Note from the President – Course Re-Opening

I hope that all Members and their families are recovering well from the recent Brisbane Floods. My thoughts continue to rest with those parts of the community that have endured many days of flood waters and the subsequent clean-up process. It is pleasing that the weather has been reasonably kind so far this week, although I sense there is still some instability and possible storms.

The recovery at the Golf Club has been progressing very well. I would particularly like to thank all the management team and course staff for their tireless efforts. Our Member volunteers have also been extremely valuable and assisted in the general course clean-up. It has truly been a team effort and a wonderful example of The Brisbane Golf Club community working together.

Given it is only 10 days since the flood peak, it is remarkable that our greens and fairways are recovering well. Apart from some minor fuel spills in floodwaters, we are very happy with the condition of the greens. A few fairways have some excess mud but that will be dealt with during the rest of the week. The pump shed was completely submerged during the flood, but pleasingly we now have water supply and that will assist further the recovery of our playing surfaces.

I wish to reassure Members that the Club is covered by our insurance policy for recent flooding and storm damage. Thus, we have begun a comprehensive preparation of our insurance claim. Committees and Treasurers since 2016 should be thanked for securing this flood insurance.

In summary, I am confident that the Members will be back enjoying 18 holes of golf very soon, and that we are working hard to ensure the financial impact will be minimised. I am pleased to announce that we will re-open 6 holes from this Saturday onwards, pending weather stability. The details of this process are as follows.

• From this Saturday there will be 6 holes open for playing and we will run a 12-hole competition with Members playing 6 holes twice.
• Timesheets will open today at 1pm for Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 120 competition spots will be available each day for the 12 holes. There will be an additional 72 spots for social golf (6 holes) each day available from 2.15pm.
• At this stage the course routing will be 1, 20, 11, 10, 19, 18.
• Members will need to take particular care when walking from the 11^th green to the 10^th tee.
• A competition fee of $12 will apply to allow the normal rundown to be paid.
• Only walkers will be permitted on the course at this stage.
• Golf Australia has advised that 12 hole competitions cannot be used for handicapping.
• Please note that as more holes become available the timesheets will be reset so, please check your bookings regularly. We will advise Members when more holes become available.
• Our East and West Practice Greens are open, and we are hopeful the Driving Range will re-open in the next few days.
• The Garden Room will re-open from this Saturday.
• Our Men’s and Women’s Captains are working on updating our fixture list and this information will be communicated in time.

Once again, I wish all Members the very best currently and thank you all for your support and patience. Hope to see many of you back at the Club over the coming days.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact our CEO, Geoff Kuehner via geoff@brisbanegolfclub.com.au.

Kind regards

Mark Deuble, President