FROM THE MATCH COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 2025

FROM THE MATCH COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 2025

Welcome to another edition of ‘From the Match Committee’ in which I hope to keep you informed of upcoming events.

Handicapping system off-line

As previously reported the current handicapping system is being changed by Golf Australia. This will result in a new provider but no change as to how handicaps are calculated will occur. Unfortunately in order to facilitate this change the handicapping program will be down for an anticipated period of 29/9 to 10/10. During this period you will not be able to have any scores added to your handicapping profile and thus no adjustments either up or down can occur. Additionally any scores recorded during this period cannot be retrospectively collected to enable handicap adjustments.

During this period the Match Committee may change the types of competitions played to include more team events such as Ambrose, 4BBB and foursomes. More information will be provided soon.

This is a GA system and thus will impact all golf clubs across Australia.

Suspension of guests on weekends

As we are now out of the winter months with reduced day light and thus a reduced number of tee times, I am pleased to announce that the restriction on bring guests to the club has now been lifted effective 1 September. Therefore you are now able to book guests as per the normal procedure. We look forward to you bringing guests to our great club.

Match committee Initiatives for the 25/26 year

As promoted on our Home page the Club has developed a new Strategic plan. Associated with this plan are a number of sub-committee initiatives. The following are the initiatives developed by the Match committee:

Develop strategies to increase the number of participants in Board in Board events including reviewing current formats and developing an information package to increase awareness of Board, Special, novelty events and pennant/interclub for inclusion in induction packages and placed on the Club Home page. This will be done in collaboration with Membership Engagement. Managing this initiative are Peter Doran and Peter Killen with assistance from Helen Noble and Linda Wilson. This initiative was developed given we have a significant number of new members who may not have an understanding of our major events. To date a paper has been developed to be included in induction packages for new members and will be reviewed and discussed with Membership Engagement.
Develop strategies to increase the retention of cadet and junior members. This is being managed by Larry Vun and Marty Rodgers. As this initiative is also of interest to other sub-committees Vice President Michael Hill has already chaired two meetings developing strategies along with our professional staff.
Develop strategies for an elite golf academy in order to retain and develop our better players with a view towards pennant and self-development. A strong focus will sit with both young male and female members. This is being managed by John Scheffer and Tim Angwin. Preliminary discussion have commenced with our professional staff with a view to developing a tiered program aimed at making our better players the best version of themselves.

Further updates will be provided as the year progresses.

Rules update

The latest addition of ‘Damian’s Rules’ has been added to the home page. We wish to thank Damian for his continued efforts in updating the memberships on different rules. As we know the game of golf is difficult and governed by at times complex interpretations of the rules under which we play. Damian’s updates assist us in understanding these complexities that ultimately make it more enjoyable for all.

9-hole handicapping

Acting on an initiative proposed by Membership Engagement the Match Committee is pleased to announce that following the GA changes to the Handicapping system Spring Valley will offer the opportunity for any member to submit a 9 hole score for handicapping purposes. It is expected that this will be most popular with working members who may be able to get in a quick 9 after work during daylight saving periods. Simply, you will be able to select ‘competition’ on your phone and then score for the nine holes. There will be no competition prize associated with this initiative. We look forward to your feedback.

Australian Open 2025

As you will undoubtedly know, Rory Mcllroy is headlining the Australian Open 2025 field and interest form across Australia is extremely high. As occurred last year Spring Valley will again host a hole with volunteers assisting on the tee, spotting balls, crowd management and cross over control.

Again we thank Chris Fischer who has taken up the mantle of managing this program. This is not a simple task and given Chris’ experience from last year it is expected that all will go without issue.

Additionally Spring Valley is to host the pre-qualifying on the Monday prior to the event which will mean some course closures.

Women’s Sunday Pennant 2026

Our Sunday Women’s pennant will have some potential changes for 2026. Unfortunately GA has advised that several teams in that Division can no longer field a seven player team. Input was sought form the participating clubs with options provided. Spring Valley has tentatively agreed to a five player per team set up. GA is yet to confirm the official program. We wish our dedicated women players all the best for next year.

Competitions during course works

The Match committee has decided that all Board, Major and Special events will continue to run throughout any period of course works. This has already occurred with the Men’s JD Leech Trophy currently underway.

Further updates from the Match Committee will be provided throughout the year and as always, your assistance and feedback is most welcome.

John Scheffer
Chair, Match committee

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