Dear Member,
BGC Members update on Golf Course upkeep and re-opening plans.
Although we are only partway through this 4-week lockdown, we are very much looking forward to welcoming you back on the 2nd December, when we hope to raise some pre-Christmas spirit by returning you to a fully decked out clubhouse with lots of sparkles and hopefully the Santa’s Scramble to look forward to.
In the meantime, we can assure you that work is still progressing on the golf course and all our full-time greenkeeping staff are still working their normal hours to ensure that the golf course is “Golf Ready”, especially as leaf collection and disease management at this time of year, are crucial to be kept on top of.
One of the real challenging decisions we are now faced with is what should we do with those Silver and Gold Members who have made payments for November, which includes those paying by monthly Direct Debits and of course those who have pre-paid annually up-front. To help us to be as informed in our decision making, we have considered what other clubs applied in the previous lockdown and what process they are applying this time around. We have now formulated what we believe is a fair compromise, considering our ongoing maintenance costs and the associated benefits of membership.
Those fully paid up Gold and Silver members (Including those with up to date monthly payments) will very shortly have 50% of their November’s fees credited back to their Members Card which when we re-open they will then be able to use in the Clubhouse, Range, or put towards Buggy Hire
Members who pay their monthly fees by direct debit (whose bank details we hold on file) may alternatively prefer to request a transfer of funds back into their bank account. If this is your preferred option, then please confirm as soon as possible, before the crediting process begins.
All things considered, we still recognise that this action may not appear to be as generous as in the previous lockdown and we certainly do not want to lose any goodwill that has been created, but we do hope that you appreciate that we are attempting to achieve a fair balance that works across the board.
In appreciation of the support from our members, the member’s discount applied on members card will also be increased from 10% to 15% for the remainder of the year.
Looking forward, we have pencilled in re-opening the tee time booking sheet on Thursday 26th November when members will be able to book for the full 18 days in advance albeit from our opening date of 2nd of December. Please note that although the golf centre is due to re-open on Wednesday 2nd, staff will be on duty on the 1st December to receive your tee time and buggy bookings by telephone.
Before the tee time sheet re-opens, we hope to have received confirmation from the Governing Bodies of any tee time or format restrictions that may be imposed on us which would require us making last-minute adjustments. Like many course operators we are also aware that with reduced daylight hours available, we need to be conscious of how to keep all of our members happy, even though it’s a month where historically golf’s utilisation rates are fairly low. Bearing all this in mind and tee times being under a great deal of pressure we are considering, as other course operators, introducing two loops of 9 and a fair use policy. This way we would be able to guarantee players nine holes or two hours of exercise. We will decide on this and update you nearer the time after we have consulted with the Members Management Committee and received updates from our Governing Bodies.
We are pleased to inform you that upon your return the course will initially be reserved exclusively for members and we have decided to cancel all pre-booked Society/Guest/Visitor bookings. Please note that the Guest booking feature will also be disabled in the BRS booking system.
We must emphasise that we will be managing the audit of member’s Direct Debit / Annual payments quite stringently to ensure that only those who are currently up to date with payments will be able to access the tee time booking system the moment it goes live. Members’ who feel that they may be behind with payments or have any doubt with regards to the status of their Membership should contact us without delay.
The Golf Centre is grateful to our members for their continued support in paying their fees through days of closure whether it be through inclement weather or during these unfortunate times that we are currently experiencing. We are thankful to those who have already been in contact and once again generously offered us support. We appreciate that these are hard times, and some members will face difficulties which may require having to consider other options regarding Membership. We will continue to try our best to support our members.
Should you wish to discuss your membership, then we ask you to please contact us before the crediting process begins later in the month, direct all queries to Mark Laing on email mark@bromsgrovegolfcentre.com or Tel 07968 827 397 where your call will be dealt with in confidence.
In the meantime, we hope that our members feel that we are continuing to “Do the Right Thing” and trust that you and your families are keeping safe and well and we look forward to welcoming you back very shortly.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or queries about your membership or account status, enquiries@bromsgrovegolfcentre.com. or mark@bromsgrovegolfcentre.com
Yours sincerely,
BGC