ON THE

May 2013

Email: vinegolf@senet.com.au Web: www.vinesofreynella.com.au

In this edition…

Men’s and Women’s Championship results

From The Manager...The Vines Strategic Plan

SOCIAL NEWS…plenty happening

MAGNIFICENT 3 from “The Vines”

FROM THE PRESIDENT…Jan James At last some rain to start filling our dams and a chance to light the fire in the clubhouse. Unfortunately the rain showed up some leaks in the roof that we thought we had repaired so we need to sort that out. After over 2 years Trevor Blackwell has moved on from the kitchen and we welcome our new chef, Clayton Spall. Clayton is settling in well and his fare has certainly been well received. Over recent months members have raised concerns regarding the number of Scoopon players on the course. I certainly accept that at times behavior, dress standards, course care and speed of play has not been up to scratch but we do limit the times Scoopon players are on the course and perhaps could better manage this. However I do feel it is time to point out to members that Scoopon players and visitors are not alone when it comes to slow play and divots & plug marks left unrepaired. We have now provided members with good practice facilities with the completion of the chipping area at a cost of over $30,000. A huge thank you to the volunteers and staff for the many hours spent on completing the project. I’m sure it is not Scoopon players that are responsible for unfilled divots on the driving range and chipping green. Please, just as you do on the course, carry a sand bucket when you practice and repair your divots and plug marks. This will save time for staff and volunteers so they then can concentrate on other productive projects that will at the end of the day benefit you as a member. Our course is really looking great so with your help we can keep it that way. We are about to start the budgeting process for next year and will take on board the complaints. Scoopons look like bringing in around $35000 net this year so if we stop this all together we’ll need to find this income elsewhere. On the positive side; one of our young green staff, Michael Gee, who has a keen interest in photography is helping us lift our exposure via social media so those of you on Facebook can monitor what’s happening around the club via this medium. Of course we will still maintain our other forms of communications, but this is a further attempt to grow the non golf side of the business to help balance the budget. Finally, our pennant teams have commenced competition. So if you’d like to see some good golf the ladies play on Mondays and men on Sundays…over the next few weeks.

A WORD FROM THE GIRLS…from Rose Corbett (Vice President) & Denise Walters How cruel Mother Nature can be when she chose Sunday the 21st April, Men’s and Women’s Championship Grand Final day, to unleash the downpour that we all have been wanted for some time. We question her wisdom on this occasion, 24 hours earlier or later would have been perfect. Unfortunately the weather is the only thing we cannot control and hence players, caddies, referees and spectators braved it out for as long as possible even after an hour long stoppage, before Captain Barry Phillips cancelled proceedings. Everyone was ducking for dry clothes and premium spots in front of the fire. Matt and staff came to the rescue with some hot nibbles which hit the spot nicely.

The women completed their finals the following day while the men completed their matches on Anzac Day and the following Saturday.

Congratulations to both Winners and Runners Up for the spirit in which these Championships were played under such trying conditions.

“A” Grade Winner Cathy Hayward R/U Roz Brunton “B” Grade Winner Glenda Hollis R/U Bev Hill “C” Grade Winner Pam Deacon R/U Katherine Hender “9” Holers Winner Rose Wilton R/U Bessie Tester

Friday 3rd May was the normal Happy Hour night where the championship winners for both men and women and the runners up, were presented with their trophies. It was a wonderful atmosphere and the clubhouse was “standing room only”.

Our Pennant season has once again started and our first match on 6th May against Thaxted Park resulted in a 4½ to ½ win to The Vines. Congratulations to our ladies Mary O’Hagan, Cathy Hayward, Roz Brunton, Lyn Cummings, Karen Rama & Vicki Hampsey. The following week, our team played Glenelg at Grange and lost their match 3 to 2.

The Nomads ladies travelled to Flagstaff Hill on 9th May for their start of season matches. Our team of Kathryn Hender, Karen Hender, Helen Allen, Helen Brereton & Angela Beatty played some close games but in end lost to Flagstaff 3½ to 1½. Flagstaff Hill travelled to our course on 16th May for the rematch. Our team included Helen Allen, Linda Pearce, Eleanor Andrew, Kathryn Hender & Karen Hender. This time it was a win for The Vines 3 to 2.

