Hello fellow members,

I am writing this update following the recent member trip to Japan, where I was fortunate to spend time with a wonderful group of National members on a Club golf trip. A disparate group of members joined the trip and have, after seven days, established firm friendships. Great golf courses in an exotic land are always enjoyable, but the conversations, shared experiences and friendships formed through the Club are every bit as important.

There is a lot happening across The National at the moment, and many of the items below are connected by a common theme: protecting and improving the member experience. That includes how we use the courses, how we look after them, how we manage tee times and how we continue to strengthen the Club for the future.

I wanted to provide an update on several of these matters and share some of the thinking behind them.

Long Island Update

It has been wonderful to see Long Island back in play and to hear the overwhelmingly positive feedback from members following the reopening.

Members are clearly enjoying the strategy, variety and presentation of the course, and it has been terrific to see the energy and interest the reopening has created across the Club.

As expected after a project of this scale, Long Island has also generated plenty of discussion. We are aware of common themes in the feedback, including comments around the Silver tees, guest access, available tee times, the ability to book in groups of four and other matters that affect how members experience the course.

The Club is taking this feedback seriously. At the same time, we need to be careful not to rush decisions before we have had enough time to properly assess how the course is playing under regular member use.

Further communication will be shared with members in the coming weeks, outlining an indicative plan that considers these key areas and responds to the feedback received so far.

I ask members to remain patient as this work continues. Long Island is an important part of our future, and we want to make sure any changes are thoughtful, practical and in the best interests of the broader membership.

Pace of Play

Pace of play continues to be one of the most important parts of the member experience.

I know this topic can sometimes divide opinion, but good pace makes golf more enjoyable for everyone. It reduces frustration, helps the day flow properly and shows respect for the members playing behind you.

The Club has completed a significant amount of data analysis across our courses to establish pace of play expectations that are fair, realistic and appropriate for each course. The times suggested are for groups of four walking the course and, as expected, the data clearly shows that trying to force a similar playing time across our courses is simply not practicable. For instance, the additional walking from green to tee and the steep topography on The Old Course adds around 15 minutes per round alone.

The expected pace of play times for a Stableford round are:

• Gunnamatta: 4 hours 10 minutes
• Moonah: 4 hours 15 minutes
• The Old: 4 hours 25 minutes
• Long Island: 4 hours

The Long Island pace of play time will continue to be reviewed following the reopening, as we gather more data and better understand how the course is playing under regular member use.

The key expectation remains simple. Your group must keep up with the group in front. If you fall behind, please make every effort to regain your position as soon as possible.

Our course marshalls have the full support of management and the Committee to help enforce these new standards. This may include asking groups that have fallen behind to pick up and move to the next hole, where required.

This is not about rushing. It is about maintaining a steady, considerate pace that allows all members to enjoy their round.

Practice Area Update

From 1 July we will introduce a small change to the way members use the short game practice area between the Moonah and Gunnamatta courses, in line with the approach already in place at Long Island.

Members using this short game area will be asked to use their own golf balls, with a maximum of six balls per person.

This approach has worked well at Long Island. It creates a cleaner, more purposeful practice environment, reduces congestion and helps keep these areas presented in a way that better reflects the standards we all expect at The National.

The change also gives us the opportunity to open the Gunnamatta 19th green as an additional short game practice area. This will provide members with more space, more variety and the chance to practise a broader range of shots from conditions that more closely reflect what we experience on course.

Range balls will continue to be available for use in the short game area located around the practice range.

As with all practice areas, I ask members to repair pitch marks, fill divots where required and leave the area in the condition you would expect to find it.

Member Photos

One of the things I have enjoyed most since becoming Captain has been meeting so many wonderful members around the Club. I am doing my best to learn names and faces, but with a membership of our size, I will admit that I still have much work to do.

That is one of the reasons we are asking all members to ensure they have a current profile photo uploaded to their member account.

A simple profile photo helps staff and fellow members recognise one another more easily. It also supports the Club with member identification, account enquiries, competition administration and member services. Sadly, we have also had incidents where members bring guests to the course and claim these guests are in fact members. This is not OK, and everyone having their photos in their member profile will enable staff to correctly identify all legitimate members and hopefully end an egregious practice that is effectively stealing from the Club. Further, we often have non-members simply turning up to use our practice facilities. Again, this is not OK.

We are asking members who have not yet uploaded a profile photo to do so by Friday 10 July.

Updating your profile photo is simple through the member website or app. Alternatively, members can visit Reception from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, or speak with the Pro Shop team, and our staff can assist.

24 Hour Rule

From Wednesday 1 July, the Club will introduce a 24 Hour Rule for member and guest access to available tee times.

Some members may recall that the Club previously had a similar arrangement in place, known at the time as the 48 Hour Rule. The principle is the same, but the window will now be reduced to 24 hours.

