A REFRESHING NEW APPROACH AT CLUB CATALINA
The new President of Club Catalina, Mr Peter Criss, following his election at the club’s late October Annual General Meeting, has emphasised a shift in attitude from management and the all-new, and now fully representative board, replacing the previously completely unelected one which had been in place for the last 12 months. Criss emphasised that there is now a refreshing team approach between the new Board and management, with a strong focus on service delivery for member and visitor alike – a focus that is based on equality for all across the entire facility – golf, bistro, lounge, gaming and entertainment.
Criss acknowledged that the last five years have been hard on many areas of the business; hard on staff as well as members and visitors. “For a whole host of reasons, the well-intended amalgamation with the bowling club failed, leaving the club exposed to dangerously high levels of debt”, he freely admitted. He went on to say: “In order to survive, club management and the Board had to adopt a hard-nosed policy of cost reduction with little or no improvement to facility or service.”
From the viewpoint of Mr Criss, who was in the same position during the due-diligence assessment phase back in 2009 before the bowling club amalgamation, “the process has been shown to be correct, where even the worst case scenario in the due-diligence report clearly showed that even if the amalgamation failed, the club would not be financially disadvantaged in the long run. It has been a long road for the club and everyone is now much wiser with the benefit of hindsight; however, the due-diligence report was right” he strongly asserted.
“With the bowling club now sold for a fair market price, Club Catalina has been able to clear those considerable bowling club borrowings off our books and we are now firmly focused on a renewal of Catalina Country Club, to restore facilities and service that have been neglected for too long. We have a wonderful facility, a 27 hole championship golf course which is the envy of golf courses along the South Coast, a fantastic café serving the best club food in town and a club house that offers entertainment to a broad spectrum of members and visitors” he opined.
Criss acknowledged that in recent times some members and visitors have been driven away from the Club for a number of reasons; he confidently predicted; “that with the right team approach between management and the Board, all that can be turned around. The club house needs refreshing in some areas and the course can be improved even more now that we have our debt back under control”.
“Fortunately we are blessed with wonderful staff across the entire business, who have stayed loyal throughout the tough times and are now itching to provide the level of service that we know our customers expect. We can and will provide that desired level of service”, he said.
Evidently, the next major decision for the Board is to recruit the right new General Manager, one who will embrace a team approach and be willing to work with a knowledgeable and progressive Board. “From my perspective, Catalina Country Club can return to being the location of choice for locals and visitors alike, where patrons can play on a quality golf course or simply relax and be entertained in the club house. We have the right product, we just need to package it correctly and deliver it with style and conviction” Criss said.
The first step appears to have already been taken with refreshingly competitive golfing membership deals not seen for many years. The Beagle welcomes the ‘return’ of the club. Here’s to happy times for all of Batemans Bay.