Tuesday 23rd April we held the Shylie Rymill Competition and top qualifiers were Mary O’Hagan & Cath Hayward. Others to qualify were Sandra Statters/Heather Jones, Bev Hill/Judy Denman, Raelene Cook/Glee Walton, Jan Milne/Yvonne Isaac, Jan Windows/Pam Deacon, Roz Brunton/Vicky Hampsey and Debbie Gill/Lyn Cummings. Bad luck to Mignon Hogan and Jenny Hawkes. Good luck to everyone in the coming rounds.

During April, we started the Tuesday dollar raffle and the following ladies have won the weekly prize: Denise Blows, Rose Corbett, Marion Heath and Jen Hawkes. Thank you to everyone for participating and hopefully it will be your turn soon!!!

It’s on again, “LADIES, GIVE GOLF A GO” Clinics will again be run by our Club Professional, Steve Krause. The courses runs for 5 weeks and will be held on Thursdays 10am-11am and Saturdays 9am-10am.The first week commences Thursday 23rd May and Saturday 25th May, so everyone, if you have some female friends or wives that you would love to see take up this great game, book immediately at the Pro-Shop, 8381 3300.

Thursday 23rd May is our Gala Day. This is also a fundraising event, with the ladies providing a trading table and raffle for the visitors. We know all our lady members will again be generous in their support for this day and thank you all in advance.

A big ‘THANK YOU’ to the ladies who supported Kerry Briggs (a young 32 year old mother of two) who is fighting her breast cancer battle. $200 was raised from the Tuesday, ladies, once again thank you.

Cath Hayward

Glenda Hollis

Pam Deacon

Rose Wilton

Try our Bistro. Open Wednesday to Friday from 6pm to 8pm.

Saturday & Sunday lunches from 11.30am to 2pm.

& WE HAVE A NEW CHEF ! Full bistro menu…Bookings recommended

ON THE COURSE…from Russell Virgo (Vice President, Course)

Greens… The greens have recovered quickly from the renovations. We ask that every player repair any pitch marks on each green. Scuffing of the green surface has been noticed. This appears to be caused by a twisting motion during or after the putting stroke. All players are requested to review their movements during their time on the green as the quality of the green surface is a measure of any golf course. Water Storage… The irrigation experts from the green staff should be proud of their efforts during the extended dry spell. By planning and controlling the available water used in maintaining the course we have seen a quick recovery following the recent rain. The bore has been operating since 24th October 2012 and has produced by far the highest total ever taken in any season due in part to the extra running time. Visiting Players… A notice outlining our course rules for visiting players has been produced and will be attached to visitor’s scorecards. This will assist them and allow them to enjoy their Vines Experience. The guide lines have the endorsement of both Course and Match Committees and members can review the guide lines displayed in the men's and ladies locker rooms, starters and stairwell notice boards. Safety Notice… The Wellness, Health and Safety Act require the Club to maintain a safe working environment for everybody. The Course Committee expects all players to co-operate to ensure that there is a safe working environment for the green staff, volunteers and contractors. At all times they have right of way on the course. They may call on golfers to play their shot but only when it is safe to do so. Course Committee… In the coming months two positions on the Course Committee will become vacant and therefore will be up for election at the AGM. If you are considering joining the Course Team and would like more details then have a chat to General Manager Neil or any of the current course committee members. A copy of the course committee responsibility / activities is available. You could also experience a guest visit to a Course Meeting. This will give you an indication of how the committee operates and the possible enjoyment from being a member. Joining any committee should be seen as an honour. There is also satisfaction in contributing to the planning and achievement of the Course Committee’s goals.

