Dear Members,

As the year draws to a conclusion, we felt it timely to provide an update reflecting on 2023 which saw nearly 49,000 rounds of golf played, over 22,000 food covers served, and around 85,000 beverages provided. Whilst 2024 promises to be an exciting year at the Club, there are several projects on-going that we wish to provide further information on.

Building and Estates

Throughout 2023, we have made several investments with focus on improving the experience for Members. Such works include the practice ground practice mat, the warm-up nets, the installation of solar panels and work which remains ongoing to the balcony balustrade.

Our next project will see the installation of toilets upstairs in the area where the gents urinals are currently situated. We will see the erection of a studded wall for privacy, and the section between the cubicles will be fully partitioned off as well (the below design is there to provide a visual so please be advised the final centre partition will be floor-to-ceiling for full privacy).

The toilet will operate, in the main, as one gents cubical and one ladies. These will be multifunctional so during events such as the Ladies Autumn Dinner or Gents Dinner, they will both be ladies and both be gents respectively.

* Please note that small modifications may be made to the final design.

The snooker cues currently stored in this area will be moved to the cupboard which can be seen to the left of the corridor on the above example. This will provide both permanent storage for the snooker cues and also a further cloakroom facility. The hanging rails on the entrance to the Members Lounge will be removed once the work is completed.

Whilst the work is carried out, we will ask for all snooker cues to be collected and stored at home for this period, but further guidance will be communicated once we have a start date for the project.

Some small works to the snooker table will be undertaken during the festive period which result in the closure of the snooker facilities from the 28th December to 6th of January. We apologise in advance for this disruption but hope the upgrade works will enhance the experience for the regular users of the snooker table.

Recently, discussions have taken place about a swing studio which would be situated downstairs in the area next to the Braid Bar. Under a separate communication, we asked Members for their interest in such a facility and we hope the majority of Members will engage with this process to aid its development should the interest and funding permit. For those who have not yet completed the survey, we would be grateful for your views. To take part in the survey, please click here.

Please note the survey closes on the 31/12/23 and is open to Playing Members only.

MEMBERSHIP

On the 29th November 2023, the latest shortlisting of applicants was posted to the main noticeboard. Each year, we see around 14-19 Full Playing Gents relinquish their playing rights and to ensure a proactive approach, we have shortlisted a sufficient number to ensure a strong succession plan is in place.

Membership remains open at this time with applications to join the waiting list being accepted. Members are reminded that applications can be submitted as either a letter application or a proposed/seconded application. We encourage proposed and seconded application but remind Members they may propose/second only one application in any one membership year (that being from the 1st February until 31st January). Additionally, Members who propose/second an application must have held playing membership for a minimum of 5-years.

After recent feedback, the Board have agreed a series of changes to the Club Rules and Regulations, and also the Dress Code. Both updated documents are available to view on the Board area of the website ( click here).

WORKING GROUPS

We wrote to Members during November to ask for support with two working groups, those being the Governance Working Group and the Website Working Group.

The interest in these groups was extremely positive. We are most grateful to those Members who expressed an interest in the projects and apologise to those not selected for the two working groups. Those selected have been notified of this. 

We would like to thank all Members who volunteered and hope that they wish to stay on the database for future opportunities. Should any volunteer wish to have their name removed, then please do let me know and he will remove your details from the database of volunteers.

VISITOR GREEN FEE INFORMATION FOR 2023

Over the last two years, we have circulated information pertaining to visitor green fee income, and the ongoing efforts to maximise profitability from this valuable revenue source.  In 2019, we saw an average rate of £55.78 returned from 1180 golfers throughout the summer period. 2023 saw an average rate of £76.71 from 966 meaning an increase of circa £9k with over 200 fewer visitors.

Earlier in the year, around March time, we made a conscious decision to reduce the number of groups paying a facility fee throughout the winter period. We felt these groups not only restricted course access to members during the winter but also no longer provided the desired revenue.

The strategy adopted was to see an increase in the average rate obtained during this period, and we are pleased to report the strategy in place is yielding some positive results despite the recent weather. The average rate during November and December (2019 to 2022) was £30.95, with an average number of visitors being 224.

2023 is forecasting an average rate projection of £53.88 with 149 visitors returning this average, although the number of holes available and weather will likely see this reduce as the winter progresses and green fee adjustments may have to be made.

The early trends however are encouraging and our thanks must go to the team for their efforts in achieving these early results.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2024...

2024 promises to be a memorable year with many exciting events and celebrations ahead.

On the 1st March 1924, our Club moved to the existing Lytham Hall site. To mark 100 years in our current location, we will be hosting a celebration to commemorate the occasion on Saturday, 2nd March. We are most excited to share this occasion with you and would ask you to ‘save the date’ to ensure you don’t miss out. More information will be provided in due course.

As we start 2024, the vacancies for Board Nominations will be posted in the main corridor. This year, two positions will be available for a 3-year tenure, those being:

Should you have any interest in either vacancy, please contact me or call into the office to discuss the positions in further detail.

On behalf of the Team and myself, please may we take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support in all areas of the Club. We look forward to sharing many more memorable occasions with you throughout 2024 and wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Best regards

Mark Duncalf

General Manager