President’s Letter – ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

I am writing to set out subscription increases and explain some budgetary issues prior to sending out the annual invoices in March. Subscription increases in the past two (2) years have been in the order of 3% in 2022/23 and 7% in 2023/24.

The Club is now operating with a waiting list for admission to Full Membership, the course is at capacity on most Saturdays and many Sundays, cost increases can only be met by raising individual subscriptions. The volume effect of the past three years has come to an end, the unavoidable and general increase for 2024/25 will be 8.5%.

The Board is willing to accommodate some movements between membership categories within the caps that have been set. Transfers for Men and Women to Limited Playing as well as transfers for Men to 6 Day 2 will be considered. This creates space to admit more Full Playing Members who pay the current Entrance Fee of $8,000. Members who are ill or who face extenuating circumstances are eligible to transfer to become Absentee Members. This maintains their golf link number and enables them to play golf according to the conditions and entitlements of an Absentee Member and to return when their circumstances allow.

Emeritus Membership is available to Members generally over the age of 70 and who have been Members for 20 years or so. Members who meet these criteria may seek transfer to become Emeritus Members as part of the membership renewal process. This new category has been a wonderful success and was introduced to recognise and celebrate the contribution of long serving Members of our Club. It allows the cohort to attend the AGM and provides them to continue their ongoing relationship with their Club and each other. The recent Foundation sponsored function for our 40-year Members was a spectacular success.

Setting the budget for 2024/25 and in the medium term out to 2026/27 has not been a simple exercise. It has included the consideration of immediate inflationary pressures that have made their way to our normal operating costs and the ability to fund the course project of new tees, greens as well as cart paths. It is important to understand that the Club does not shop at the supermarket, our major costs are fuel, chemicals, power and wages where the increases are above the published CPI data that is based on a very different basket of goods. Be assured, the Board is constantly seeking ways to develop efficiencies and discover smarter ways of doing things.

It is also important to understand that as we develop and improve the golf course at Pennant Hills that to maintain it as an A Grade facility will also mean increased cost. Capital expenditure to improve generally means increased spending to maintain and preserve.

Subscriptions are set according to the needs and priorities of our Club; they are not set relative to fees at other Clubs. However, it is sensible to check that we are not pricing in relation to what the market is charging and the following table provides a comparison of Full Playing categories.

Due to our membership year commencing 1 April we are comparing our 2024 subscription with the 2023 subscription of other clubs that will be re-setting their fees from 30 June. Comparison of membership options other than Full Playing are difficult due to substantial variation in playing rights, however they are all relative to the Full Playing fee.

The rates of subscription for 2024/25 and the actual cash increase over the previous year are outlined in the following table. A more comprehensive table including age, senior and special playing categories can be found on our web site at click here to view.

We conducted a recent exercise to determine what is the base cost “Per Golfing Member” of running the Club or, the cost that presents the course in pristine condition daily with only essential bar and food service and then dividing that with the number of playing golfers. The table below shows these costs and highlights the need to increase subscriptions at the tabled rate:

Membership invoices will follow this letter; I trust it puts the fees and the fee setting process in perspective.

Good luck with your golf,

Michael Rowan
President