2019/2020 GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT

Dear Member,

It has been an interesting year for Shelly Beach Golf Club. The first 8 months of the year we were enjoying our Golf, Live Music and spending time at the Club and then came the Covid 19 virus and subsequent lock down and restrictions. The Club was trading very well up until the end of February and when the media went into overdrive in March it was visibly noticeable the downturn in patronage and then we had to close the Clubhouse on the 23^rd of March. It was a distressing time for our staff as the uncertainty of the lock down became a reality. Thankfully we had the Jobkeeper payments to support our people whilst we were unable to trade. Through discussion and planning with the Golf Club Board we carefully operated the business by minimising any unnecessary costs as there was uncertainty as to what trade would be like when we were able to re-open. The golf course has never been busier and the Greenkeeping Team kept the course in excellent condition given that staffing levels were reduced. The Pro Shop Team operated under difficult circumstances with limits on people in the shop, changes to way scorecards were done and the countless questions and queries from us all as to what we were allowed to do and not allowed to do.

Our Head Chef Melissa Dixon who had only recently joined the Club in January faced the challenge head on and we launched AQUA at home. This proved to be extremely popular and within a few weeks we were delivering hundreds of meals to Members on a Friday with excellent feedback from the customers. There were a number of Members requesting this continue when we reopened which was very humbling for the team. Thank you to those Members who supported this program. It made a huge difference and kept some of our Kitchen team working through lock down.

Membership received a welcome boost as there was a large number of Members returning to the Club as well as some new faces. As all other sports suffered, Golf and Surfing went through a mini boom and the golfing industry rejoiced. We kept in contact with our staff through frequent emails and it was a great day when we could start making calls to them to get them returning to work. The Club reopened in a limited capacity on June the 1^st and we were back to full swing some days later. We were very conservative with our budget this year and I can report we have exceeded expectations considerably.

I am pleased to report amongst all the chaos the Club has made a profit of $763,315 and at the time of writing this report we are off to an excellent start for this financial year with a trading profit of $600,000 at the end of September. I am confident we will see a busy summer season whilst travel continues to be limited and am cautiously optimistic for the later part of the year.

During the winter months we completed the drainage work, that we received a grant for, on holes 1,2,3 and 18 and invested some club funds in new irrigation on the holes. The results have been excellent and we are talking at Board level about possible further investment in some additional drainage with the aim to improve course condition and cart access. The architecturally designed balcony that was part of our strategic plan, started in August and is due for completion at the end of November, weather permitting. Just in time to enjoy for summer. The bottom bar renovation is being discussed and we hope to receive a cost estimate soon to decide how and when to proceed.

In closing I would like to thank our staff for their patience and efforts during a year that no one could have predicted. A special mention to those staff who were here during the closure who were multi-tasking and working well to support our Club in an effort to minimise any disruption. Thank you to the Board. There were many decisions to be made that were out of the norm and lastly a big thank you to our members who supported the Club through their patronage and continued membership.

Scott Armstrong
GENERAL MANAGER