Chief Executive’s Message
Dear Member,
A belated Happy New Year to you all!
The new year has greeted us with very wet weather which has affected many outdoor activities. The golf course is saturated and Peter Bradburn and his team are striving to protect the greens, tees and approaches as best they can so that the course emerges in good condition for the spring. We have had double the average winter period rainfall already this winter with six weeks more to go!
The decisions that Peter and David Howe, Head Greenkeeper, make every day are based upon the Golf Course Policy Document approved by the Golf Committee. Please click here to view this document.
Can I urge Members to wear the best winter footwear when on the golf course to avoid slipping when walking up or down from wet raised areas. Replace spikes or shoes accordingly. The Sports Shop staff will be happy to advise.
The two seasonal tennis airhalls are proving their worth in this wet weather. Including the Indoor Tennis Centre (ITC) we can now provide 10 indoor courts for Members to use for social play, group and individual coaching and for indoor league matches. Winter club matches are scheduled on outdoor courts which are susceptible to the weather. Synthetic clay courts are the best surface in wet weather hence why we have approval from the Tennis Committee to convert courts 15-18 to synthetic clay this year so that we have seven clay courts playable for next winter.
Towels
Members are taking green towels onto the golf course to keep hands and clubs dry, to outdoor courts to keep racquets dry, to wipe off the sweat after their squash and padel exertions but are not returning the towels to be washed and recycled. We are losing towels at an alarming rate since the beginning of December. The majority of Members are adamant that Roehampton Club should be providing towels as part of the service so please return them for us to launder them for you.
NB please don’t use green towels to clean the mud off golf clubs and shoes as recently spotted in the men’s changing rooms expecting other Members to then use them for a shower!
Club Café upgrade
Thank you to all Members for their patience while we upgrade the Club Café. The main refrigeration and servery equipment in the Club Café failed last year resulting in a limited service being provided. House Committee approved the expenditure for its replacement and also suggested that this was the best time to review the layout, décor and furniture provision of the café. In addition the new Club Café will be modified to become a bistro-style restaurant in the evenings.
Designer Jude Holt was asked to submit refresh of the area designs and House Committee tweaked these before giving the go ahead to start the project in the quieter time of January/ February. A mood board of the new servery and new décor design has been posted up for Members to see.
Work is progressing well and the Club Café is due to open on 10th March.
Food and Beverage Price Increase
As detailed in the national press, inflation on food prices rose in December to the highest level since 1977. Some may remember those high inflation years. Inflation for food and beverage costs is currently running at 12-14% higher than last year so the House Committee has approved a price rise from January but asked, after benchmarking with other Clubs and comparable retail outlets, that we keep the increase to a minimum.
Prices of food and beverages have therefore been increased at an average of 8.5% in the Club Café, Juice Bar, Piazza Coffee Shop and Members Bar.
Costs will continue to be monitored and the next review will be in June 2023.
Projects Update
The additional bicycle/motor bike shed provision was completed before Christmas and is being used by Members. The extra changing room for families in the indoor pool has been well received also. The installation of solar panels on all the Club’s roofs has begun starting with the Health Club and Grounds buildings. Scaffolding will be erected in these and other areas over the next two months so apologies in advance for any inconvenience caused.
Croquet Celebration
I was pleased to be part of the recent Croquet section’s celebration of their stellar 2022. Captain Mike Pattison took everyone through the 2022 season where Roehampton Club teams won 4 of the available 5 national Croquet Association Club competition trophies. This has never been achieved before as the most any Club has won is 2 out of 5 in a single season. It was acknowledged that the success of our first team has inspired all the section to improve their handicaps and play out of their socks when representing the Club. Wonderful stories were told and the spirit in the section is phenomenally high -congratulations to the Croquet Committee and the whole section. Click here for more details
Harry Fisher, Club 1st team and England star, spoke about how he and the England team won the World Team Championship in Australia in December and how the England team will look forward to defending their title in 2026. Some test matches of these championships will be held at Roehampton Club. He commented on the superior quality of our lawns compared to any around the world which was testament to the hard work Chris Hughes, Simon Bailey and team put in under Peter Bradburn’s supervision.
Membership 2023
The annual direct debit for the 2023 subscriptions was due to be taken on 12th January but due to an administrative error it was deducted a day earlier. Apologies for any inconvenience that may have caused.
I am pleased to report that the Club had a very low number of resignations at the end of 2022 – 171 active membership adults plus 67 Juniors. We did have an additional 30 resign or pass away from the non-sporting categories so we have accepted 135 new adult places from the waiting list to join this month along with 50 Juniors. 65 Juniors on turning 18 years of age become adult members so our totals for January to date are:
3,766 Adults
951 Juniors
333 Honorary/non playing/ absent
5,050 Total
Our waiting list has increased to 821 Adults and 422 Juniors which on paper equates to four years but in practice is less as some prospective Members defer to future years to join the Club. Therefore if you have friends or family who are considering joining please contact membership@roehamptonclub.co.uk to ensure they join the waiting list as soon as possible.
The Club is in great demand to join which is comforting to know.
Best wishes,
Marc