Coronavirus Update - 26.03.20

Dear Member,

Firstly, I hope you and those close to you remain fit and healthy as the impacts of the Coronavirus intensify.  I promised to keep you regularly updated and, now that we have had some time to adjust to the Lockdown, I thought it was timely to give you all an update.

While we were in the process of planning for this eventuality, the timing and speed of having to implement the Lockdown meant we had to act swiftly and take some decisions without recourse to our usual governance.  That said we are content that we have made the right decisions in order to protect the club, staff and its members, while securing the long-term future of PGC as much as we can in these difficult circumstances.

Late on Monday evening we had to take the difficult decision to lay-off the majority of our staff.  We are taking advantage of the new Government rules and ‘furloughing’ them; this means we will continue to pay them 80% of their wages which we will subsequently be able to recover from HMRC.  All staff have been made aware of this and have received formal notification from the club.  It is hoped that this will enable us to retain all of our valued staff at the end of this crisis, thereby repaying their loyalty in us with continued employment.  We have also significantly reduced other operating costs by cancelling Sky TV, the newspaper delivery, the cleaning contract, most of our refrigeration/electrical units etc.

Matt Dobbs and James Hargreaves have been retained on full salary and they will be responsible for the upkeep of the course throughout its closure (this is in line with Government Guidelines on essential work).  We believe this gives the right level of resource to achieve this and ensure the course is in great condition when we can get back onto it.

Mel has also been retained as we need our Club Manager more than ever at this time and he will handle all communications and management activities on behalf of the club, ensuring we are able to ‘stand up’ our operations again swiftly once we are permitted to do so.  I hope this gives you comfort that the club is in good hands while we endure this difficult period.

We have been asked what our position is in terms of those who have taken out the split payments option and are due to pay their 2nd payments by next Wednesday.  While these are difficult times for us all, we need to stress that the split payment is not a half-yearly payment but an option which allows the member to spread their fees.  There is no option to not make the 2nd payment at this time and this action would invalidate the membership for the rest of the year.  This may seem harsh, but the only way we will see this through and remain in the strong position we started the year in is if we stick together (as shareholders as well as members) and that means everybody paying their fees as appropriate.  Those who need to make their 2nd payment should contact Mel (admin@penworthamgc.co.uk) and he will deal with any issues on a one to one basis.

We are already working on a recovery plan for when we can re-open the course and clubhouse and will keep you posted on what we are thinking once we have a clearer idea of the duration of the closure.  Clearly this is frustrating for all of us, but the whole country is affected and we need to remain diligent in our management of the finances, determined in ensuring the course is maintained in good order and optimistic that when this is all over we will have a strong golf club to return to; enjoying the excellent facilities and friendships for which we have become known in the area.  Look after yourselves and I’ll keep you posted on any other developments.

Dave Brookes

Club Chairman