New Chef On Board

Come and meet our new Chef, Clayton Spall, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 6pm to 8pm and Saturday and Sunday lunchtime from 11.30am to 2pm. Clayton was previously Sous Chef at Seaford Hotel for 4 years and before that Second Chef at the Pt Noarlunga Hotel. Members and their guests can expect some small changes in our menu..all for the better!

Please be aware that after some consideration we have stopped serving breakfasts on Sunday morning although we will review this again in September.

From The Manager…Neil MacKenzie

The Vines Strategic Plan 2012 – 2015 called for the production of an overarching business plan. In fact, we are producing 4 business plans covering the main areas of our income – membership ($721,000), golf operations ($174,000), hospitality ($156,000) and ‘other’ (sponsorship, social fundraising, grants etc $136,000). The Hospitality Business Plan was completed and adopted by the Committee of Management in April. The Hospitality Business Plan reviewed our existing Bar, Catering and Functions and Events operations, the market in which we operate and the potential each operational area possessed. Central to the success of the business plan was appointing our own back and front of house kitchen team which we intended to appoint in September. As you know, our hand was forced in this area sooner than we had anticipated! Here are the sales strategies (edited) for the 3 areas of operations: 1. Bistro Catering… The first sales strategy centres round our food service. We will leverage on existing customers by providing better meals and better service standards. We will target residents within a 5km radius (members and non members) and later introduce lunches that will appeal primarily to members but also non members. By increasing the number of dinners we will increase bar sales. This strategy will see us offer discounted lunches and dinners to bring people in for the first time and our future success will depend upon providing a superb first touch experience so they (keep) come (ing) back for more...at the normal price. 2. Functions… Our second sales strategy centres round developing our function centre business. Our first focus will be Saturday nights; our second focus will be Sunday afternoons; our third focus will be Monday and Tuesday evening meeting for community groups. We will become more proactive at marketing to members and their friends and continue to offer free or discounted hire fees. We will continue to charge a hire fee during 2013/14 but we will aim to stop charging hire fees in 2014/15 when we will increase the cost of our menus. By increasing functions we will increase bar and food sales. 3. Bar… Through increasing functions and dinners we will collaterally increase bar sales. However, we will also introduce a non members drinks price lists. Our overall financial target is to increase income from Hospitality from $156,537 in 2012 to $171,700 this year and then on to $216,311 in 2014 and $234,792 in 2015.

Membership Both the Membership and the Golf Operations Business Plans are underway and are due to be completed by the end of June. However, members may be interested in the following:

In 2002 we had 1046 members including 360 Category A members, 169 Category B members and 247 category C members

In 2012 we had 806 members including 347 Category A members, 104 Category B members and 168 Category B members

In 2002 we had 864 male members and 182 female members. In 2012 we had 654 male members and 152 female members

FROM THE CAPTAIN…Barry Phillips

The Men’s Matchplay and Women’s Championships are now behind us and unfortunately the finals were played in terrible conditions on Sunday 21st April. Play was initially suspended for 50 minutes in the morning and after sending the players back out play was ultimately suspended for the day as many greens were unplayable. Players were left to complete their matches on other days and I congratulate the following winners and runners-up in the men’s matchplay: A Grade: Winner – Sam Earl Runner-up – Gus Stewart B Grade: Winner – Greg Gill Runner-up – Gary Bond C Grade: Winner – Don Cram Runner-up – Alan Paris The annual match against the Southern Pennant squad for the “Sutcliffe-Green” plate was played on Sunday 28th April at The Vines and our squad won back the Plate and bragging rights 6 ½ matches to 3 ½. Well done guys. Next year will be back at Fleurieu and it would be nice to be the first team to successfully defend and retain the Plate. Speaking of Pennants, the men’s pennant season kicked off on Sunday 12th May and unfortunately we had mixed results. Our A2’s lost to Mid North 4 matches to 3 at Fleurieu in wintry conditions but our Bonnar Cup team beat North Adelaide 5 ½ matches to 1 ½ at Glenelg. Well done guys. Pennant match play can be very much “luck of the draw” and you have to feel for Andy Manthorpe playing at the number 4 spot in our A2’s. Andy was 1 under the card through 11 holes and found himself 2 down on the match. Andy went on to lose 2/1 with his opponent still under the card for the 17 holes. Members playing in the Saturday competition would have recently completed a survey with respect to reverting back to a one tee start on Saturdays and the results and your views will be scrutinised in due course. In the meantime all members will be reminded of the “ready golf” concept in the coming weeks including various ways you can assist in speeding up play. On a lighter note we have revived the old “eagles nest” concept and until further notice one Titleist Pro V ball will be place in the “nest” for each Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday competition days, commencing 1st June 2013. The balls will accumulate until a member scores an eagle in a competition round and collect all the balls. If there are 2 or more eagles in the same round the balls will be shared. A hole-in-one will not count and the current reward for this feat will be retained.

