Friday 4th August 2023
Message from our President:
Yesterday I was asked some very good questions about the operation of the club by a member. In writing a response I thought that some of the answers I gave were worth sharing with members, as below. This followed my letter regarding Donations which has seen an early and encouraging response. Many thanks to those who have contributed, but we need more. Please dig deep.
This year has seen a lot of changes in terms of club operations and staffing. And a lot of work is yet to be done, but we are systematically working through this. Some of the problems we are facing go back a long time while others such as excessive course wetness (which will only get worse as the climate changes) and the inflationary pressures we face are new. In terms of staffing, we now have a highly competent Club Manager and a highly competent and experienced Course Superintendent plus, as of Monday, we will have a full complement of three greenkeepers – with William doing very well and having now accepted a permanent contract and a new trainee, Matthew Henry (brother of Isaac) starting then.
However quality resources and equipment come at a cost, and this and general inflation is why we are struggling to a certain extent financially.
We have also instigated a “Course Committee” comprising TK Ross, Robyn Chambers, Mark Peck, Dick Bergdorf, Matt Roche, and myself which meets monthly to review the course activity, plans etc and liaise between greenkeepers and main committee. Work on issues such as course drainage and machinery maintenance have been hampered by a lack of records and institutional knowledge, though Pat Redmond is being very helpful. Machinery maintenance had in the past been neglected and there wasn’t a records system covering this, or future machinery requirements. A system is now in place with all maintenance now recorded and up to date, and all machinery is now in good condition with a new sprayer just purchased with the generous help of three groups of players and now the only new machine we require is the greens mower which is the subject of the request for donations.
And we have even “found” some equipment that we did not know we had including a “slitting” machine which will be used on the fairways and a coring machine. The latter means we will in the future be able to do our own work, when we want it, rather than contracting this out at considerable cost.
Your committee has a very good pool of expertise and is functioning well, though we will be seeking some new blood at that AGM for continuity. The key issue the committee faces currently is preparing a budget for the 2023/24 year in the face of increased staff costs, significant cost increases in all areas of expenditure, and the requirement to fund a whole lot of activity that we now have the expertise to carry out. While the backlog in equipment maintenance has been corrected, at considerable cost, there are major works on the course that require attention. These include drainage, with many existing drains having blocked over time, new drains required on for instance the 16th fairway, and greens refurbishment where the soil chemistry requires correction, weeds need eradicating and a lot of sand injected to make them drain properly and play faster. This all costs money.
While membership numbers are satisfactory, and green fee income is holding up, these pressures mean the committee is faced with a need to increase revenues to cover increased costs with a sub increase and increases in areas such as food and drink costs inevitable.
Mike Suggate
President
MAJOR THANK YOU’s:
1st THANK YOU:
Following on from the message from our President in regard to climate change and equipment, we have struggled to do any spraying on the greens due to them being too wet. TK found the ideal piece of equipment in a large manual sprayer that can be used on the greens without causing any damage, while providing the greens with much needed fungicides etc.
A call went out to some of our established groups who responded immediately and kindly donated the funds to enable us to purchase the sprayer which arrived this week. (William pictured with the new sprayer)
A BIG THANK YOU TO:
The Shirties, Matt’s Mob and The Wednesday Club for your overwhelming generosity that will allow all the members and green fee players to benefit from this purchase.
2ND THANK YOU:
 
Before After!
We initially put a request out for tenders for the broken-down JIP Cart that had been in the shed for a long time. However, some of our members came forward to offer their services to see if we could get the cart up and running and therefore provide us with ongoing income from the rental of the cart to members and green fee players.
We received a generous donation from Tony Hewitt who donated 3 large batteries to enable us to get the cart operational. This led to another member, Steve Witkowski to organise the transport and servicing of the cart to Central Group.
