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  1. #1
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    Default Helensvale Golf Club

    http://www.helensvalegolf.com.au/
    https://www.facebook.com/HelensvaleGolfClub

    Wandilla Drive, Helensvale, Gold Coast
    Map Location
    Par 70 (ACR 6 5499m

    Albeit a short course, lots of doglegs & water, small greens that can often be very fast and deceptive. Many would claim that it is relatively easy but does not always play that way. There are 3-4 quite difficult holes to make up for the easy ones. My favourite is the 380m 18th usually played into the wind, with water left and right off the tee, and water covering the front and right of the green that cuts right into the putting surface. When the flag is centre or right it is as hard a hole as any.

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  2. #2
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    A serious issue that the club is facing right now is flooding which is increasing exponentially over the last few years. At the moment it takes 1 inch of rain to put our 1st hole under water. Obviously weather we are having is affecting everyone but moreso here. Looking at the overhead pic, the stormwater from the whole suburb of Helensvale drains into the golf course, then is channelled north into the swamp, and then east into Coombabah lake. That in itself is the natural waterflow of the area. However since the railway line was built which you can see running through the swap, there was a couple of service roads constructed that were supposed to be removed. Over time this has acted as a dam that is blocking the waterflow, the swamp is becoming filled with debris making it worse. So our golf course doesnt flood or have bad drainage as such, but we get back flooded from the swamp.

    We have been battling with the council, govt and Qld rail for some time over this. The background is the Council owns the golf course land, The state owns the swamp, but council has responsibility, and of course the EPA has everyone scared as usual. At various meetings over the years Qld Rail has never shown up nor indicated any interest on their part, and the previous state and local govts offered no support (in fact quite the opposite). The good news is that the new Mayor and local councillor are behind us now to find a solution, but it is still not as simple as getting a backhoe in there to clear out a trench - although thats all it will take. Looking at a 2-5 years I guess before this is sorted out completely.

    http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...ast-sport.html
    http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...-business.html
    Last edited by markTHEblake; 25th April 2013 at 09:41 AM.
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  3. #3
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    And the final chapter in the current issues facing the club today. Whilst the Council owns the golf course land, leased to the club at peppercorn rate, The club owns the clubhouse land freehold, and has run up some debt largely attributed to the income losses from the aforementioned flooding. The club has offered to sell the freehold land to Council for $750k, and will leaseback at the usual sporting clubs rate, which I understand is a tiny percentage of bar turnover, just the same as cricket/surf clubs. The club will remain responsible for maintaining improvements on the land. The advantage to the council in the deal is that the club continues to maintain their open space, which would cost about 300k pa if the club abandoned the golf course and remained trading as a local bar/restaurant/pokies, and the council has control over the whole precinct rather than a commercial developer. This deal secures the medium term future for the club over the next 4-5 years. What happens after that is dependent on lots of other factors, like the economy, weather, and the flood mitigation works required. Much the same as any other golf club.

    The alternative for the club would have been to sell the land on commercial basis for about 1.5M but we would not have been able to afford the rent, so that would mean cashing out and merging with another club, and obviously we did not want to do that.

    On Tuesday the council finance committee voted to accept the proposal (on better terms than we asked for) and has to be approved by the Full Council meeting on 30 April and we believe that we have their support. Contrary to the idiotic public protests evidenced by the comments to the recent newspaper articles that ignore the basic facts. Especially comments by "independent operators" of other golf courses.

    Yesterday.
    http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/04/24/450814_gold-coast-news.html


    Older
    http://www.golfindustrycentral.com.a...ear-debt-10289
    Last edited by markTHEblake; 25th April 2013 at 09:45 AM.
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  4. #4
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    Yesterday a full sitting of the council voted in favour of purchasing the Clubhouse land - for 750k.

    As usual the newspaper made a huge effort to write a positive article [sarcasm]
    http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...oast-news.html
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  5. #5
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    My cousin used to live in edgworth place overlooking the course.. Ive been there after heavy rains and it is a swamp...Ive played there a few times and really liked it..nice layout and just a fun suburban course to play.."With luck we can turn this club around but in the event this does not occur we will have more options for the site than we currently do," he said"We could release the club and its course to another party or look at it as a future sporting ground."

