Golf club committee confident of turn-around

“WE are confident we will be able to turn this situation around,” is the bold statement by the Bluff National Park Golf Club committee, about the financial situation the club faces.

Social media reports have lambasted the committee members and residents have made claims that proposals to save the club have fallen on deaf ears.

This is not the case, according to committee member, Alan Barnard, who designed the golf course in 1984. “The proposals we have received have gone through strict scrutinisation. We have to ensure whatever we take to the municipality, from whom we lease the land, is sound and of great potential for the long term,” said Barnard.

A local developer put forward a proposal to make a temporary loan to the club to cover all of its debt. This loan would have to be paid back to him after 10 years. Also included in this proposal is the formation of a company ‘Newco’ which would manage the club, golf course and all other assets.

Other residents, speaking out on local social media platforms claim they have submitted suggestions to the club in the form of a bicycle track and other possible uses for the land.

“These options are not viable solutions to the problem at hand,” said Barnard. “In terms of the ideas submitted by community members, we are looking into other uses for the land that will allow more people to participate in activities here. They are not, however, concrete solutions with the necessary backing. The proposal by the developer too is not a viable option. We are not in a position to accept what amounts to a temporary loan and we, as the lessee of the land, can’t hand over ownership to another entity,” said Barnard.

“What we need is more feet through the course. Generating money through donations will help in the short term, but we need to attract more people to come here regularly. The course is in a good state and offers so much to golfers. We believe in it so much that we are offering a free round of golf on 1 January to the first 240 players. Come see what we have on offer. We are also looking for a business partner to sublease the land from us. Anyone with a strong presentation and offer should contact us so we can get things going,” said club captain, Monay Pretorius.

Anyone willing to send a sound proposal to the club should email Alan Barnard on alpal@saol.com or phone 083-306-7770.

The committee and club members are being pro-active, according to Barnard. “Through the members alone, we have raised R160,000. But we want more people to want to come here and we are looking at other options for the land, other than golf. We have had positive meetings with the municipality and have had great assistance from them and ward councillor, Duncan Du Bois. We are also looking at bringing development golf here and we are in talks with a golfing foundation in this regard,” said Barnard.

“Community members can also assist us by volunteering their services or wares. Plumbing, people who do machinery maintenance, fuel providers and so on – call us, we would be grateful for your help,” said Pretorius.

“We are confident we will save this land, because, as Du Bois has said, failure is not an option. This is the Bluff’s greatest asset – it is to the Bluff what Central Park is to New York – and without it, property values will decrease drastically and who knows what will become of this green lung valley?” asked Barnard.