To a Term Well Served

CAPTAINS CHAT

Last week was our 19th AGM which was very well attended. Thanks must go to every member who attended in person or by proxy. This is your club and it is gratifying to see the interest you show.

To a Term Well Served
It also marked the end of Frank McDonogh’s term as Club Captain. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for the outstanding work and effort he has put into leading the club the last two years. It has not been without its challenges but with his dedication, together with the support of you and your committee, he has left the club in very good shape making my new role all that much easier.

At the AGM your new committee was voted in with some new faces making themselves available to serve and help in shaping the future of the club – I’d like to thank them on your behalf for all the time and hard work this will entail. I would also like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to serve you as Club Captain for the next two years. It’s an honour and a privilege to accept this position and I promise to do everything in my power to maintain our position as one of the best golf clubs in the country. We want to give our members and visitors the most memorable golfing experience ever.

With the Erinvale team I will strive for continual improvement - as with any successful organisation doing nothing means going backwards and being overtaken by your competitors. Erinvale has an ageing population with an average age in the late sixty’s and if we do not make plans to attract the younger generation it will be very difficult to maintain what we currently enjoy. With this in mind your committee will be investigating all possibilities to achieve our goal of attracting new members. We will be working closely with the HOA and will present our findings to the members for consideration.

The culmination of my first week as your Club Captain was to host our last major of the year, the Captains Putter. This event was initiated in 1997 by our first Club Captain, Keith Colley. As is tradition I invited all Past Club Captains to participate on the day with nine able to accept. We had heavy rain fall during Friday night and early on Saturday morning that disrupted the early morning field but cleared in the late morning with super temperate weather for the rest of the day.

Pictured on the right are the Past Captain's participating in the Captain's Putter.

But with one of the worst droughts in history the rain was most welcome - we need every drop of moisture to sustain our beautiful golf course. Testament to the team, the course played very well even after such heavy rain.

Lou Rose won on a count out with Jim Almond on a superb score of 43 stableford points. Congratulations to all who participated to make the day a great success.

Pictured on the left are the 2015 Captain's Putter Winner, Lou Rose with
Keith Colley and Club Captain Dean Milbank

On Friday evening I hosted the Club’s Past Captains and their partners to dinner in the Legends Restaurant. This was a new initiative to thank them for their time in office and continued valuable advice in shaping our great club.

On behalf of the members may I put on record the Club’s appreciation for all they have done in the past.

We have a beautiful club, in a beautiful part of the world and my promise to every member is that I will celebrate and protect all that is wonderful about Erinvale and with your committee, diligently set about changing all that needs improving! 

Past Captain's Dinner

This is most likely the last communication of the year so all that remains is for me to wish all of you and your families a merry festive season and for those travelling come back safely.

Regards,
Dean Milbank



DIRECTOR'S REPORT

Staff Party
On Monday the 14th December, was the Annual Staff Party which we hosted at De Beers Soccer Club. On behalf of the staff we would like to thank the members who donated to the staff party it was greatly appreciated.





Service Awards
At the Christmas Party we recognised 3 individuals for long service awards and we thank-you them for always going the extra mile to look after our members and guests, your efforts are appreciated.


Pieter Joubert receiving is 10 Years
of Service Award 

Elson Mbovane receiving his 15 years
of service award. 

Yvonne Reyneke receiving her 20 years
of service award.

UPCOMING EVENTS

ECHO 2016
They say time flies when you’re having fun and to think we are about to launch the ECHO Golf Day 2016, is remarkable.

This year we have changed the process a bit. This year the Golf Shop will be taking the bookings, which are now open, and as things go every year it is a very popular event so please don’t leave it too late to enter.

Click here for more information.



Another Year Gone By
It’s my last newsletter for the year and I want to send out a special thank you to you, our valued golfer. Thank you for being part of our community and for supporting us this year. It’s been inspiring to see you enjoying your golf.

Now is the time to ask yourself some key questions about your golf in 2015. Did you get in as much golf as you wanted to this year? What was it that stopped you playing more golf in 2015? And is there anything we can do to help you to get out on the course more often? Was your golf up to the standard you wanted in 2015? Did you set yourself improvement targets and did you reach them? Or, for some reason, did you experience a decline in the standard of your golf?

Contact me about making 2016 the best golf year ever. In the meantime I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and please travel safely.

Regards,

Gavin