This is our first quarterly newsletter for the 2019 calendar year and I trust you and your families had a happy and safe festive

season.

As you would be aware our newly appointed CEO Greg Ferguson commenced with us on January 14 and has certainly “hit the

ground running”. He has been very busy acquainting himself with staff, members and club processes. He has been our guest

speaker at the Friday night members draw and raffles and officiated at the recently conducted $10,000 draw, so many of you will

have met or seen him in and around the club.

Please feel free to approach Greg for a chat and a friendly hello; he is keen to meet as many members as possible.

The first half of the financial year has been completed and I am very pleased to report it has shown positive signs in terms of

patronage and cash flows. It is most satisfying to see such a positive vibe around the club. The Christmas and holiday period was

very busy and it was terrific to see many visitors enjoying all our clubs facilities, movies, golf, bowls, croquet and of course

eating, drinking and socialising generally.

I would like to say a big thank you to all our staff who went the extra mile to ensure all our patrons and guests received efficient

and friendly service. These things don’t just happen it’s our staff that makes us successful. With all the events going on during

the holiday period, sunset music sessions on the terrace, numerous functions both big and small all take a lot of work and

preparation.

Thank you one and all, we are so lucky to have such hard working staff who are happy to go the extra distance to ensure a

good experience for our members and guests.

We had some terrific bands at our venue catering for all styles of music. The New Year ’s Eve band Stand and Deliver, simply put,

were just sensational to listen and dance to. The New Year celebration was just a magic night enjoyed by a very large crowd.

You may have noticed we have had several tribute bands including Beach Boys vs Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons, the Eagles

and One Night in Vegas tribute show, to just name a few. Coming up we have Fleetwood Mac (May 4) and Johnny Cash (June 8).

Dirty Dicks was a great night late last year and I am pleased to say we have the Burlesque Show (March 30) and Faulty Towers

the Dining Experience coming on August 17.

I have mentioned in the past my desire to see many more members frequenting our functions. I thank you for the increased

patronage at our Presentation Night / Christmas function and would love to see the aforementioned functions fully booked.

As you would be aware we hosted the Victorian Seniors PGA in Jan / Feb for the fourth year and I must say it was an outstanding

success. This tournament really does put YMGCR on the map as a fabulous golfing destination. The golf pros sang our praises,

both privately and publicly, especially on how wonderful we presented the golf courses. This would not happen without the dedi-

cation of Superintendent Chris Burgess and his team. Our member volunteers who front every Wednesday do a simply marvelous

job on maintaining the aesthetics of the courses. Super work and many thanks to you all.

Easter is just around the corner and once again we are putting on our Easter Family Food Fair, which was a resounding success

last year and this years promises to be bigger and better. We had fantastic visitor numbers for all three days and this year I

would love to see an influx of members bring their kids and grandkids to swell the numbers to record levels.

There will be music, jumping castles, face painting, animal petting zoo, live entertainment, lots of food and drink, dart golf, the

town’s largest sandpit (18th bunker) and many more surprises.

See you all there.

Gil Cunningham

President

In this newsletter I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to a range of our wonderful staff and members.

The well respected publication Golf Australia has for many years conducted a ranking of the Top 100 Public Access golf courses in

Australia. It is my great pleasure to advise members that our Lake Course is at No.74 (2015 No.92) and our Murray Course is N o.51

(2015 No.59) in the latest compilation of these rankings. These results are a testament to the skill, application and dedicat ion of our

fantastic ground crew working under the tutelage of Superintendent Chris Burgess. Over his years with us Chris has built a team of highly

trained, professional, passionate people who work very hard to provide us members with the best possible experience. To Chris and his

lads my sincere thanks.

Equally as valuable to us, are our fantastic volunteer groups otherwise known as our Mums and Dads Armies. The unsung work you do

is vital and takes a heap of pressure of Chris’ boys and allows them the time to focus on the pretty things such as the many course

improvements they’ve made in recent years.

Also, I’d like to thank those members who have and do give up their time freely to help us with Cockie Patrol. To give members some

perspective of the magnitude of this problem I can advise the conservative cost to the club, therefore the members, per year is upwards

of $25,000. Not to mention the work which could have been done by those groundstaff who have to spend their days repairing ou r

damaged greens. Any members interested in contributing a few hours of their time should contact Evan and his friendly Pro Shop staff

for further instruction.

Finally, a great night was had by all who attended our Opening Day Dinner. Having 114 players in the Mixed 4BBB comp was very

pleasing although, slightly disappointingly, only 85 people attended the dinner. To those members who haven’t been to one of our

dinner dances, or haven’t attended for some time, I’d encourage you all to get a table together and join us for what are alwa ys fun

nights.

Good golfing to all.

Darrell Lynch

Captain.