So, a massive thank you to Dick Borgdorf and Laurie Cook who assisted with the transport of the cart. Geoff Lee who provided his trailer. Tony Hewitt for providing the batteries and finally – to Steve Witkowski for all the time and effort he put in to enabling us to add to our fleet of carts. A great team effort – THANK YOU!!!
PIG DAMAGE:
  
Latest damage on 7th tee William repairing 15th Yellow / Red Tee Box
Some of you may have noticed that in the last 10 days, we have been visited by pigs on the course. The damage they have caused in such a short time is devasting to see. TK has spent many evenings, along with his father to try and sort the pigs out. Unfortunately, they have not had any luck.
The Wellington Regional Council sent their licenced hunter out on Wednesday, and he has advised us to put out traps on Terawhiti Station (currently seeking permission to do so) in order for us to eradicate this problem.
It is believed that the pigs are not wild but have escaped from a nearby lifestyle block. Unfortunately we do not know whose at this time.
TK, William, and Matt Roche have been able to put the grass back quickly and hopefully by doing so, the grass will recover quickly.
If you see any damage out on the course, please contact Robyn or TK so that it can be sorted as quickly as possible.
Advanced Notice of Power Outage:
The Clubhouse will be without power on Tuesday 15th August (weather permitting) from 9am to approximately 4pm.
Northpower have been contracted to replace the transmitter that is located ½ way down our drive. Due to the location, access to the carpark will be slightly restricted but I am advised that you will be able to get past.
This will mainly affect the Tuesday Ladies. No hot food will be available that day. However, we will be able to provide sandwiches.
If anyone has a small gas stove we could borrow to heat water for cups of tea and coffee, that would be greatly appreciated. Or if you have a top stove kettle that we could heat on our BBQ, that would also work.
Booking a Tee Slot: (Ongoing request)
Thank you to all those that are booking and coming into the clubhouse (when its open) to check in.
Please can I ask that you ALL book a tee slot online or by phoning the Club on (04)476-733 or emailing the club on clubhouse@karorigolf.co.nz . I appreciate that at times when you look online, there are a lot of free tee slots, so you think there is no need to book. However, the booking system serves as a way of knowing how many people are playing on the course, who is on the course which is important should there be an accident or event and we need to account for everyone.
Upcoming Events:
Saturday 5th August:
Shootouts for 18-hole Mens and Ladies
Shootout for 9 Hole Ladies
Sunday 6th August:
Sunday Club Day
Shootouts for 18-hole Mens and Ladies
Shootout for 9 Hole Ladies
Saturday 19th August:
Ken and Rose Rigarlsford Trophies Mixed Event – Stableford.
An email went out earlier in the week requesting registrations for this great fun mixed event. Everyone is welcome including visitors. So why not get a group of you together and come join in the fun.
Please bring a plate for morning tea from 9am. Tea and Coffee will be provided by the Club. Registration from 09:15am with a multi-tee start from 09:30am. Raffles on the day - $2 per ticket or 3 for $5 (only Gail noticed my mistake on the earlier email!! ??) Donations welcome.
RESULTS FOR THE WEEK:
9-hole Midweek Ladies Report:
Tuesday’s golf was cancelled with the weather forecast being rather bleaker than it turned out to be. Sometimes, but thankfully not often, this turns out to be the case as we have to make a close call.
On a cheerier note, 15 midweek members took the opportunity to catch up over a very cheerful lunch at Shed 5 last Thursday. A special thanks to Trish who noticed the special before the end of the month and organised it. For those members who have not been able to play recently for a variety of reasons, it was a great chance to catch up and enjoy good food.
Wednesday Club:
The winner on the day was the weather!! So unfortunately the Wednesday Club was cancelled this week. Fingers crossed for better weather! Although there were a few hardy golfers that braved the elements.
CLUBHOUSE HOURS:
Monday: 10am-4pm
Tuesday: 8am-4pm
Wednesday: 8am-4pm
Thursday: 8am-4pm
Friday: 8am-5pm
Saturday: 8am-5pm
Sunday: 8am-5pm
Thanks and have a great week.
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