Under this arrangement, any tee times that remain unreserved will become available for members and their guests from 9am the day prior, with the exception of Saturday mornings and member-only events. Note that this only applies to the courses at Cape Schanck whilst the Long Island Course remains in preview play for members only.

This gives members greater flexibility to make use of available space, while still protecting the normal booking access and priority periods that apply across the Club.

It is important that this change is used in the spirit intended. Members must not use blockers, or other members’ names, to reserve a place on a member-only course with the intention of later adding a guest once the 24-hour window opens.

Golf Operations will carefully monitor booking activity, and members who misuse the system with the use of blockers and late withdrawals to allow guest access may face consequences under the Club’s booking and disciplinary processes.

No-Show and Late Cancellation Policy

The Club has recently updated its No-Show and Late Cancellation Policy.

Late cancellations and no-shows can prevent another member from using an available tee time.

Under the updated policy, a no-show occurs when a member is listed on a timesheet but does not attend. A late cancellation occurs when a member removes their name with less than one hour’s notice before their scheduled tee time.

Members who need to cancel within one hour of their tee time should contact Golf Operations directly, so the team can manage the timesheet and, where possible, make the time available to another member.

The updated policy will apply within a rolling two-year period and will be managed as follows:

• First breach: the member will be asked to provide an explanation.
• Second breach: the member will receive a one-week booking suspension.
• Third breach: the member will receive a two-week booking suspension.
• Fourth breach: the member will receive an automatic one-month booking suspension.
• Subsequent breaches: any further breaches will be referred to the Disciplinary Sub-Committee for review.

Golf Leadership Update

I am pleased to share that Jodi Micari has been appointed Vice-Captain of The National Golf Club.

Many members will know Jodi through her contribution as Women’s Golf Coordinator, a role she has carried out with great care, energy and commitment. Jodi has been a strong advocate for women’s golf, member engagement and the ongoing improvement of the golf experience across the Club.

I am delighted to have Jodi working alongside me as Vice-Captain. She brings a thoughtful, practical and member-focused approach. In short, she is a jet. I know she will make an important contribution in this role.

With Jodi stepping into the Vice-Captain position, Fiona Johnson has been appointed as Women’s Golf Coordinator.

Fiona is well known to many members and brings strong experience, enthusiasm and a genuine passion for supporting women’s golf at The National. I look forward to working with Fiona as we continue to build participation, connection and opportunity across our women’s golf program.

I would like to thank both Jodi and Fiona for their willingness to take on these important roles.

Women’s Booking Access

The General Committee has endorsed a small change to the booking process for the existing designated Women’s Only tee times on Wednesdays and Fridays, commencing from Wednesday 8 July.

Under this change, women members will have dedicated booking access to these times 25 hours before the general timesheet opens. Any unreserved times will then be released to the wider membership at the standard opening time.

This does not increase the number of designated Women’s Only tee times. It simply makes the booking process clearer and easier for members.

Reciprocal and Affiliate Update

We continue to build our reciprocal and affiliate network in a considered way, with a focus on clubs that provide genuine value for members when travelling interstate or overseas.

I’m pleased to share that Mount Lawley Golf Club in Perth and Country Club Johannesburg have recently been added to our affiliate network.

Mount Lawley is another strong addition to our Perth offering, alongside Cottesloe Golf Club and Lake Karrinyup Country Club, particularly following its highly regarded OCM redesign and recent rise to number 38 in the Australian Golf Digest Top 100 rankings.

Country Club Johannesburg also provides members with access to a substantial club environment across its Woodmead and Auckland Park sites, including two championship golf courses at Woodmead and a broad range of lifestyle, wellness and hospitality facilities.

Members can view further details through the links below.

Mount Lawley

Country Club Johannesburg

Call for Volunteers

Recently I made a call for members to express an interest in getting involved at the Club through joining one of the many NGC Sub-Committees. We have had a great response, and I will be reaching out to those people over coming weeks as we start to make some changes to the personnel of the Sub-Committees. Sub-Committees are important as they shape the activities of the Club and the way we play our golf.

If you missed the call but would be interested in being involved, please reach out to me through captain@nationalgolf.com.au. There is still time.

There is plenty happening across the Club, but the aim is simple. We want to protect and improve the member experience.

We are fortunate to be part of a very special Club. The quality of our courses, the scale of our facilities and the strength of our membership are things we should never take for granted. They also rely on each of us doing our bit, whether that is keeping pace, caring for the courses, respecting booking rules or helping create a welcoming environment for fellow members and guests.

As always, please stop me for a chat if you see me around the Club. I am keen to hear your views, share a game where we can, and keep working with members, committees and staff to make The National even better.

Warm Regards,

Andrew Tunks
Captain