Member Services’ Missive
This year has been moving along at a rapid pace, and we are already approaching the tail end of a very busy and successful 2023.
This missive is to update you on the following:
- How your contribution helped this year’s BGC pennant success.
- New Teaching Facility – What’s in a name?
- Night Golf Championships – A Hot August Night
- Melbourne Cup Luncheon and Melbourne Cup Golf Competition
- Rugby World Cup Luncheon – our very own prophet is speaking.
- Motorised Cart Policy – Your Feedback Needed.
- Club 1896 – New Inductees.
- 25 Year Anniversary Cocktail Party – Your Feedback Needed.
- New Reciprocal Club.
The Brisbane Golf Club won all three divisions it contested this year in Women’s Pennants and the Division 1 Men’s Pennant. This is a wonderful achievement, and we can attribute this success to the support of Members of our Golf Development Fund which funds our award-winning Junior Academy and enables many golfers, who may not have been able, the opportunity to join our Club and further develop their games.
An amazing 613 Members generously donated $20 to the Golf Development Fund last year which has assisted Members including 17-year-old Taj Egea (pictured below) and 15-year-old Safina Kyprianou. Taj and Safina are our current 2023 Club Champions and represented the Club with distinction during Pennants. BGC Members, Hannah Reeves and Billy Dowling recently won the Women’s and Men’s Queensland strokeplay titles are also beneficiaries of the GDF. Louis Dobbelaar. Lawry Flynn and Aaron Wilkin are professionals who have been assisted also. It was exciting to see Louis, our 2020 Club Champion win the NZ PGA Championship in March 2023 and Aaron win the Queensland PGA Championship in November 2022 and recently win on the Asian Development Tour. Lawry finished 19th on the 2022 PGA of Australasia OOM.
It fantastic to see many of these faces around the Club and at the tournaments they play in. We are fortunate to have some of Queensland’s best amateur and professional golfers here at BGC. If you would like to play a round of golf with these golfers, speak with or email Reece McRae, and he’ll try to arrange it. But don’t be embarrassed if you’re outdriven by 100 meters off the tee.
New Teaching Facility – What’s in a name?
Do you have a good idea for the name of the new indoor teaching facility? The club is just waiting for a start date for works on the driving range to commence. Once the ink is dry on that agreement, their contractor can get on-site and complete their upgrade to sewerage services. At the same time, David Mason and his team will commence the upgrade of our driving range which will include a new indoor teaching facility. Your committee thought it appropriate to give the facility its own identity with a meaningful name. This is where we are asking for your help. Please send any names you feel would be appropriate to Geoff Kuehner. It may be a Member, past or present, who has made a significant contribution, staff, past or present, place names, fauna, or flora. We are open to all suggestions and look forward to your input. By the way, Torture Tent has already been suggested.
Night Golf Championships
Our inaugural Night Golf Championship was a huge success, with the booking sheet being filled within two hours of opening, and participants were not disappointed. A Hot August Night (apologies to Neil Diamond) with clear sky and stunning full moon set the atmosphere. With the unique night golf layout, illuminated balls, floodlit bunkers and star-lit flags, plus David Mason’s whiskey shots at the turn ensured the evening was a knockout event to be repeated next year. Special thanks to David Mason, Joe Janison and their teams who put the event together. There have been many positive suggestions that will enhance next year’s event, so stay alert with your finger on the mouse for when the time sheet opens.
Melbourne Cup Luncheon and Melbourne Cup Golf Competition – Tuesday, 7 November
BGC will again host a Melbourne Cup Luncheon on the first Tuesday of November. The event will feature a three-course meal, prizes for best dressed, sweeps and a 4BBB golf competition for both men and women. The timesheet for lunch is now open and bookings can be made by clicking here. Please note Members attending the lunch will have the first opportunity to play golf. Thereafter, bookings will be open for normal play in a separate competition. Tickets are $50 for Members and $60 for Non-Members which excludes your $12 competition fee.
Rugby World Cup Luncheon
BGC is hosting a Rugby World Cup Luncheon on Friday, 20 October and has gathered an exclusive gathering of legends to join us including our very own former Wallabies Captain, Andrew Slack. It’s hard to be a prophet in your own village, and I believe we often take Andrew Slack for granted. For members born after 1986, they should google A.G. Slack and see what a genuine superstar they see playing on their course every Wednesday and Saturday. Other guests include former Wallaby and Queensland Coach, John Connolly, former Wallaby Scott Higginbotham and Queensland Reds player, Harry Wilson. The lunch will be compared by Pat Welsh, the legendary sports caster who has recently joined BGC. So far we have sold 92 tickets so get in quickly to secure your tickets before this event sells out.
Motorised Cart Policy – Your Feedback Needed
Your committee is looking forward to finalising the BGC Motorised Cart Policy, and we want member feedback prior to doing so. The policy is for the safety of our Members, so it would be great if both walkers and buggy users could review and send any suggestions or concerns to Geoff Kuehner.
Club 1896
Each year BGC recognizes its longest serving Members at a lunch in The Tennyson Room. These Members, who have achieved 50 years of membership in any category are inaugurated into Club 1896. This year five new inductees were honoured including Greg Wright, John Golledge, Lance Pennington and life Members, Bruce Richter and Jill Hughes. Now 36 Members have joined this exclusive Club with Helen Hudson being the longest serving Member at an amazing 71 years.
25 Year Anniversary Cocktail Party – Your Feedback Needed
Since 2019, the Club has also celebrated the 25th anniversaries of our Members. These cocktail parties have been a roaring success and greatly enjoyed by the recipients. However, there have been suggestions that 25 years is too long to wait, and the club should celebrate the anniversary of 10, 15, 20 year Members as well. Another school of thought is that like marriage, 25/50 years are the milestones, and it would degrade from these to bundle in more categories. What are your thoughts? Should we expand or maintain our 25 year celebrations? Furthermore, as this only commenced in 2019, there are numerous members who celebrated the 25th anniversary prior to 2019. Should we have one big bash to celebrate and acknowledge those members? Once again, your thoughts are valued.
New Reciprocal Club – Glenelg Golf Club
Thanks to John Millman, our top 100 golf ranking and David Mason’s reputation, we have been able to secure reciprocal rights with the Glenelg Golf Club in Adelaide. Established in 1927, Glenelg Golf Club is recognized as one of Australia’s premier golfing facilities and is currently ranked inside Australia’s top 40 golf courses.
Our Directory of Reciprocal Clubs details all our reciprocal clubs including our unique 1896 Club reciprocal arrangements with participating golf clubs from around the world, all of which were founded in the year 1896.
I believe The Brisbane Golf Club reciprocal arrangements are now as good as any other Australian golf clubs. The Committee is determined to pursue other reciprocal clubs to enhance our member experience. If any current Members believe they could assist in obtaining reciprocal rights, please call our Geoff Kuehner to discuss. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Patrick Dixon, Chair of Member Services
