While the club is closed the golf course is still open.  For the course to remain open we need to be extremely vigilant and follow government regulations for social distancing and reduce the risk of infection.

The following local rules have been introduced and will remain in force until further notice.  Please adhere to these each and every time you visit the course.

Maintain social distancing at all times (1.5m)

Please follow hygiene principals, wash / sanitise properly and regularly

Leave the Flagstick in at ALL times

Don’t pick up playing partner’s clubs or ball

NO Handshakes

There are no rakes in bunkers, please smooth the sand with your feet, take a preferred lie in bunker if you are in a footprint.

Preferred Lies, in the General Area and bunkers until further notice

No Nearest the pins or pro pin

Please do not approach Course Staff at any time

Note that there will be no access to water bubblers on the Course

ONLY ONE PERSON per GOLF CART, we have relaxed the rules so that 4 carts can be used in any one group.

We strongly encourage walking if possible as it is the most hygienic way to play golf in these times – Plus it is good for you!

Score cards are to be marked by yourself and then placed into the score card door, there is no need to be countersigned by your playing partner.

Wednesday and Thursday Tee times will remain a two tee start but moving forward we will condense this into a one tee start.

Cash will still be accepted but we strongly encourage members to use the ‘Paywave’ facility or provide your member number to use your account

There is to be no congregation around entry points, please immediately vacate the area of the Clubhouse on completion of your round.

Only two people (plus staff members) are permitted in the Pro Shop at any one time, social distancing is to be maintained.

The Halfway House will be open for TAKEAWAY sales only.  Remember the 1.5m rule in this area.  Seating is not to be used, players should proceed to the next tee as soon as practical.

By following the above rules, we hope to be able to continue to provide our Golf Course to our Members and Guests.  Failure to do so will result in the closure of the Course.

The pro shop team will continue to update everyone as more information comes through. This can change at any time – please check your emails regularly.

Be safe and take care

Regards

Chris Graham

Sports Manger

Certified PGA Professional

1. All cameras on the 1^st and 10^th tees and 10^th fairway are now fully operational with monitor in the Pro shop and security screen installed on monitor at Halfway house.
2. With the continuing good rains the course is very quickly returning back to our “normal” excellent standard. The GMC has acknowledged the hard work put in by our greens staff after the long sustained dry spell.
3. Course Projects:
   1. 6^th Tee redesign completed, anticipate will be back in play by end of February 2020.
   1. Re bitumen of path between 1^st green and 2^nd tee boxes to be completed in early 2020
   1. Returf of 7^th tee completed, 3^rd  & 17^th tees to be done.
   1. Looking at the various options to reduce bank erosion around the 4^th and 5^th hole lakes.
   1. Replacement of damaged netting at the 4^th tee.
4. Reciprocal arrangements being processed for both Nambucca Heads Island and Surfers Paradise Golf Clubs.
5. A 1 month trial 9 hole completion on Friday afternoons to be started in March.
6. Men’s Golf to start a 100 Club to assist players when representing the club at other venues.
7. When new golf member join the club, the relevant SIG’s will be notified so the member can be contacted and made welcome.

Review of the Constitution of Ocean Shores Country Club

Information Session 26 February 2020 – Key Issues

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Mr Ron Browne from ClubsNSW provided the following information to Members

What is a Constitution

• Effectively a contract between the Club, the Board, and the Members; with each party agreeing to observe and perform the Constitution as rules

Why do we need to review our Constitution

• Important for Constitution to be consistent with the law
• At least six key pieces of legislation for Clubs to comply with
• Changes have occurred in legislation since the last OSCC 2017 amendment
• Also important for Constitution to reflect and support best practice
• Best practice is essentially processes and methods that are generally accepted as superior to any other alternatives because there is demonstrated evidence that it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other processes and methods undertaken

How do we review our Constitution 

• OSCC has commenced a best practice approach to the Constitution Review
• Importance of consulting, informing, educating and considering all views
• Final decision rests with the Board to decide on what and how many proposed amendments to submit to members
• As there has been changes in legislation since the 2017 amendment to the Constitution there will need to be amendments to the Constitution to cater for these legislative changes
• Obtain external legal support to finalise proposed amendments and Special Resolutions
• If the proposed amendments cover a range of different topics then the Special Resolutions should be presented in topic groupings to ensure members have genuine flexibility in their voting options noting they may agree with one topic area of change but not another topic area of change
• Ordinary Voting Members and Life Members then vote on each Special Resolution at a General Meeting

Area for discussion: Titles of Board of Directors

• There is a trend for change in titles from Chairperson to President, however there is no considered best practice of what titles to adopt
• There is no legal requirement for there to be a Treasurer position as all members of the Board have shared responsibility and duties for finances

Area for discussion: Election Cycle

• Best practice for the election cycle is considered to be three-year terms which is referred to as the Triennial Rule and in effect involves a third of the board being elected each year
• The advantages of the Triennial Rule are greater stability and continuity on the board, reduced chance of members making wholesale changes to the board, greater ability to prepare and implement strategic plans, and greater opportunity to pass on valuable knowledge between directors as an important component of succession planning
• This has now been adopted by over 40% of Clubs in NSW and fast increasing
• One third of the positions on the board are elected each year, and once a person is elected it is for three years
• The members choose the Directors at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and then the Directors who are elected chose who will undertake the various roles such as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson.  Given the OSCC Constitution makes specific provision for the election to positions on the Board of Golf Director and Bowls Director this would need to be considered
• To implement such a change at OSCC there would need to be a transition process.   There are a lot of examples from other clubs on how they have successfully transitioned
• There is also the option of biennial elections where the whole board is elected every second year for two-year terms of office

Area for discussion: Board Tenure and Board Diversity

• There does not appear to be any established best practice for including in Constitutions a maximum period a member can be on the Board
• The focus should be on ensuring the Board establishes diversity, is representative of both the membership and the local community, and has a pipeline of potential future directors to support succession planning

Area for discussion: Voting Options

• Postal and / or pre-poll voting is worthwhile to consider to facilitate the participation of members who cannot attend the AGM
• Proxy votes are not permitted under legislation
• To undertake electronic voting it could be challenging and potentially costly, with the need for discussions with the Australia Electoral Commission
• Some Clubs are facing serious challenges due to a range of external pressures which includes reduction in gaming revenues, changes to smoking regulations and reduction in core member numbers.   The changes to core member numbers means that in some clubs there are significantly more social members in the club than there are core members (such as bowlers and golfers) and consequently there is pressure for social members to be given full voting privileges and in some clubs the ability to be elected to the board 

Information Session details:

• There were 55 participants (22 women and 33 men) in attendance
• The session commenced at 1703 and concluded at 1814
• The presenter (Ron Browne) then undertook informal discussions with various members (both in groups and with individuals) responding to their questions.