Dear Members
Firstly, I wish you all the best of health in these trying and unpredictable times.
Last week saw the introduction of new guidelines for Golf at MVGC to control the spread of the Covid 19 virus largely by means of social distancing. The fact that we can play golf at this time is a bonus compared to other sporting activities. For this we should be grateful.
Two players per group, groups 5 minutes apart, one player per cart, maintain space between players and the rules changes including leaving the flag in, preferred lies in the bunker, single card scoring and no need to sign partners card or enter your scores.
With the reduced players per group and single tee start, 170 players were on the sheet for Saturday and near 120 Sunday. Given all the changes and uncertainty, the 5 minute tee times, the field overall took longer to play the round than expected. This lead to delayed teeing off and finish times on both Saturday and Sunday. Not perfect but we are learning.
In addition, the wait list was larger than expected, resulting in demand exceeding capacity. This problem will get worse quickly over the next month with day light hours reducing 7 minutes a week at this time of year.
I would like to commend the members on their observance of social distancing. This practice must be continued to avoid public criticism and potential fines for individuals and the club!
Just another request however. You must keep a clear space from the group in front, say 25 meters where possible to avoid the perception that you are playing in groups more than 2. People are watching and reporting clubs for this sort of thing. A ranger will be in duty monitoring this practice during the round.
Thus if the green and tee are occupied stay clearly away from them. You should still call up to maintain pace of play but please observe the separation.
Member satisfaction is a key priority for the Board and management alike.
Thus, our dilemma is how to efficiently give members the opportunity to play golf within the severe restrictions of the current guidelines which we are required to follow.
After discussions today with Senior Management, we will trial a few variations from last Saturday.
This Saturday we have a full field 170 booked to play 18 holes in pairs. This field will start their round hitting off the 11th tee and finish on the 10th green. We will maintain the times of 5 minutes intervals, incorporating some buffer slots. Members are encouraged to observe brisk and efficient pace of play and see if we can reduce the overall round duration to well below 4 hours.
To accommodate the wait list this Saturday, and improve member satisfaction, we will offer two things:
1) We have created a separate 10 hole competition, playing off the first tee from 6.10 am. This will accommodate an additional 30 extra players. The event will cost $8 and prizes will be awarded. This will also be a handicapped event over 9 holes. You can book for this competition from 6pm today on line.
2) Also, those who do not get to play 18 holes this Saturday the 11th April, will get first preference on the sheet for next Saturday the 18th April. Please note, you must be on the wait-list from the previous week. We feel this is fair and equitable.
This Saturday is a trial and an attempt to get as many players on the course as possible. If successful it could be expanded to other days in coming weeks eg Wednesday/Sunday with adjustment of traditional tee times.
Visitors (except for Tuesday Open competition) are not permitted, while spots are in high demand. This is unlikely to change during the winter months
Flexibility and innovation is the way forward for us, and we will closely monitor results of our changes.
Today’s double call was the last of its type for the foreseeable future and we appreciate the difficulties the change of format has caused. The pressure on timesheets from playing in two’s and the decreasing daylight means we have well over two hundred players trying to book in via phones or online for a limited amount of spots.
With the current situation we are in we have seen that the online booking times were insufficient, we will now change again to 80% to accommodate the majority of our membership, who have access to this channel.
The provision of phone bookings is for those members that do not have access to online bookings and it has been noted by Management and Pro shop staff that members are taking advantage of this option by trying both phone and internet at the same time thereby causing double bookings and added frustration. Please remember the staff are here to assist in the booking process and not here to receive rude comments from our members.
I am asking for your support of our efforts to give your fellow members as much opportunity to play the game we all love.
Thank you for your tolerance, consideration and understanding.
Cheers
Graeme MacDougal
Club Captain