Maybe the winter accommodation offer landscape

FROM THE CEO

Legends Tour – Our Victorian Senior Open again saw some of Australia’s greatest ever golfers enjoying our facilities. Peter Senior

proved too good, while Peter Fowler played some great golf to be runner up. The feedback from players, tour officials, and diners

was outstanding, and credit must go to our dedicated team. Course Superintendent Chris Burgess and his hard working band of

professionals produced an amazing playing surface, particularly considering the brutal weather we endured in the lead-up to the

tournament. Well done to all, including our volunteers, clubhouse and catering staff, and enthusiastic business partners at the Pro

Shop!

Easter Family Food Fair – Come and say hi from 4pm over Easter from Friday to Sunday, and enjoy live music, kids attractions, a

variety of delicious food options, and much more. After last year’s success, this year’s event promises to be even bigger!

Entertainment – Roaring successes such as the Eagles tribute show, A Night in Vegas, and a Beach Boys tribute show have showcased

another example of the wide range of options available here at our club. The fun continues with a Burlesque Show, a Fleetwood Mac

Tribute, and a tribute to Johnny Cash and June Carter. See you here!

Barefoot Bowls – The variety continues at our great venue, with Barefoot Bowls again proving a hit with all participants. The hard

work of Kerry Kinnane and Pete Lidgerwood provided an ideal forum to learn about bowls, have fun, and raise money for some

worthy charities. Winners and recipients were as follows:

Section 1 Purtles – Yarrawonga Health

Section 2 Fallon Bus Service – Friends in Common

Section 3 Jimmys – Friends in Common

Section 4 Bee Bees – Helping Hands

Friends in Common, Mulwala Pre School and Turban Ladies also benefitted from best winning margins results.

Nine new teams joined the ‘originals’ to lift the total to 24 teams this time around, and I look forward to the next Barefoot Bowls

adventure. Mark your calendar for next year!!

Down to Business

A hearty thank you to all well-wishers upon my arrival as CEO of our marvellous facility.

The warmth has been extraordinary, and the team has immediately set its sights on ensuring

sustainability for the future, and providing a memorable experience for all members and

guests each time they visit Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort.

Greg Ferguson

Chief Executive Officer

Opening Day

Golfers from the nine and 18 holers enjoyed a game of golf: “Viva Las Vegas”. Great fun! The golf was followed

by a delicious luncheon. With good spirit in the Willow Room, an enjoyable day was had by all. The Pennant

players for 2019 were presented with their shirts and all wished well for the coming season. Greg Ferguson, CEO was

welcomed by all members. All and all a wonderful day for the opening of the Lady golfer’s season

North East Ladies Opening Day: 22nd February

This event held at YMGCR saw 120 entrants take to the fairways. Golf was followed by a delightful luncheon. The

event was run by North East Golf and hosted by YMGCR.

4 ball aggregate winners: Cheryl Viner and Marj Bleckwehl.

Beryl Marshall Trophy: Cheryl Viner 42pts.

Two hole-in ones were scored on the 12th on the Lake. Two very excited visitors celebrated this great achievement.

Pennant Golf

The Pennant season has commenced. We have four teams competing. We wish the players good luck and good

golfing. Enjoy the season.

Dates for the diary.

Godfather’s Charity Day 17th March – Ladies & Mens 18 hole stableford event

PGA Final. 10th April. Breast cancer day with a shot-gun start.

Good golfing to all and Enjoy!

Cathy Spinks (Assistant Secretary)

On December 4 our club held their annual Christmas Break-up Social Day, with 70 enjoying firstly croquet

followed by a luncheon and entertainment in the Willow Room.

It has been a slow start to 2019 due to extremely hot weather, but now the weather is slightly cooler, we are

again seeing good numbers enjoying our great game.

Congratulations to one of our newer members, Bob Fiddes on winning not one, but two Monthly Medals.

During February we have introduced a very popular “strategy and jump shot training” session during our Saturday

games.

Golf Croquet internationally has had rule changes which came into effect at the start of 2019. Recently Ruth

Duffy, Victoria State Coordinator of Coaching ran an information session and it was a very helpful day. Now

members just have to put the new rules into action. Easier said than done, but we’ll get there!

Names are now coming in fast to enter our Club Championships, this year with four divisions. All play will take

place during March.

Jeanette Walker

President YMGCR Croquet Club.

Birthday Celebrations

Recently Eileen Dowling celebrated her 90th birthday. Eileen is still an active croquet player and whilst she

loves her croquet she also loves the camaraderie and friendship she enjoys with her fellow players! “It doesn’t

matter what age you are croquet is for anyone”, she says “I recommend anyone can give it a go!” Here is

Eileen showing off her skills and surrounded by her croquet friends after birthday cake.

