THE PLANNING COMMITTEE
"Those who fail to plan, plan to fail" are words which have been often quoted. In the case of golf clubs, with the likelihood of rotating Committee members, it is essential that the club sets some long term achievable goals and plots its plan towards implementation.
A Planning Committee should be responsible for setting the future direction of the club in a large range of areas including, but not limited to:-
- Long term ownership of the golf course and other facilities;
- Financial measures required for this to occur.
- In the case of leasehold situations, review of the existing leasehold documentation allowing plenty of time for on-going negotiations with the owner to take place;
- Review of the existing golf course layout taking into account any threats by way of dangerous holes or potential Out of Bounds situations;
- Review of the current clubhouse condition. Decisions may need to be made regarding either major repairs and improvements or full clubhouse replacement or relocation;
- Review of the club‘s capital items with particular reference to course equipment;
- Overall review of the Club‘s future directions.
A Planning Committee should work towards implementing a capital replacement programme which ensures that major items are replaced or upgraded on a regular basis.
Analysis of each item needs to be undertaken with the view that each item is included in a schedule with a sensible nominated year for replacement. A Club cannot capably plan its future when it is forced without notice to find emergency funds to replace a major item which suddenly ceases to operate.