Victorian golf ban lifted: Box Hill Golf Club members brave rain as lockdown measures lifted
As they welcomed a rush of eager players back on fairways, Box Hill Golf Club management also revealed they were considering ways to help members feeling the financial pinch.
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Box Hill Golf Club is considering ways it can support members hard hit by coronavirus lockdown measures after courses were reopened this week.
Staff started taking bookings on Monday with tee-off times soon filled up by players eager to return to the fairways.
Rain may have dampened the course but it didn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm.
More than 200 are expected tomorrow and hundreds more over the weekend.
And the club is looking into ways to financially support members who might have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with possible meal and drink offers among the initiatives being considered, club general manager Russell Donovan said.
“Our membership fees were due in the start of March, which was about 20 days before everything was cancelled,” he said.
“We’ll look at options later in the year when we know where we stand to offset non-access. We haven’t made any decisions one way or the other — it could be (a discount) on next year’s fees, or hospitality credit, for example.”
Four years of solid financial growth is likely to off-set any downturn in revenue the club will experience from the coronavirus crisis but the club’s activities beyond the fairways are also vital.
“Every business is in the same boat but we’re not just a golf course per se — we hold 350 functions a year and have a bistro,” Mr Donovan said.
Lauris Weegberg and Bernie Tinsley were two of the golfers keen to get back out for a hit despite today’s rain.
The pair met at the club at a come and try day a few years ago and have been regular playing partners for tournaments and social golfing since.
Ms Weegberg joked they had to “try on the clothes to see if they still fit”.
“Absolutely my game was a bit rusty but the rain didn’t help,” she said.
“If you can get it over the creek on the first hole, that’s an achievement at the moment,” Ms Tinsley said.
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Over at the public course in Oakleigh, manager Sandy Jamieson said demand for course bookings had virtually overwhelmed staff.
“I had to divert the phone to head office to keep up. We’re expecting huge numbers,” he said.
Mr Jamieson said memberships had been “paused” effectively putting a stop to the club’s only income source.
“But we’ve had a massive upturn in the previous six months. (Before the lockdown) business was up 60 per cent,” he said.