in which individual participants can accumulate up to ten bonus points. A bonus point is accumulated for every Monday comp played without winning a prize. This system encourages regular participation in the Monday competitions and "helps level the playing field" for all players.

These bonus points are added to a player's Monday score to increase their chance of winning a prize. Three bonus points are deducted when a player wins a prize.

The player's handicaps are adjusted according to the player's score (without bonus point adjustment). While not everyone is a fan of the Bonus Point System, it has been used for many years.

New members and visitors are welcome!

Brian Single, on behalf of

Nelson Bay Golf Club Vets Committee

Member's Newsletter