    Jeez they sound very positive its going to stay a golf course . shame really...hope it does turn around..Helensvale has a decent enough population to support a golf course i would have thought.

  6. #6
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    While I hope Helensvale surives after the land is sold, I do think they have a very tough market to operate in. Within 20ks there are about 10 other courses, many are offering similar cost membership in an effort to get new members. The Gold Coast only has so many golfers with currently more courses than are needed.
    If the drainage can be sorted without major costs to the club and we get some good weather hopefully the number of rounds played will increase and the menbership will improve.

  7. #7
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    I must say it does appear to me that golf courses run by the much hated GC Golf Management are financially stable.

  8. #8
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    Yes I agree DD as I think they offer what was once very good courses at a beer budget price. I know the condition on some of their courses may not be what it once was but for someone looking to keep their costs down they offer a good package. this is a problem that a members course like Helenvale must learn to deal with or they won't last

  9. #9
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    Well this could be fun...

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by sol381 View Post
    "With luck we can turn this club around but in the event this does not occur we will have more options for the site than we currently do," he said"We could release the club and its course to another party or look at it as a future sporting ground." Jeez they sound very positive its going to stay a golf course . shame really...hope it does turn around..
    William Owen-Jones who said that is the clubs local councillor. He was just selling his proposal to the other councillors (and public), it has nothing to do with a pesssimistic outlook at all so nothing to be concerned about there. From the sounds of it the councillors against were quite vocal about it. The council has not published the minutes yet and I wont know the details until our next E.G.M, but the sale obviously does have other aspects not mentioned, including a new lease on the clubhouse land, an extension of the lease of the golf course, and a bunch of other things that secure the interests of both parties.

    Quote Originally Posted by Looney View Post
    If the drainage can be sorted without major costs to the club and we get some good weather hopefully the number of rounds played will increase and the menbership will improve.
    There will be no cost to the club, the drainage issue is on the adjacent state govt property. It looks like the council is going to fork out some dough to do some temporary works on the course to alleviate the damage while beaurocracy takes it course. This process started almost a year ago and they have engaged someone to do some sort of feasibility study.

    Quote Originally Posted by Double D View Post
    I must say it does appear to me that golf courses run by the much hated GC Golf Management are financially stable.
    Of course if they were not, you would never really know. But think about it, they have taken over other golf courses, they have never had to build one. So really they dont have to put up is much capital as building or buying a course. However the truth is that they are doing it just as tough as anyone, and I cant name my sources or say exactly what I know otherwise they would kill me, and then I wouldnt get any more gossip! They *have to* run the course at a profit, an Not for Profit club does not.
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  11. #11
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    [QUOTE=markTHEblake;963358] Of course if they were not, you would never really know. But think about it, they have taken over other golf courses, they have never had to build one. So really they dont have to put up is much capital as building or buying a course. However the truth is that they are doing it just as tough as anyone, and I cant name my sources or say exactly what I know otherwise they would kill me, and then I wouldnt get any more gossip! They *have to* run the course at a profit, an Not for Profit club does not.[/QUOTE

    Everyone has struggled so far this year with the weather but I can tell you without a doubt that they are doing fine despite the weather. When it is dry they are flying, but I do understand your point about them taking over courses not starting from the ground up.

  12. #12
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    Have only ever played 9 holes here , I should really make the effort and play it one day soon , I remember the 1st hole being very intimidating with the approach shot.

  13. #13
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    Just quietly on the last day of the year, the council handed over a whole bunch of money in exchange for the Title on 1ha of land. The club is now debt free.
    To the GM of a northern GC golf course who did his best to sabotage the deal in numerous ways "He who laughs last, laughs longest!"

    Our Councilor said in his most recent newsletter.

