The Board held its monthly meeting last Wednesday 24th February, 2021.
Here are some key discussion topics from the meeting and other activities this week.
Opening Day and Dinner :
Opening Day for 2021 last Saturday saw 198 golfers play over 2 shotgun starts. The weather was not particularly friendly, particularly for the morning field which played in constant drizzle, but I think everyone nevertheless enjoyed the official opening of the club golfing season for 2021. Dinner was outstanding – thank you to Alan and Andy for their hard work. For me, I think perhaps the highlight was the generous seafood platter for entrée, although this was closely followed by delicious lamb or salmon for main course, and crème brulee or pavolva for dessert. We were very lucky to have Grace Kim and her father Kevin join us for the evening, and had the chance to hear from Grace about her recent golfing achievements and plan for her US trip in the very near future. I’m sure you will all take the opportunity to wish her all the best when you see her around the club before she leaves in late March.
House Committee :
The House Committee, led by Graeme Houston, is working hard with our food and beverage team to create new menus and events for 2021. Friday night dinner is already becoming a regular feature of the Avondale week, and we will be looking to refresh the menu in the near future and also define our offering for the winter season.
Bridge:
It is fantastic to see social bridge back at the club. I know how keen our bridge community have been to be able to come back, and the Board is really pleased we were finally able to allow this to happen. The Board is also currently working with a small group of bridge players to establish a COVID safe plan for duplicate bridge and other larger bridge groups. There is some great progress being made – please look out for announcements in the near future. Until that time, social bridge in groups of 4 is the only format available, adhering to the guidelines previously announced.
IT Upgrade:
The club has “gone live” with its new IT platform as of Monday 1st March. This is a significant change for us, and will provide greatly improved performance and visibility across all aspects of our club operations. The biggest impact of this change on members will be at point of sale in the clubhouse and pro shop. We have completed extensive training for our staff, but this is still a major transition and we know that members will be patient in the coming weeks as the system commences operation. It may take a little longer to place your orders for a short while as staff familiarise themselves with the system. Ultimately, the new system will streamline the ordering process, providing for improved service levels, including an app which will allow ordering from on-course. Tim will keep in touch with members as this all rolls out.
Clubhouse Finishing Touches:
Work is progressing well upstairs in the Founders’ Room. This room will be operational very shortly and members will be able to see the progress. There will be a period of time before we have the furniture available for this room consistent with the new décor, but we will be attempting to finalise this as soon as possible. The Development Application for the changes around the Ladies Locker Room and Meeting Room is in the final stages of approval with council, and then we will also look to begin this work.
7th Tee Hut Refurbishment:
The refurbishment of the 7th tee hut is complete. Thank you to members who have already provided us with positive feedback on the outcome.
David Warwick and Mark Paterson Combined Celebration:
As members will be well aware, David Warwick retired from Avondale last Friday February 26th after 25 years. David joined the Thursday evening golf presentation last week and was presented with a lovely bottle of scotch. On Friday afternoon, he had a BBQ lunch with his team at the green shed which I was fortunate enough to join – including white tablecloths and salads! With David and Mark Paterson’s strong support, we are now planning a combined celebration of both of their Avondale careers. Please keep an eye out for the email from Tim asking for expressions of interest from members to attend this event. We are looking to get an idea of likely numbers before locking in the event format.
I look forward to seeing everyone around the club soon.
Kerry Skellern
President
Filed under: App News
