Manager's Message
Marcus Niles

Xmas/New Years Break
The silly season is upon us, so its time to spend some time with family and friends and enjoy our kiwi summer.  The regular golf competitions and our awesome volunteers will take a well-earned break next week, and return on the week of 8 January. 

Practice Fairway
As this fairway gets busier, a quick reminder about the rules and etiquette.  See below some guidelines.  A new sign will go up next year so its clear for everyone, but in the meantime, please use your common sense.  Also – if you buy the Christmas cookie buckets we would gladly take donations of the empty bucket for our range balls.

• Please be mindful of golfers on adjacent holes.  Please do not hit while golfers are within your range.
• Do not collect hired balls.
• Hitting of your own balls is only permitted during non-peak hours, or when the fairway is not busy.  If you hit your own balls, please collect them.  Do not collect balls while someone else is hitting.
• Please hit from the allocated bays.  When there are others using the fairway, please do not proceed beyond the front of the hitting bays.
• Hitting balls back towards the clubhouse is prohibited
• Do not hit while staff are collecting balls

Basic Rules Course
Please see attached a flyer for a course to help get you more familiar with the rules of golf.

Health & Safety
If you have an ‘incident’ on the course, please report it to the office.  Any injuries, ball strike, or accidents should be reported so we can track them and take any appropriate action. 

Have a happy, safe and relaxing break people, and be nice to each other.

Captains Corner
Daryl Muir

A Merry Christmas to everyone.  I am sure you are all looking forward to a relaxed Christmas with family and friends.

A special thanks to Nathan, Shane and Mike for all their hard work and also Colin, KD and his team of volunteers on the course.  I am sure you will all agree that the course is in stunning condition with, I believe, the best yet to come.  Also a great thanks to all of the Clubhouse team, both admin and catering, for their efforts.

The Christmas Tournament went well with 170 plus entries and over 100 prizes across 6 divisions, everyone enjoyed the day.

We have the New Years Eve event on the 31st December, there are 144 tee times for 72 teams for a 10am shotgun start.  A fun format will be played with instructions on the day.  Book and pay at the office, $25 per head.

We also have an Elvis night booked for the 24^th February at the clubhouse.  This will be presented by Trevor J Needham, a highly regarded Elvis act along with Jannine and Suzie, his support singers.

I will be providing more information for this early January so keep your eyes peeled.  Should be a great night.

Finally thank you to everyone for the support in my new role.  It is great to see so many people with the interests of the club at heart.

Merry Christmas.

Vets Vibes
Scott Gwynne

Captains ‘Grumbles’

Tis the season to be jolly so no grumbles this week.  However, a special mention of Terry and Mick for setting out the cross-country course for Wednesday just gone.  Thanks again guys.

Dates to keep in mind

In last week’s issue I advised the wrong date for Opening Day, January2024.  We take a break now for a couple of weeks and our Opening Day is on the 10^th of January and will be a Stableford day with a small variation. 

Results

Well done to the winners of the Cross-Country Stableford Competition.   Scoring was outstanding in both divisions and well-done John Herder for his longest putt on the final green.  Had I known earlier we may have dished out a couple of novelty prizes to Gus and Steve W.  I am told that they both got up close and personal with the ladies’ loo between the 13^th and 17^th tees.  I believe that Gus’ shot rattled around the room before quickly returning to green grass but Steve on the other hand – did you take relief according to the rules!?

New Members

Welcome to our new members. If you are a new member of our Golf Club reading this newsletter – Welcome. If you want to play Vet’s Golf and haven’t done so yet, or you want to receive the occasional email I send to Vet’s players about upcoming events and the like, give me a call or text me on 02102242799 or email Scott at scott.j.gwynne@gmail.com

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS, A HAPPY NEW YEAR.  STAY SAFE, DRIVE SAFE AND TAKE CARE OUT THERE.

President's Message
John 'Swampy' Marsh

Very sad news, our lovely Maree Lawson has passed away. Maree will be remembered for her bubbly personality and smile. Our sincere sympathy to Maree’s family.

A big thank you to Jacquie and David Ashton for all their hard work on the gardens.  The course is looking great.

If anyone has any native trees seedlings or partly grown Rimu or Kahikatea-Totara, please let Swampy know.

The contouring is nearly complete on the 15^th-16^th. KD has done a marvellous job. Very professional.

As the end of 2023 approaches, I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, travel safe, and see you in the New Year.

Much love – Swampy.

Board News
Ken Shirley 
Chairman

Our Course
As the 2023 calendar year closes we can all reflect on the abnormally prolonged wet period that characterised the past year and be very grateful that our course has responded so well as the water tables subsided.  It has been a very challenging time for all, especially our green-keeping staff but they, together with the dedicated team of volunteers, have worked hard to not only maintain the course, but continue the enhancement programmes.
Some significant drainage works have been undertaken and further works are planned.  The arterial drain down number 5 is functioning much better.  Good progress has been made with the extension of the concrete cart paths, notably on numbers 2 and 13, with number 7 being the next priority. 
Some will have noticed the course recontouring, particularly between 15 and 16.  We are fortunate to have had substantial volumes of topsoil delivered and spread at no cost as it has been a convenient and cost-effective option for local property developers.   There is a window of opportunity that we must seize as our basic problem is the low elevation relative to sea level.  In short, much of our golf course is located on what was a low-lying coastal swamp.

New tee signs have been erected throughout the course.
Clubhouse Renovation
We are working towards concept plans that will significantly improve our clubhouse facilities, delivering a more efficient and modern appearance.  We are confronted with some serious problems with the existing building, including the urgent need to replace the entire roof.  We are aiming to have these concept plans available for the consideration of members at the 2024 AGM, scheduled for next June.

Board Membership
Since circulating our last Board report we have appointed Rob Mitford-Burgess as an Alternate Member of the Board pursuant to Clause 9c of our rules.  With 6 Board members and a quorum number of 4, we had often been stretched through illness and travel.  Rob’s return to the Board is most welcome and his experience and skills are of great assistance.

Greens Mower
An order has been placed for a new electric Toro greens mower.  The old greens mower was scheduled for replacement in this financial year and we have opted for an electric replacement, following receipt of a $55,000 TECT grant.  The total cost will be some $115,000 and the difference is covered by budgeted funds.  We would not have received TECT funding for a conventionally powered machine.  The old mower will now drop down to mowing tees, green surrounds and approaches.

Catering Services
Our caterer Brittany has advised that she does not wish to renew her contract with the club and will cease the provision of services in early March.  We are now actively looking at options to ensure that members continue to enjoy a quality catering service.  We extend our very best wishes to Brittany and gratitude of the wonderful service she and her staff have provided.

Special General Meeting
As we did not set the subscriptions for the 2024/2025 financial year beginning 1 April, at the last A.G.M. we propose an S.G.M. on 15^th February 2024 to undertake this task.  A formal notice of meeting and proposed subscriptions for each membership class will be circulated in advance of this meeting.

We extend our very best wishes to the membership for an enjoyable and safe festive season.  We also express our deepest gratitude to the many volunteers who contribute so much and help maintain the friendly and vibrant atmosphere of our club.