Sam Earl Don Cram Greg Gill

JUNIOR GOLF “Because of our inability to field sufficient numbers of competitive juniors on a regular basis to provide an acceptable level of competition, our Club has taken the decision to withdraw our Team from this year’s Sharp Cup competition. You are assured that this decision was not taken lightly or easily. It was taken to ensure our present junior golfers, at this stage of their development, continue to enjoy their golfing experience and will continue to develop their skills under the on-going guidance of our professional staff. All junior members and parents have been informed.”

"Having a party? Please consider holding it at The Vines. Members do not pay a hire fee and friends introduced by a member receive a 50% discount. Talk to Matt about catering options."

MORE FROM BERNIE…

A Husband frantically calls hotel management from his hotel room, "Please come fast I'm having an argument with my wife and she says she will jump out the window of your hotel". The manager responded, "Sir that's a personal matter". Husband: "The window won't open! That's a maintenance matter!"

A man's wife asked him to go shopping for her. "Could you please go and buy one carton of milk and if they have avocados, get six." A short time later, he returned with six cartons of milk. She asked him, "Why did you buy six cartons of milk?" He replied, "They had avocados." If you're a woman, I'm sure you're going back to read it again! Men will get it the first time.

I got home from work and found the missus had left a post-it note on the fridge saying "It's no good, it's not working, I'm staying at mums for a while". I opened it, the light came on, the beer was well chilled. Who knows what she was on about?

SOCIAL NEWS…from David Jolly (Vice President, Membership & Hospitality)

Hello everyone! Here at The Vines we have something on offer for all our members, and their guests.

New Chef…

We welcome Clayton Spall to The Vines Golf Club. Clayton is working on a new menu, and I can tell you, the food is delicious! Current opening hours Wednesday to Friday Dinner 6pm-8pm, and Saturday and Sunday lunches 11.30amm-2pm. Watch this space as we develop our opening hours to be the most convenient for our members and regulars.

Come on in and try some of the new menu, and keep an eye on the Chef’s Suggestions board.

Extra tasty and great value.

Friday Nights… Our Friday Night Draw means you can WIN $275 just by being at the clubhouse when your name is called. And your guest(s) can join to be a Vines Social member for only $30, which entitles them to join the Friday night draw and receive $30 on their house credit card. Anyone can join in the fun! Make sure you are at the club for your chance to win! Draw will take place between 6.30pm and 7pm. Happy hour from 5.30pm-7pm. Weekly raffles also taking place, prizes ranging from $50 vouchers, chicken meat packs and wine.

Bingo - Wednesday-29th May… Our last Bingo was a huge hit with the main lounge room packed with lucky Bingo players. Come and enjoy something from the new menu, sit by the fire and win some money! Bring your friends and take advantage of the Bingo deals for buying your books and lucky tickets. More prizes won on the night! Book your table in advance via the Office. Never played- I will explain everything you need to know, it’s easy and fun. Promise you will get home in time for an early night for those workers or with children.

Quiz Night - Saturday 25th May… Bistro is open for meal orders between 5.30pm to 7pm. Quiz is 7pm for 7.30 start. Book both Bistro and Quiz at the Office. Tables of 8. Guests welcome. Bring your gold coins for different games throughout the night.

