The Special General Meeting to be held at 7pm on 23 October will be the Members’ opportunity to consider the proposal to modernise the Club’s Governance structure.

The full details of the proposal are in the Special Resolution on the noticeboard and may be found here. For those who would like to see a summary, the related Members’ Forum presentation may be found here.

A Golf Business Advisory Services and Golf Australia report on golf club governance is also relevant reading and may be found here.

The Club has been working on these proposed changes since 2020. The time and effort spent in getting it right has been significant. I strongly recommend that Members read the proposal and the related documents in detail so that you may make an informed decision that is not based on hearsay.

Unfortunately, significant changes like this one may be misinterpreted. Melville Glades Golf Club will remain an incorporated association of the Members. The Board and the advisory committees will all still consist of Club Members. But as history has shown us, if the Club is to be successful it must be run in a business-like way.

The fact is that the proposed changes are in line with recommendations from Golf Australia on the modernisation of the governance structure of golf clubs. Similar versions of the proposed model have already been adopted by numerous golf clubs across Australia, including some of our neighbouring private clubs in the southern suburbs.

Indeed, just this month Mandurah Country Club won the Most Outstanding Club award at Golf Australia’s National Awards of Excellence and one of the key aspects highlighted by GA was the adoption of the same style of governance model the board is proposing for MGGC.

For the sake of clarity, the proposed new governance structure does not remove the functions of the course committee. The proposed changes will see the Match and Course Committees merged into one with a remit to oversee and guide course maintenance and preparation for the conduct of golf competitions and general golfing activity.

There is already a significant overlap between the two committees as they cover the playing of golf and the course upon which the golf is played. The new Golf Course and Match Committee would eliminate any overlap between the two committees and build on the synergies that already exist.

All new committees would have two or more directors nominated to them rather than having a single director. This eliminates a weakness in the current model where one person is solely responsible for a specific aspect of the club and provides assurance that each committee can fully function should one director be indisposed at any time.

The day-to-day maintenance and preparation of the course to meet the Golf Course and Match committee’s guidelines will remain the responsibility of the Course Superintendent. The new combined committee will make this qualified professional’s job much easier, especially in balancing the requirements for course maintenance time and the Members’ access to the course.

Recommending and presenting long-term development programs for the course, which typically involves major capital expenditure (for example the reticulation programme of some years ago or the more recent greens replacement) will be the responsibility of the Strategy, Policy and Plans Committee. This committee will be responsible for all the Club’s infrastructure improvement plans. The long-term planning for the course will be informed by the Golf Course and Match Committee, the results of regular member surveys and routine feedback from members. 

There is no doubt that many of the past improvements to the course were contributed to by course committees of the day but, they needed more than just a course committee to make them happen. I.e., the $1.47m reticulation project would not have happened without significant work by others to ensure it could be funded.

The proposed new governance structure would not prevent any one of the past achievements from being delivered. Under the proposed model, the previous achievements would have the same likelihood of being undertaken as they had under the current structure. Indeed, they should be better delivered under the new model with its more coordinated and inclusive approach to decision making.

The board appreciates that change can be difficult, however we would urge all members to familiarise themselves with the proposed changes and question generalisations that do not accurately reflect what has been proposed. The choice is the Members to make, but when doing so please make sure you are well informed.

Please make the time to attend the Special General Meeting and please have your say by voting.

Mark Bonser
President and Chairman of the Board
7 October 2025