GMAQ Executive Day @ RQ!

The GMAQ Executive Day is scheduled to be held at Royal Queensland Golf Club on Monday, 11 March 2013 and the online booking sheet is now open! Please book early for this event as spots will fill quickly. Teams will be playing for the prestigious 'Ted Coker Shield'.

Attendees, please be aware of the following at Royal Queensland:

• Strict Dress Requirements apply, those players not dressed appropriately will not be permitted to access the course - all players should view the Dress Code at http://www.rqgolf.com.au/cms/golf/dress-code/
• Complimentary pull buggies are provided
• A limited number of motorised carts are available - phone 07 3633 6555 to book

2013 GMAQ Event Schedule (Version 2)

GMAQ F& B Forum - 5 Feb 2013

The 1^st event on the GMAQ calendar is scheduled for Tuesday, 5 Feb 2013 at the Virginia Golf Club. You are encouraged to bring along your chefs/ caterers, F & B staff etc.  Please see the details below for this event. Also attached is the full schedule of events for 2013. I look forward to seeing you all at Virginia and at many other events in 2013.

GMAQ Xmas Weekend Away 2012

The GMAQ Xmas Weekend Away for 2012 was held in the middle of December at Palmer Coolum Resort and Mt Coolum Golf Club. It was great to see the number of managers, board members and past managers that attended the event and I thank you all for supporting this event, especially Anita and board members from the Mt Isa Golf Club.

On Sunday, 16 December 2012, we attended the Australian PGA at Palmer Coolum Resort where we enjoyed lunch in the club house thanks to the PGA and to watch the final day of golf.

Monday we attended the Mt Coolum Golf Club and was hosted by Manager, Sharon Purnell. Prior to the game, our group was addressed by Brian Thorburn (CEO - Aust PGA). Brian spoke openly about the direction of the PGA and the future of the Aust PGA.

We then hit the beautiful Mt Coolum course. Prior to this event the 'Dudley Von Nida' leaderboard was:

                              2012 DUDLEY VON NIDA LEADERBOARD

Cameron Harvey      Pacific GC                   16 points

Jason Looker            Caloundra GC             13 points

Rick Anderson          Nudgee GC                 12 points

Charlie McGill           Horton Park GC           12 points

Andrew Kirkman       Royal Queensland      12 points

Ben Dobson             Headland GC               11 points

Steve Middleton        Bribie Island GC          11 points

This meant that Jason Looker needed to win to force a playoff with Cameron Harvey. Jason fought hard (3rd - 36 points) but finished behind Brett Holland (Winner with 37 points c/b) and Greg Palm (Mt Isa GC - 37 points c/b). Therefore, congratulations to Cameron Harvey, the 'Dudley Von Nida Champion for 2012 with 17 points from Jason Looker on 15 points.

I would like to thank Sharon Purnell for her hospitality and for allowing us to play on the beautiful Mt Coolum course.

Aaron Muirhead
GMAQ Captain

GMAQ Forum Wrap Up

The first GMAQ Forum was held last week at the Brisbane Golf Club. I would like to thank all attendees for taking the time today to support this event. I hope that you took something from this event that will assist you in your own operations. From the feedback received, it appears that this is certainly something that our members are wanting to assist in the running of their clubs.

I would also like to once again thank our panelists, Andrew Kirkman, Peter Constance and Tony Gibson and our MC, Mike Orloff. You all contributed immensely to the success of this event and I thank you for the extra work you did to prepare for the event.

I am looking forward to catching up with you at the Xmas Weekend away at Coolum on 16 & 17 December.

GMAQ Open Forum - Thursday, 29 Nov

     As mentioned at the AGM and on a previous email, the GMAQ Executive have scheduled a GMAQ Open Forum at the Brisbane Golf Club on Thursday, 29 November 2012 from 9am. The GMAQ Executive Committee would like to invite you to attend this new initiative.

The way this Open Forum event will work is as follows:

1.      GMAQ members can now submit relevant golf industry and club operational questions to be discussed to me on aaron@redlandbaygolf.com.au

2.      A panel made up of 2 past GMAQ Managers and 2 present GMAQ Managers will be provided with the submitted questions 1 week from the event (The panelists will have varied experience across a range of clubs to ensure expert information is provided)

3.      On the day of the forum, the event will be facilitated by Mike Orloff (Golf Industry Central)

4.      The questions submitted by the managers will then be systematically discussed by the panelists

5.      On completion of the submitted questions, further questions will be taken from the floor

It is anticipated that this event will go for 2 - 3 hours. I believe that Simon will be able to get us on course after the event for those that would like to have a hit.

GMAQ AGM & Sponsors Golf Day @ Redland Bay GC

Yesterday, many managers and board members converged on the Redland Bay Golf Club for the 2012 GMAQ AGM and Sponsors Golf Day. It was a wonderful turnout where all enjoyed great food, service golf and even an additional act from comedian Damien Power over a sensational 3 course dinner.

The attendees played an Irish Teams Stableford and there were some impressive scores, none better than the winning team consisting of Andrew Kirkman (GM - Royal Queensland GC), Gordon Gower (GM - Burleigh GC), Des Knight (Royal Qld GC) & David Downey (Burleigh GC) who beat the team from Bribie Island GC & Inside Golf Magazine.

The AGM was conducted earlier in the day with no real surprises coming from the meeting. Unfortunately, Andrew Kirkam has stood down from the position of GMAQ Captain after serving in this role for 6 years. Thanks very much for your contribution to our association over this period Andrew. Cameron Harvey from the Pacific Golf Club has now joined the executive committee of GMAQ and Aaron Muirhead from Redland Bay Golf Club has accepted the position of Captain of GMAQ.

The GMAQ Executive Committee consists of:

• President - Simon Parker (Brisbane Golf Club)
• Captain - Aaron Muirhead (Redland Bay Golf Club)
• Secretary/Treasurer - Steve Middleton (Bribie Island Golf Club)
• Committee - Sharon Purnell (Mt Coolum Golf Club)
• Committee - Brett Holland (Surfers Paradise Golf Club)
• Committee - Cameron Harvey (Pacific Golf Club)

Thanks to all the members and guests that attended the day and also to the wonderful sponsors that supported our event. The sponsors that contributed to the day were:    

• Schweppes
• Vincent’s
• Golf Industry Central
• Club Super
• Golf Flag Stick
• Infosign 
• Inside Golf Magazine
• Carlton United Breweries

     We appreciate your continued support of our industry.

Jim Burns (Caloundra GC) keenly watches his shot as Jason Looker (GM - Caloundra GC), Ben Dobson (Headland GC) and Brent Dalby (Headland GC) watch on!