DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
I am very pleased to announce that our Development Application has now been submitted to the Department of Planning for consideration of approval. Needless to say it’s been a long and complicated process to get to this point.
Congratulations must go to the Pariter team who have put together a very professional application after working over the past three years with our Board and General Manager. The Application will now run its course through the approval process which could take anything from 9 – 12 months. In the meantime, building of our temporary greens is underway and our Vice Captain, Martin, will keep us updated on those works as they progress. The reason we are building temporary greens now is that if / when the DA is approved, we will be able to continue playing 18 holes whilst the new permanent holes and surrounds are constructed.
Where to from here? As previously reported, we have adopted our 2024 – 28 Strategic Plan and Committees as now reporting to the Board each month on strategies contained in the Plan. An integral part of the plan is to look ahead and consider what affect the Development Project will have on our operations in the future. For example, the House Committee, will work with the GM to identify what new or enhanced business opportunities a new clubhouse will offer. The Match and Greens Committee will ensure the associated course works are completed satisfactorily with minimal disruption to playability and the Finance Committee will oversight budget and expenditure for those works. We also have an established Project Control Group (PCG) consisting of the President, Captain, Vice-Captain and General Manager that will continue to work with Pariter to ensure that all contractual requirements are delivered and to resolve any project related issues that may come up along the way.
As you can see, we have a committed and cohesive board who are doing a lot of work ‘behind the scenes’ in support of the development project. Underpinning all this is our commitment to continue delivering the very best of Course, Club, Restaurant and Pro Shop services that members deserve and have come to expect.
One of our biggest challenges is keeping up with spiralling costs of expenditure eg electricity, chemicals, insurance and maintenance costs. The only thing we are getting free of charge at the moment is rainwater which ironically has an impact on our income from competition fields. Unfortunately, to offset some of these increases we have had to make the decision to increase competition fees by $2.50 to take effect from Wednesday 1st May.
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Last but not least, we have good and not so good news with our Assistant Operations Manager Damon Green tendering his resignation to take effect from 20th April. Damon will take up the position of General Manager at the Cheltenham Recreation Club which is a fantastic opportunity and advancement of his career. We wish him well, but he will be greatly missed at Cumberland. Congratulations and Good Luck Damo.
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Denis Clifford (Club President)
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FROM THE CAPTAIN’S DESK
Well March has been another strong month for member’s competitions. March saw an increase of over 500 rounds on last month’s result. There has also been an increase of approximately 600 rounds on the same period last year. Our Saturday rounds for the month of March have averaged just over 200 players, so March has been a very strong month.
As you would have heard the temporary greens work has recently commenced and is really starting to take shape. I’ll leave the update to the Vice-Captain. Also, the course renovations commence on Monday the 8th April so there’s a lot happening around the course.
The Cock of the Walk continues and the match committee would like to congratulate those members that are still battling away to make the final on the 27th of April.
Monthly Medal
• A Grade – Brett Porter
• B Grade – Debasish Bose
• C Grade – Lachlan Attwill (Guzzlers Cup)
Cumberland Bowl
• Craig Dunscombe
March Hole in Ones
• Tony Shin – 16th Hole, 10th March
• Craig Paul – 13th Hole – 16th March
• Rana Pratap – 3rd Hole – 29th March
Upcoming Events
• Monthly Medal & A grade Guzzlers, Sat 6th April • Presidents vs Captains Day, Sat 20th April
• ANZAC Day Medal, Thu 25th April
• Cock of the Walk Final – Sat 27th April
Major Pennants
I wanted touch on this year’s Major Pennants and the year that could have been but unfortunately ended up seeing us being relegated to Division 3. It was definitely a very bitter pill to swallow given all the teams in our division had a chance to win the section heading into the last round of matches. With 3 wins and 3 losses for all sides unfortunately, our total matches won were 19 which left us at the bottom of the ladder. So, as you can see below it was a very competitive section.
1st – Liverpool 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 points, 23 match points
2nd – Fox Hills 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 points, 21.5 match points
3rd – Pennant Hills 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 points 20.5 match points
4th – Cumberland 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 points 19 match points
Not to be too critical but looking back over the year we had 16 matches go down the 18th and we manage 7 squares and 4 wins. Our 6-1 loss to Liverpool didn’t help. So, that meant we had to play Twin Creeks to avoid relegation.
