A message from the
Club Captain

Good day fellow members – where does one start when so much has transpired since March 2020?

Dave has been tasked with keeping you all in the loop as much as possible via the Club Newsletter, but I felt that it is also important for all of you to hear from your Captain.

Lockdown has affected all of us on so many different levels and in some ways changed our lives and the way we behave / think forever. I am sure that on a personal level all of you are doing everything possible to adapt to these daily challenges.

I want to reassure all of you that your committee and all the Westlake staff have done everything possible, and more, to ensure that Westlake is going to survive this ordeal. Your Club Manager Dave, and Anelda deserve a special mention – they have been doing an amazing job in keeping Westlake “afloat”. Nothing seems too much for them and although at times emotionally and physically exhausted, everything is taken care of professionally and timeously. Their dedication and hard work have played a major role in ensuring that Westlake is going to come out safe and sound at the end of this devastating period in our lives.

Raymond and his skeleton staff are doing an exceptional job keeping the course in its best condition possible and ensuring that we can open the course on relatively short notice. I am sure that I speak on behalf of all our members when I say that we are immensely grateful and proud to have you guys as part of our Westlake team.

I also need to thank all the remaining Westlake staff for their dedication and understanding during these difficult times. All of them are having to make massive sacrifices that require crazy working hours, strange working conditions, pay-cuts and in some cases no pay at all. All of them have accepted these personal sacrifices for the greater good of Westlake and although there are no guarantees, we will not let them down by doing our utmost to ensure that there is a job for each and every single one of them at the end of all of this.

Your committee and Westlake management have had numerous zoom meetings, daily interaction, and communication, to ensure that our controllable expenses are kept to an absolute minimum and all projects have been postponed. Dave and Anelda have been hard at work liaising with all our business partners, financial institutions, suppliers and service providers, to negotiate payment holidays, best prices and all our department heads are ensuring that only vital expenditures are authorized.

Thank you to Brendan for personally manning the Westlake security, ensuring the safety of Westlake and even going the extra mile by assisting Raymond and his team with the maintenance of the course. I am sure that by the end of all of this he will know everything and more about the course and he will certainly be an integral part of next year’s Greens committee.

Unfortunately, while we are all cursing this pandemic, our geese are having a ball. The numbers have increased dramatically and are worse than ever. We have been and are continuously communicating with the authorities, the council, Nature conservation, professional hunters, and companies to try and find a lasting solution. There are no shortcuts here and the only way is the legal way!

We, the committee, have been hard at work looking at different strategies and solutions for softening the financial devastation caused by this pandemic and we will be communicating with all of you in more detail going forward. Please accept that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and I ask you all for your understanding and support when it comes to proposed solutions and changes. Everything that we will be communicating to our members is for the greater good of Westlake and specifically you, the member.

We are currently looking at aggressive “new membership” marketing and we have some very interesting potential future business partnerships that we will be investigating further. All will be revealed in due course but in the meantime, I want to reassure you that your captain, your committee and your Westlake staff, are all doing their utmost to ensure a bright future for Westlake.

Martin Peter
Club Captain