As you may be aware, the Mandurah Country Club held a ‘Special General Meeting’ on Tuesday 22 August 2023 to vote on motions relating to the revision of the MCC Constitution.
It is very pleasing to report that the motions (as outlined below), were unanimously approved by members attending the meeting, a terrific vote of confidence in the revised document and in particular, the comprehensive review and consultation process.
The original MCC Constitution was approved in 1960 and since that time there has been some amendments but nothing that compares to this major revision. The project was a priority for the MCC Management Committee, and I would like to sincerely thank and congratulate all those involved in delivering a quality product.
Many members and staff were involved, and in particular I would like to acknowledge:
Vice President, Ron Stone for his excellent leadership and resilience.
General Manager, Grant Shortland-Jones.
Members of the Governance Sub-Committee:
Radar Luttrell; Kim Williamson; Gillian Holland.
Working group members:
Jenny Fernley; Dani Hunt; Graeme Parsons.
Reviewers
Barbara Moore; Paul Shand; Chris Jensen.
MCC Management Committee members.
The following motions were approved at the Special meeting:
To adopt the revised Constitution of the Mandurah Country Club a copy of which has been provided to members.
On the adoption of the proposed Constitution by members and acceptance by the Department of Mines Industry Regulation and Safety, the next election of the Board will have all six Board positions available. The “year one” positions of President, Director of Finance and Director of Facilities will be an initial one-year term for their first term. The “year two” positions being Director of Governance, Director of Golf and Director of Membership will be a two year term, as per the Constitution.
A major change was the establishment of a contemporary Governance structure of 6 members (currently structure has 10) which incorporates five (5) core areas of responsibility:
Governance; Finance; Golf; Membership, and Asset/Property.
The new structure is outlined below:
The new Constitution has been submitted to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety for approval and the proposed changes will be implemented once this is completed. This project was an important action emanating from the MCC Strategic Plan 2021-2026 and the successful outcome will ensure the club is well positioned to manage future challenges.
Once again thanks to all those involved in the project, great teamwork and perseverance.
The Mandurah Amateur Open will be taking place this Saturday 2nd September through to Monday 4th September 2023, for both the Men’s and Women’s event. There is an excellent field with 40 interstate or overseas players, joining some of the best players in W.A.
There will be times available this Saturday and Sunday after the Amateur Players tee off for member social play, times are available online to book.
The practice range will be required to be in use for warm up for this event, being an international rankings event. The footings have been set and currently curing with the net to be installed over a few days, starting immediately after the Monday warm up next week. It should be reopened to all players by Wednesday 6th September 2023.
The course will closed on Monday 11th September for our annual renovations. The full facility will be shut on Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th so if you are intending to play elsewhere and have your clubs stored at the Club, they will need to be collected prior to these days.
As Greens Chair Dean updated recently, the renovations are in line with the current assessment of the soils and building the nutrient base, to continue the long-term improvements in the health and therefore the quality of playing surfaces. There will be ninja tines through the full soil profile then a core through the surface to remove thatch. Coring will also take place through the green surrounds and tees. The benefit of this stage of a course development is a quicker than usual recovery.
The fixture book does say the Course is closed on Friday 15th September however, all going to plan we will open the Friday tee sheets with both the 18 hole and 9 hole Friday competitions available. Both competitions will be mixed, for all members to play in.
The winter rules will be removed once we reopen from renovations as too, much of the directional signage, but we ask players to be conscious of wear areas and looking after the course in how you move around, whilst ensuring divots are chopped in. We must congratulate and thank members for the adherence to the winter wear directions.
The Club’s objective is never a short-term focus but a constant and continual improvement in the health of the course, which aids the ability to present excellent playing surfaces. There is no doubt that the year upon year improvements continue, with it being evident in our soil health assessments and combined with the adherence to the winter rules, the surfaces for the end of winter continue to improve from past years. Once into the growing season, there will be further communication for player focus on areas identified for our improvement objectives.
Good luck to all our Members playing in the upcoming Amateur Open and then of course, we look forward to the Ladies Spring Carnival the following week.
