Captain's Newsletter - Merry Christmas

I hope you are staying safe and well and enjoying the festive season as best you can. We’re nearing the end of an unprecedented year and certainly not the one I anticipated when I was appointed Captain back in February. However, as we reflect on what has been a challenging time for us all, I wanted to reflect on the many positive aspects that have emerged and look back with great pride on what we have achieved through a real sense of togetherness which epitomises Peebles Golf Club.

The Golf Course & Greenkeeping Team

The excellent condition of our golf course is testament to our Greenkeeping team’s effort and skill. The playability of our greens all year round highlights the fantastic progress we have made through several years of investment in time and resource on drainage and enhancing the durability of the putting surfaces. This is a big improvement from years back when winter greens were the norm in the off season.

I would like to make special mention of the hard work and dedication that Stevie Borthwick demonstrated in early lockdown. This took place whilst the other greenkeepers were furloughed, the golf course had entered the rapid growth season and Stevie’s wife had given birth to his baby boy. Stevie’s contribution ensured that we had a playable golf course available to our members when golf emerged from lockdown at the end of May.

Competitions

Our competition sub-committee did a fantastic job rearranging the schedule and we somehow managed to play all the major tournaments which seemed impossible when we were in lockdown. My own personal highlight was Club Championship week where I had the honour of starting every match in every section. The matches were all played in a great spirit and the standard of golf across all categories was exceptional. The Men’s final between Jamie Morris and Darren Howie was a wonderful event watched by a very appreciative crowd of spectators (socially distanced of course) and it was very exciting to see Darren prevail and win his first Club Championship. I’d also like to mention Darren’s historic new course record of 59 which beat his previous best by two shots.

Another mention must go to our most prolific winner of the season – Kevin Wood, who despite playing off a category 1 handicap managed to win four different handicap stroke play tournaments. Unfortunately, the current Covid climate prevented what would have been a vibrant Presentation Night, I know my wife was a little disappointed she wasn’t able to present Kevin with his haul of trophies.

Pro Shop

Our professional Steve Johnston has had a very challenging year given the impact of Covid on small businesses. However, Steve quickly adapted his business to meet the new rules and when the Club first re-opened he single-handedly kept the Pro shop open day in and day out. This meant regularly working 10 – 12 hour shifts, with little or no rest periods and I know the members will join me in thanking Steve for his efforts. We were all delighted when Bob Allan joined the Pro Shop and they have made a great team in supporting our front of house operation.

Clubhouse

The clubhouse has not been without its challenges during the pandemic, having been shut, reopened, shut again and opened with all sorts of changing restrictions. This has certainly not been easy for Willie and Freda and I’d like to thank them for their flexibility and willingness to work around these changes, the new bar hours and furlough arrangements. I’d also like to thank the Harry’s View team who have been working creatively to provide a catering service whilst complying with the many different rules and I know a lot of our members have enjoyed their variety of offerings. It has been particularly frustrating for Joe and the team given the recent escalation of lockdown restrictions. Just as they had generated some good momentum again in Level 1 and having sold out for New Year’s Day, this has unfortunately now had to be cancelled. Hopefully the new year will finally see an easing of restrictions and an opportunity for us all to enjoy food and drink in what is a great clubhouse environment.

Volunteering Efforts

One of the most pleasing aspects of this year has undoubtedly been the level of volunteering across all aspects of the club. The course and surrounding areas have never looked better, thanks to the efforts of those involved in course maintenance, gardening and other tasks, such as cleaning out the burns, painting the driving range bays, repairing divots and collecting balls. We’ve even had a new ball washer and ball dispenser case built from scratch, thanks to the fantastic efforts of Les Biscomb and Brian Smith. More on Les shortly. I’d also like to thank Gordon Beveridge and Rab Howie who recently installed our new balcony decking free of charge, aside from the cost of the materials, which turned into an even bigger job than we envisaged.

Les deserves special praise for his efforts in relation to a number of different projects which have made a significant positive impact on the club. He has created and led a very successful sponsorship sub-committee which has substantially increased our income in this area and brought in a number of new sponsors, as well as adding value for existing partners. There was also the Crowd Funding appeal which was Les’s brainchild and resulted in an incredible show of support from many members and wider benefactors, raising over £11k at what was a difficult period for the club, and demonstrated the strength of support that our Club enjoys. A big thanks also to all our sponsors who have stood by the Club this season and it’s great to see their names displayed on the TV screens in the foyer.

