Members Satisfaction Survey Results
Thank you to all of our members who recently participated in our Member’s Satisfaction Survey. We had 398 responses which is an amazing result.
You can see the full results from the survey HERE
We can identify from the results that there are areas for improvement, as well as areas where we are excelling.
Areas of Concern.
We can see from the results that the main areas of concern from our members are:
- Bunkers/9th Green
- Slow Play
- Inconsistency in meal quality from the Lakes Café.
To address these concerns we have actioned the following:
- Bunkers
Our number one problem in keeping the bunkers consistent is due to Mother Nature. During the winter months we have issues of too much sand due to the sand in the bunkers drying out and going powdery. This is caused by lack of rainfall and irrigation as greens are generally not irrigated at all over the winter period and the bunkers only get water from rainfall therefore when there are extended periods of dry weather they become fluffy and we see balls plugging in bunkers.
During summer we water greens and surround every 2nd night and sometimes nightly meaning the bunkers are getting plenty of water and compacting them. We try to alleviate this by raking them every morning with the cultivators to fluff the sand up.
Another problem with our bunkers is they are poorly designed with water runoff from greens and surrounds running into many of our bunkers causing wash and contamination to the sand. The displacement of sand during extreme weather events is also a problem with not only the playability but in the labour cost in repairing these.
Most of the bunkers are difficult to redesign without redesigning the entire green, but for the bunkers that can be redesigned we are looking at draining and using some new technology in capping the face and the bottom of the bunker to stop wash during heavy rain and also contamination of the sand. Hopefully we will try and start this project once we have investigated the product and also the cost of the project and get back to members soon as they become available.
- 9th green
As members are well aware we have had a few issues with the 9th green since the re design, our main problem was the sand that was used for our green. The sand is the same sand that we used to build the other 25 greens over the past 30 years; the sand is USGA graded sand from Macksville. Our main issue with the sand this time has been the extremely high PH of the sand at 9, when a satisfactory level is between 6-7; once the PH level increases it locks up a lot of nutrient and can cause other issues with disease. I believe it was the way the sand has been processed and the quality control measures that are now in place at that particular sand yard. It was only once we grassed the green and lowered our cutting heights to our play height that we found that we had these issues. Testing of the soil was conducted and remediation started, by this time it was decided to over sow the green to get us through the winter months. We started to fertilise weekly to reduce that PH back to optimum levels which is where we are at now, the over sow has reduced the amount of couch that we have underneath the over sow but hopefully this will improve over the Summer.
The other issue we have is the playability of the green with getting the ball to hold a full shot, this is not uncommon in new 328 couch greens until they settle in and build a thatch layer to hold a full shot, for those members that remember when we built the other greens it took a good 18/24 month Please see a short video from the designer Richard Chamberlain HERE
Justin Sheehan – Course Superintendent
- Slow Play
The Match Committee and Ladies and Men’s Captain monitor the pace of play and regularly mention this at presentations. There are also slides with hints that will run in conjunction with the rolling scores on the in-house TVs. These will be displayed more often to emphasise the issue. Mentions at presentation will continue as well as tips on how to keep up with the group in front of you. If slow play continues to be an issue in the future, the Captain will check what time cards are being put through the computer to monitor times taken by each group. We remind members to process your cards as soon as your round is completed. The Match Committee also run reports from the system which gives Round time information. Where there is a significant gap in round times and an e-mail is sent to the players in that group. In future, this will be monitored more closely to avoid slow play.
- Inconsistency in meal quality from the Lakes Café.
In the time since the member’s survey there has been a change in Head Chef and we now have a permanent Head Chef on board, Micah Trivett. Most members will have meet Micah by now and know he is an excellent Chef with an extensive background of experience in the local area. By having a permanent Head Chef as part of the Lakes Café team we foresee an increased level of consistency in meal quality. We also have a new menu and there is an increased focus on the front cabinet display as this is where we see most of our members purchasing their lunch items.
Positive Results
We could also see areas that our members are very happy with:
- Friendly & helpful staff
- New members feel welcomed
- Excellent course, highly recommended by members
We had some suggestions in the member’s survey that have already been actioned:
- Name tags for all staff
- Chairs in clubhouse recovered
- Wi- Fi password displayed (this will be displayed on the in-house TV screens)
- Upcoming events displayed on website calendar under “What’s On” tab
We hope our members are satisfied that we have looked carefully into all feedback received and we present our findings to you, as outlined above. Should you have any feedback on the survey, or the results, please do not hesitate to email Zoie at marketing@coffsharbourgolfclub.com.au
Thank you,
Coffs Harbour Golf Club