It was again another tight battle and the match ended 4/3 with one match being decided on the 3rd extra hole which meant that Twin Creeks avoided relegation.
However, it wasn’t all bad. There was some excellent golf played and always played in the right spirit. This year was also an excellent year for our youngest member of the side Bailey Leafe. Bailey almost went undefeated to only lose in his last match which is a great effort for someone so young. Again, our top order showed why they are so well respected our side. Josh Russo and Isaak Pemble again had a great season playing against some very strong opposition.
I also want to thank our caddies who have again done a great job supporting their players and the team. A huge thanks to Andrew Black (Blackie), Harrison (Harry) Pemble, Andrew Maroun, Robert Madeleine, Luke McSweeney, Liam Sherry and Dave Harvey.
It was good to see those members who took the time to come out to all matched this year. The team really appreciated the support.
The match committee would like to thank Matt Andrew for taking on the role of Manager for the 2024 season. Matt has been a part of the playing side for a few years now and has been doing a great job managing our juniors so it was good to see him step up this year and take on the role as Major Pennants Manager.
Masters is next round of Pennants which is set to commence on Sunday the 19th May. Cumberland is placed in Division 3 Section 1 and our hosting dates are as follows;
Round 1 – Sunday 19th May – 11am,
Round 3 – Sunday 2nd June – 11:06am,
Round 5 – Sunday 16th June – 11:13am.
“For some time, my wife’s had this ridiculous idea that I’m playing too much golf. Actually, it came to a head about 11:30 last night. She suddenly shouted at me: ‘Golf, golf, golf. All you ever think about is bloody golf!!’ And I’ll be honest, it frightened the life out of me. I mean, you don’t expect to meet somebody on the 14th green at that time of night”
Good Golfing,
Darren (The Fox) Stocks – Club Captain
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Next week, the course will be closed for renovations on Monday 8 April and Tuesday 9 April. As you’re aware, these take place twice a year and support the maintenance of our excellent playing surface by improving drainage, removing thatch and improving the soil structure. Clubhouse trading hours will be as usual including ‘booking in’ on Tuesday.
Notables
• Freshwater dam on the 12th is at 100% capacity. The 2nd hole dams are at 100% capacity, while the 5th dam is at 90% capacity.
• The Calcium application program continues on fairways and tees to further improve the soil structure.
• March weather has been interesting with 25mm of rain received during the month.
• Gypsum in the form of Tru – gyp has been applied to the greens surfaces to decrease compaction and encourage aeration, this is to combat the bio carbonate and sodium build up.
• Bunker rakes are not ornaments, please use them if you’re in the bunker and then return it to the middle of the bunker.
• The bottom practise green continues to receive an intensive care treatment. The issue is twofold which will be supported by the renovation program. The first is implementing a care program specifically designed for the microclimate that exists where the green is situated. Part two is the environmental factors – high temperatures and humidity which has added to the pressures on the green from disease.
Course Works
Work has commenced on the substructure of the temporary greens, commencing with earthmoving and irrigation works in the chosen areas on 2, 4, 9 & 18. These areas will be designated as Ground Under Repair (GUR). Following the earthwork, Couch, being the grass covering for the greens, will be transported on-site and dropped in (sodded). The aim of the couch greens is to increase the members enjoyment playing the temporary greens, and to provide a better experience than simply mowing areas of the fairways as makeshift greens. This approach will also reduce pressure on course resources.
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Course Care
It continues to disappoint, that members are not fixing their lob marks on greens. It’s not that hard!! If you want to have a superb course, then you need to show it some love and do your part in fixing lob marks and raking bunkers.
Take pride in your club and fix your lob mark. All it takes is a few seconds as demonstrated below:
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Martin Smith
Vice Captain and Chair of the Greens Committee
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LADIES PRESIDENT’S REPORT
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Easter has come and gone for another year and once again we held a very successful Easter Open on Tuesday 26 March. The event was very well attended with over 100 ladies playing including visitors from Asquith, Castle Hill, Concord, Massey Park and Muirfield. The money raised from our raffle on the day together with the additional $2.50 paid as part of the golf fees will be donated to charity. Thank you ladies for your ongoing generosity. A big thank you also to the ladies who arrived early on the Tuesday morning to set up and decorate the room for lunch in record time. We got there in the end.
