Dear Member,

Focused, open and transparent communication with members is a priority for Randpark Club’s Management and General Committee. We herein provide an important, if lengthy, update on current matters at the Club, as we continue to juggle the ongoing challenges of Covid-19 restrictions and face a lot of uncertainty within a fragile political and economic situation.

The Club’s operations have become more complex in this environment. On the one hand, we have high usage of our golf courses and tennis courts, and on the other hand, practically no use of our other facilities. Our forward planning has been compromised. Meeting budgeted financial targets is difficult to manage in circumstances where it remains unclear where this is all heading. The risk of more lockdowns due to additional waves of Covid-19 is also a reality. In these circumstances, we have to adapt the operating model to mitigate the risk, and we plan, forecast, and adjust on a weekly basis. In this manner, we strive still to provide the best experience for members and visitors alike.

With golf being one of the few sports allowed during the lockdown restrictions, coupled with more flexible working hours, we have seen an incredible spike in golf rounds and applications for membership. It is unclear if this trend will be the new normal for golf as Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed, or if things will return to what we were used to before Covid.

Membership and golf rounds remain the main income for Randpark. This is especially the case with the current restrictions on events, resulting in no golf days, functions or conferences being allowed and, of course, the direct impact on food and beverage revenue as a result.

The new membership model, which was launched in December 2019, has certainly proven successful and carried the Club through this difficult time.

Overall, we have not seen a massive net increase in membership during the past year, but we have seen a positive increase compared to the immediately preceding years, which, as a member-centric Club, was always our goal.

We are fully aware that members sometimes experience difficulty to get a game during peak times, especially on Saturday mornings during winter. In these circumstances, the Gencom has decided that the Club will not be accepting new membership applications for Premium, Executive, Professional and Graduate memberships, until further notice. This is a fluid situation and we will review this decision on an ongoing basis, as we are still finalising membership renewals for the current financial year – we, obviously, try to retain members, including those that have not paid their dues yet, but it takes some time to establish what the actual annual attrition will be. The Club will follow a waiting list procedure and will only allow members to join in categories like weekday, where we have capacity.

We will also be relooking at the Club Calendar for the remainder of the year. Having Club Competition events, like BOS and Leagues during the winter period also puts additional pressure on peak periods during this time.

However, in saying this, we must also point out that, other than for Saturday mornings, tee times are not always fully booked, which is why we would like to encourage members to consider playing at times outside of the peak times, even if it is not their first preference. The booking ladies will do their best to accommodate member requests but they can, unfortunately, not accommodate all.

In terms of the Clubs bylaws, members are allowed to book two fourballs at any given time, whether by telephone or email. This is strictly adhered to. Alternating prime tee times and courses is also important. In this manner, the booking ladies, under the stewardship of the Director of Golf, Rikert Schalkwyk, manage the bookings to give everyone a fair chance as best possible.

And finally, we are wrapping up the first quarter of the financial year and will be sharing more detail on the results in due course.

Kind regards,

The Randpark team