Missing our Members!

I would also like to make a special mention of our members who live outwith the Scottish Borders, who have been unable to travel to Peebles to play golf in recent weeks because of the latest restrictions. It is my sincere hope that these are eased in the very near future so that we can play golf with all our friends again. Haste ye back!

Office Team

My last note of thanks goes to our Secretary, Alan Frain and his office team of Sarah Waldie and Pam Sherrard. Throughout the dark days of lockdown and in the period since, there has been no let-up in administration and office work. The recent World Handicap System migration is just one example of a change that required significant administrative effort. The way in which Alan has re-organised our office function to incorporate home working and other initiatives has enabled his team to provide a consistently high level of service throughout such a turbulent year. Alan’s leadership and direction has been invaluable in assisting the Board of Directors and General Committee to achieve our ongoing objectives.

Financial Update

Turning lastly to our financial position, our draft results for the year now indicate a fairly healthy position having made a surplus for the financial year which is quite remarkable given the potential scenario we were facing back in April.  The demand for golf has been substantial and while there have been many restrictions placed on our business this year, we have benefited from the various forms of financial relief which have been available to us during the pandemic which have supplemented other financial measures we’ve taken internally. 

Our cash reserves and balance sheet are now in a much healthier position going into 2021 while at the same time we’ve also continued to restructure and reallocate our cost base.  Specifically, having reduced a number of administrative, maintenance, and service costs this year, including external accounting fees, I am delighted to announce that we now feel we are able to budget for an additional full-time qualified greenkeeper for next season who will provide valuable support to Stevie and his team.   As part of our continued focus on improving the golf course, we’re also planning a cash investment of £20,000 in new greenkeeping equipment.  Specifically, Stevie is in the throes of procuring a new turf iron and will then turn his attention to the purchase of a new greens mower, both of which will help to further enhance the ever improving condition of our greens.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is very much focused on consolidating our financial position going forward, and we must stay alert to the many headwinds that face our business, not least the continuation of the pandemic restrictions going into 2021.  As we’ve communicated previously, we also continue to face the longer-term challenge of the age demographic of the Club, which for a number of years now, has resulted in a gradual depletion of our membership base.  However, we are acutely aware of the challenges posed by these issues and so won’t sit idlely by and let these things push us to the brink, but rather we will continue to take robust and decisive steps to manage these issues. 

As well as further investment in the course, we’re also increasing our marketing budget / activities next year under the expert direction of Ross Duncan, and we’re very hopeful that these combined efforts will improve member retention and recruitment next season as well as generating an increase in visitor numbers.  As we’ve also discussed recently, the Board is very keen to increase non-golf revenue in the future, and with a return to some degree of normality hopefully not too far away now, we’re hoping to increase the number of clubhouse functions and events next year in an effort to improve bar activity.  The financial benefits of these initiatives will, however, take some time to come to fruition and so with a need to balance the budget for 2021 now, we have decided it would be prudent to moderately increase member subscriptions and visitor fees again next season.

These were hard decisions to make but as a Board, we strive to keep golf affordable to all our members while at the same time prudently managing for the club’s future.  And so again, we’ll seek to find the right balance when we set out our fee proposals to our membership at the upcoming AGM in February which I anticipate will be held via Zoom.

Finally, I’d like to thank my fellow Board Directors, Ross Duncan, Grant Foster and Chris Patterson for their continued service to the club.  Like others, the Directors have given up a substantial amount of their time this year and besides providing us with strong governance and strategic oversight, I know each of them care very deeply about the club and its members. The Board will be further strengthened in the new year with the appointment of David Thorburn, our current Junior Convenor.  I am delighted David has agreed to join the Board, he is a well-known local businessman and has been a member at the club for 40 years.

In closing, I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support of Peebles Golf Club and hope you stay safe and healthy and enjoy a Merry Christmas. I look forward to catching up with many of you in the New Year on the course and in the clubhouse.

Yours in golf

Gavin Carruthers | Captain