On a more sombre note I would like to express my condolences to Gwen Fyffe and family on the passing of John who was a long term member of Cumberland. Sadly, former member Wayne Avery also passed away on Sunday March 31. Our thoughts are with Yvonne and family during this very sad time.
Happy Golfing
Judy Attwood
Ladies President
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A fantastic Pennant Season was capped off with a very special award for Soon Lee, one of our wonderful club representatives. Soon’s grit and determination throughout the Ladies Grade competition was rewarded with the highly sought after ‘Undefeated Medal’ from NSW Golf. An amazing and thoroughly deserved effort, well done Soon!
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Royal Sydney were the eventual winners of our Division. Over the past few years, they’ve come close to taking the Pennant a few times and we were delighted for them on their win, by a couple of putts, from Moore Park.
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Our Western Districts pennant team had another excellent year. Always in contention for the top spot, they were beaten at the post by Carnarvon. Both teams were equal in points, however Cumberland were defeated on total games won. Some serious motivation for next year!
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The ladies Pennant season isn’t over yet. Next month we’ll be preparing our Bronze 2 Squad for the Northern Districts competition. More on that in our next edition!
These events can only happen with the support and commitment of our volunteers. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Di Morgan and Michelle McPherson, our team managers. Their enthusiasm and effort in managing our players, caddies and home game organisation has been fantastic. We couldn’t have done it without you. Also, to our volunteers attending our host day matches, thank you. Club management, Harmony, our Board, Pro Shop and the Greens staff have been there every step of the way, thank you for the assistance and sponsorship you’ve provided the Ladies Pennant squads, it’s greatly appreciated by all our ladies whether their playing, or cheering us on from the sideline.
With the course closed on Tuesday 9th April, our usual competition for the week has been moved to Thursday 11th April. Get ready to play the course straight off the back of renovations, they’ll no doubt be a few extra challenges to enjoy! See you then.
Kate Stuart
(Ladies Captain)
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Another month and again we continue without peer as clearly the leading golf professional shop in all of Greystanes, so just sit back and let us bring you all the latest equipment and industry leading advice on how you should spend your hard-earned cash in our shop!
We have a selected range of Taylormade, Mizuno and Cleveland putters at reduced prices as a special for the month so get in quick as these won’t last. We have the full range of Odyssey Demo putters in store now for a very limited time – make sure you get in and try one before they move on.
Just released instore are the newest range of fully waterproof shoes from Footjoy. This season sees a real change in the look and style of their footwear, with a collection of both eye catching and low-key models to suit every golfers taste. You can now get fitted instore at a moments notice with a brand new pair of the most comfortable and durable shoes ready to play.
Winter Is Coming and with the cold comes the damp and realisation that the basic accessories we use in summer won’t quite cut it for the next 6 months. Luckily, we have everything instore to help keep you warm this winter. Don’t buy cheap throwaway rubbish online and hope that it fits when it arrives – who needs the stress. Step into Banners this month and touch, feel and experience first-hand everything you need to enjoy golf right through until things warm up again!
April marks the beginning of the shortest days of the year. With less sunlight don’t forget that our indoor tech centre and highly trained professional instructors are open even after the sun goes down so get yourself booked in for that long overdue lesson. Just visit our bannersgolf.com.au website or contact us in the shop direct.
With school holidays coming soon, we have 2 great holiday camps for the kids Book in as soon as possible as they do fill up very quickly.
18th April – 9am till 3pm
23rd April – 9am till 3pm
This month’s hot golfing tip comes from our very own trainee professional Alex who says –“Swing hard, swing fast. Make sure you commit to the shot and keep connected to the target line. Make sure you back yourself, why play the easily forgotten percentage shot – let’s face it, you’re out there to make memorable birdies not boring pars!”
For any of your golfing needs call into the Pro Shop and talk to our friendly staff.
Joanne, Matthew, Myo, Arthur, Luke, Alex and the Juniors
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We’d like to thank our sponsors for their ongoing support.
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