    Helensvale Golf Club

    In the heart of Helensvale lies the Council-owned 45 hectare 18 hole golf course. During last year’s local government elections, I made a commitment to the Helensvale community that I would help the not-for-profit Helensvale Golf Club with three things:
    • work with them to provide a long term tenure and security
    • work with them to fix the drainage issues impacting them
    • seek an extension of the Council lease over the golf course out past 2019.
    Recently, Council accepted an offer from the Helensvale Golf Club to purchase the Club’s freehold clubhouse and carpark (one hectare). The club will be using the $750,000 in proceeds to repay creditors and loans.
    Council has arranged for an independent advisory group to work with the club to improve its operations. This group includes a national law firm partner, a local auditor, and the former CEO of The Southport Sharks.
    The next stage of the club’s future will involve the improvement of its playing numbers and trading position.
    Over the coming years, Council
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  14. #14
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    Golflink website has a couple of really good deals going at Helensvale Golf Club at the moment.
    $12 for 18 holes including a beer or soft drink afterwards.
    $39 for 2 players in a cart including a drink each afterwards.

  15. #15
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    That's been the deal for a while, but green renovation is tomorrow
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  16. #16
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    HGC tonight voted to merge the club into a new NFP entity, under control of a group called Jatcom.

    Jatcom run a network of Community service NFP's including RTO's.
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  17. #17
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    Is there a comp on tomorrow as I would like to play if possible?

  18. #18
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    Yes. 4bbb though. There is a spot at 10.47
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  19. #19
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    Cheers but 4BBB would mean that I would have to be social.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by markTHEblake View Post
    HGC tonight voted to merge the club into a new NFP entity, under control of a group called Jatcom.

    Jatcom run a network of Community service NFP's including RTO's.
    First off, I enjoyed this read about how the GC is going, its a good insight.

    What does this mean exactly with the merging into not for profit status with Jatcom in control? What control has the board lost if any? How does that work?

    I tried to find some info on Jatcom and came up a bit short so any link would be good.

    We are about to have the monthly Management Committee meeting and a proposition is down to upgrade out Match Software. As much as I want to do this, the cost could be spent upgrading our 3rd world conditions for our Grounds Staff. I have been trying to research golf club models and "management" groups but its not easy to get that info.

    I tried getting grants from places like Lotterywest but, even though we have NFP status, we are deemed as "Commercial" in their eyes and getting cash is a nightmare.

    More curious here, as again, was interested in the read.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slothman View Post
    What does this mean exactly with the merging into not for profit status with Jatcom in control?
    A NFP organisation cant be sold. It can only be merged/dissolved into another 'similar' organisation. The new NFP that will be called HGC will not be run by the members. When you look at their website below, you might get a better idea.

    What control has the board lost if any? How does that work?
    The existing club will be dissolved, there will be no more board. It is quite an unorthodox proposal, but interesting that a organisation like this wanted a golf club in its group. It is really a one in a million shot, given that they are a local mob. The members have unanimously supported it. We could have battled on for many more years but we will by unlikely to fund any improvements.

    I tried to find some info on Jatcom and came up a bit short so any link would be good.
    http://www.jigsawgroup.org.au
    I have been trying to research golf club models and "management" groups but its not easy to get that info.
    Contact Golf Industry Central that is what they do (give information/advice)


    I tried getting grants from places like Lotterywest but, even though we have NFP status, we are deemed as "Commercial" in their eyes and getting cash is a nightmare.
    That shouldnt stop you, but your State Golf association should be able to give you advice on how to go about getting Grants. Golf Queensland does this.
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  22. #22
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    p.s. Helensvale Netball club is joining us, they will have practice courts in the car park, and use our clubhouse.
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    That is rather interesting. I will follow how this progresses.

    That link is what I found but didn't think it was the right area, but after that explanation, it was.

    Not sure on how I feel about the whole thing, as in if it was applied locally, however I do understand why it was voted in by members or at least possible reasons. Need to get more info but that is rather interesting.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by markTHEblake View Post
    p.s. Helensvale Netball club is joining us, they will have practice courts in the car park, and use our clubhouse.
    Youll fit rigjt in.

  25. #25
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    This merger has been moving along. The club is now managed corporately and financially by the new 'entity' for about a month now, however the existing club entity still runs as various issues are yet to be finalised up, licence, contract transfers etc. Might sound confusing, but we turn up every saturday and the greens are mowed and the beer is cold.
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