YMGCR Bowls has had a great season. Although hit severely by the extreme temperatures of the summer, all

competition and activity schedules have been adjusted, and the Match and Pennant Committees have worked

hard to ensure that our season obligations have been met.

Pennant

10 teams participated in the Ovens and Murray Pennant seasons. Proudly, we can boast, that five teams reached

the final series. Our Weekend A1 were unfortunately defeated by Wodonga 106/66. Midweek A1 came out

winners over Benalla 77/74 and A3 finished runners up to Wodonga 77/71.

Club Events

There are a couple of events still to be finalised. Our Singles Champions for 2018-19 are Ray Irvine and Laureen

Smith. Both competed in Ovens and Murray Champion of Champions Event and reached semi-final level. Barefoot

Bowls was an outstanding success, more on the under Around the Club.

Region/ State Events

Our elite level bowlers have been in the forefront of region and state events, with several bowlers reaching state

level achievements. Anne Miles’ standout effort of representing Victoria in many events has kept YMGCR in the

Bowls Victoria radar.

Windsock

Our tattered windsock has been replaced and special thanks to Ian (Wicky) Holmes for his sponsorship.

Greens

Our greens continue to be excellent, and the envy of clubs in our region and visitors from near and far. This is due

to the expertise and workmanship of Greenkeeper Warrick Henderson (and his team). It is a pleasure to play on

our greens. Thank you.

We also acknowledge the continued support of the YMGCR Board. Our bowlers are an integral part of the club and

will continue to support YMGCR both on the greens and within the Club ... a win - win situation for all.

Robyn Balfour

(Assistant Secretary/ Club Communication Officer

Vic vs SA Test Match Anne Miles in action

Victorian Senior Open

Congratulations to our 2019 Victorian Senior Open winner Peter Senior who finished on 10 under par, two

shots ahead of Peter O’Malley. It was great to see a large number of members out on course watching the

greats of our game play their trade. The standard of golf was fantastic. A big thank you to all our sponsors

and staff including our loyal band of volunteers who made this event a huge success. Volkswagen Scramble

Congratulations to Ty Primmer, Sean Robinson, Chris O’Neill and Cam Carling, our Volkswagen Scramble

winners who had a superb score of 52.9 Nett. The boys are pictured below right with Ash from Darryl Twitt

Volkswagen (left). Good luck in the regionals final which will be played on 25 March at Rich River Golf Club.

May Tournament

Entry is open for this years May Tournament Sunday 12th—Friday 17 May and are available at the Pro shop or

online at www.yarragolf.com.au and we’d love to see as many of our members giving it a go.

Ladies Clinics

We had a great start to the new year with our ladies clinics. 32 ladies participated in the clinics and will now

progress to the clinics only competition. This will be followed by nine hole competitions then finally 18 hole

competitions with our lady members. Well done to each and everyone.

Rich River Trainee Classic

Congratulations to Frazer Droop who won the 2019 Rich River Trainee Classic for the 2nd time in the last three

years with scores of 69, 70, 66 & 72 to finish on 11 under par. Jamie Stapleton and Dale Crothers also had a

solid week finishing tied for 8th and 11th positions respectively. Well done boys!

Happy Golfing,

Golf Team

10

AROUND THE CLUB

Barefoot Bowls Annual Charity Challenge

Congratulations to President Kerry Kinnane and Secretary Peter Lidgerwood for their brilliant Barefoot Bowls

Annual Charity Challenge. Each week saw 96 bowlers completely filling our greens, having fun, learning about

bowls, and competing against each other for local charities. Thanks also go to YMGCR Board for their

sponsorship of this event.

The recent Barefoot Bowls Annual Charity Challenge was the most well attended in the events approx. 25 year

history. Organisers Kerry Kinnane and Peter Lidgerwood were thrilled with the numbers for the fun-filled event.

There were 96 players and nine new sides who participated and up on last years event.

A total of 24 teams in four sections rolled the bowls on two immaculately presented bowling greens. Winners

were: Section 1 Team Purtle who nominated Yarrawonga Health as its charity, Section 2 Fallon Buses nominated

Friends in Common, Section 3, Jimmys also nominated Friends in Common and Section 4 Bee Bees nominated

(Helping Hands) Yarrawonga Health.

The best winning margin winners were: Week 1, Team Hopefuls and Week 2, Michael’s Mob both nominated

Friends in Common, Week 3 Kangas nominated Mulwala Pre School and Week 4 Insiders nominated Turban

Ladies. So it was a win win situation for all the players who enjoyed their time out on the greens and the

charities who benefited from that fun!

If you missed it this year don’t despair it’ll be on again next year. In the meantime if you feel like giving it a go,

head down to the bowling greens on a Tuesday night from 7pm where you’ll have the opportunity to have a go

until Easter.

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MOVIES AND DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE, PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR UP TO DATE

SESSION TIMES AND TICKETS

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