general managers
GM Matt Day goes public
head down working on a $10m-plus
development. (See related story in this
month’s Travel Insert).
David Newbery
[email protected]
One of Day’s major challenges is to ensure
Wembley Golf Course returns a profit to the
council.
C
OULD more dialogue between the
game’s governing bodies and public
golf course operators be a solution to
growing the game?
It’s a view put forward by Matt Day.
“Next year it will be $1.63m,” he said. “If the
rates go up three per cent it ends up being
another $40,000-plus annually.”
Day said the complex’s power bill had
almost doubled in the past five years
putting further strain on the bottom line.
The general manager of Perth’s Wembley
Golf Course says the attitude towards public
golf courses needs addressing and sees an
opportunity for Golf Australia and the PGA to
work more closely with public golf courses.
“In Perth, golf is a competitive green fees
market so you haven’t got a great deal of
room to move there,” he added.
“It’s important the public golf market
remains strong,” Day said. “We have seen
Burswood shut and Rosehill is about to close.
“But our aim is to provide a quality product
within a tough environment.
“It becomes a worrying trend when you see
public golf courses owned by councils or the
state government closing because it puts
more pressure on other courses.
“Having a very good operations manager
in Jim Heron, course superintendent Darren
Wilson and great staff makes that task a lot
easier.”
“Golf Australia needs to recognise that 1.2
million rounds on Perth’s public courses is a
significant and important number.”
Born in England, Day, 43, has lived in Perth
since arriving as a nine-year-old. His father
David, Joondalup Golf Club’s first secretarymanager, introduced him to golf.
Still, Day concedes private clubs, through
capitation fees, primarily fu