Queens Birthday Ambrose - Monday 10th June… The golf sheet will be in the starters office shortly. 8am shotgun start, followed by lunch. All details will be advised.

Auction Dinner - Saturday July 13th… Lock the date into your calendar. Details to be advertised shortly. Always a great night for those who attend and for the support of our club!

Membership… Great success so far with numerous new members taking up membership! Our membership base is growing, and we thank you for your ongoing support. Keep an eye out for the upcoming Come N Try golf that the Pro shop is commencing in June. Having a function? Need a venue? Remember as a member you get to hire our club room for free for any function you book. Special function packages are available, catering ranges from birthdays, engagements, weddings to baby showers, hen’s shows, social groups. To find out more enquire with Matt Chesterman, Hospitality Manager. He will ensure you have a successful event that you and your guests will enjoy! See you around the clubhouse soon. Have a suggestion or feedback? Email the office on info@vinesgolfclub.com.au or in person.

Doesn't this have a familiar ring? Especially for baby boomers.

The Things I Owe My Parents

1. My Parents taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside… I just finished cleaning." 2. My Parents taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" 3. My Parents taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about." 4. My Parents taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper" 5. My Parents taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

OOPS!!! ---- WRONG HOLE On Friday 10th May John Deere sponsored the “John Deere Team Championship” golf tournament. Metropolitan Machinery Pty Ltd, our local John Deere Golf & Turf dealer, hosted the SA Qualifying Tournament at the Mt. Osmond Golf Club. About ten clubs from around the state played a three ball ambrose competition. After each tee shot the player of the selected ball stood by as the “two duffers” played the next shot…and so on…until holed. The Vines was represented by Neil MacKenzie, Russell Virgo and Barry Dicker (a last minute substitute for Rob Millington). After last minute instructions play was underway. It was a beautiful day with stunning views in all directions; a big prize was on offer so expectation was high. Could the boys from The Vines bring home the bacon? Alas no. The home team, Mt Osmond, were the winners and will now travel to the Gold Coast to play in the Australia/NZ final the winner of which then travels to the USA for the world final. The Vines team…Match Analysis Report from a team member. Apart from not playing well enough we made one big boo boo. After just struggling to par the 10th hole we moved on to the next hole. Three excellent tee shots and we were feeling pretty good. Then it happened…we had hit off the 15th tee…the wrong tee…oops. Two of the younger members of the team raced up the fairway to collect the balls, plus two strokes, then hit off the 11th tee hoping that our daft error did not become the highlight of the after match presentation. Now let’s see!!! 11 follows 10 doesn’t it?

Wanted…reporters Do you have a story to tell? How about an article? Talk to the editor

…Barry Dicker.

Perhaps a profile of a fellow member! Subject of course to the usual

censorship.

MAGNIFICENT 3 from “The Vines” The event was the 2013 Swanbury Penglase SA Seniors PGA Championship played at the Adelaide Shores Golf Club on May 2nd & 3rd. The second round included amateurs playing with a pro in a 4BBB team score event. Leading pros and their amateur teams hit off with a 12pm shotgun start while the remainder of the field hit off at 7.15am.

Paul Andy Bernie Don The winners of the morning session event of 4 ball better ball stableford scored a magnificent 52 points. The members of that team: Bernie Lewandowski, Paul Whipp, Don Markwick and pro Andy Dakers from Sydney. A note handed to the editor: “Our pro did not score on the card for any hole.” Another note: “By the way we don’t really think Bernie contributed much either.”

All of the scoring was done by the MAGNIFICENT 3 from The Vines.

Come and join the fun and excitement of Bingo.

Next on Wednesday 29th May Come on down…Enjoy a meal at The Club before the call commences.

Meals available from 6.00 pm………………book a table. Eyes Down…7:30 pm.

Please note the change of day…now the last Wednesday of each month. Bring along some of your club mates, neighbours, relatives, friends for a fun night.

Main Club Sponsor…

Club Sponsors… Christies Beach Happy Valley

Elite Printing Studio Pty Ltd