Golf club swings for community support

THE future of Rokewood Golf Club is uncertain due to a lack of active volunteers, administrative members and players.

Following their annual general meeting earlier this month, the committee members are calling on the community to help save the club and course.

Club president Ross Hadling said the club is in desperate need of new members.

“What we really need is people who want to play golf here on a regular basis and some who are willing to put their hand up for positions within the club,” he said.

“It’d be sad if the club did have to eventually fold. Once something winds up in any area it’s almost impossible to get it back.”

Ballarat-based Trevor Snibson, who took over as secretary of the club last year, said the committee is especially needing to fill an important role.

“The two members we’ve got as greenskeepers are just getting too old as well,” he said.

“They’re 70 and 80 years old. They just can’t do it anymore so that’s another reason we’re going to have to close the doors.

“We can’t get new greenskeepers and it’s all voluntary work. That’s the bottom line of the whole scenario.”

The club currently gets eight to 10 active members each weekend which Mr Snibson said “isn’t feasible” to maintaining their operation.

He said the average age demographic of their membership is in the late 40s, and attributes their lack of younger membership to their sandscrape greens, saying younger players would prefer putt on grass pins.

Mr Snibson also said the club is unable to maintain greens due to their limited capabilities, closing each year over the summer months as a result.

Vice-secretary Peter Matthews has been with the club for more than 50 years and said the committee has struggled to bring in the next generation of golfers.

“We’re a bit of a dad’s army with this. What we look at is the next generation of our children coming into this but they’ve moved away for work,” he said.

“Our demographic’s getting on a bit and there’s a sense of inevitability with this. We need the younger generation to step up.”

A public forum is set to be held on Tuesday, 7 March to gauge interest in helping the club.

Vice-president Charlie Neville said the response has been “overwhelming.”

“We’ve had offers from other golf clubs and people in the community offering to mow the grounds,” he said.

“I don’t think we’ll have any worries about that part of it but until we hold our meeting and see what commitment we get, that’s the next stage.”