Club Governance at VXGC
Proposals for discussion at the Open Forum
Club Governance at VXGC
Thursday October 9th at 3.00pm and 7.00pm.
Vicars Cross Golf Club Ltd (‘the Club’) is owned, managed and operated by its members, is a Company limited by guarantee. There is no single owner of the club taking dividends out at the end of the year, we are simply owned, managed and operated by you, its members.
The members have responsibility for all aspects of the business operations and, along with a paid, operational workforce, rely on volunteers from within the membership to serve on the elected Board and relevant groups and committees.
We are governed by the Articles of Association written in 1991 with minor amendments made in 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2011.
Historically, the Club has been administered by a Secretary and led by a Board of 10 elected members, as stipulated in our Articles of Association. Over recent years I am sure you will agree that the Club has developed and grown in to medium sized business. With that comes an increased workload, which includes more legislative, social and environmental demands, as well as facing up to threats affecting all clubs, such as the economic climate, intense competition and of course Covid.
As the club continues to grows, it has become clear that like many of our competitors, our governance model and practices also need to evolve, and we want to involve you fully in that review process.
The club will be hosting two open forums on October 9th at 3.00pm and 7.00pm. These will last around an hour, and be an opportunity for us to outline our aims of the review, the principles that we are following and the practices that we have identified that would help.
We will be joined by an expert in Club Governance, Kevin Fish CCM, whose company Contemporary Club Leadership has helped hundreds of clubs to evolve their governance structure and practices. Kevin also helped the Golf Home Unions to create the advice document they give to clubs on this topic.
Overleaf you will some of the topics we would like to invite your thoughts on. This can come during the open forums, and for the 30 day consultation period that will follow. At the conclusion of that consultation period, we will provide a final proposal for your consideration, which will be looking for your support to adopt.
Some Governance Observations at our club –
(i) It is increasingly challenging to find people wishing to be on the Board
(ii) Those putting themselves forward can be frustrated when there is no clear role or position
(iii) Volunteers often want to be involved in action-orientated roles with specific short to medium term objectives and purpose where they have experience and/or a real interest.
One challenge at the Club is that there is not a clear distinction between those who are elected to provide a strategic perspective and those who are more heavily involved in its operations.
This can result in members having specific needs/issues and not being sure who they should approach to address them. This is common in clubs who have grown rapidly, and we are keen to address this with a new structure.
The proposal is for
(i) a slimmed down Board to focus entirely on Strategy and Business Sustainability (financial and legislative);
(ii) a management team to focus on day-to-day operational issues; and
(iii) empowered Committees to represent the members needs in the key areas of the Club.(including Golf, Course, House)
This will in turn
(i) facilitate greater strategic focus by creating ‘permanent’ clearly defined Board roles,
(ii) Create a pathway for individuals with the appropriate skills to participate at Board level.
(iii) Allow members to put themselves forward for and vote for specific positions against a planned timetable.
Attached is a draft proposal for a reduced-sized Board of 7
Led by a Chairperson, the Board would comprise individuals responsible for the strategy on the key cost and revenue areas of the business. Specifically
Chair
Business Development (including membership and Marketing) – revenue generation
Golf Development – attracting and developing golfers
House & Assets – F&B and the estate
Course – all aspects of the Course
Finance – monitoring, reporting, banking and financing matters
Governance and Compliance – complying with legal needs as well as ensuring Club rules and regulations are current.
Our Mr and Lady Captain would continue to be (non-voting) standing invitees to all Board meetings to represent the Members. The GM would remain the (non-voting) Secretary.
It is the aim of your Board to increase the professionalism in the running of Vicars Cross GC and also obtain greater membership participation in the various committees and voluntary activities the Club relies on to operate. We firmly believe that these changes will help us to deliver that, and we look forward to hearing your feedback on these proposals.
Board of Directors 17/9/25
Thursday October 9th at 3.00pm and 7.00pm.
Vicars Cross Golf Club Ltd (‘the Club’) is owned, managed and operated by its members, is a Company limited by guarantee. There is no single owner of the club taking dividends out at the end of the year, we are simply owned, managed and operated by you, its members.
The members have responsibility for all aspects of the business operations and, along with a paid, operational workforce, rely on volunteers from within the membership to serve on the elected Board and relevant groups and committees.
We are governed by the Articles of Association written in 1991 with minor amendments made in 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2011.
Historically, the Club has been administered by a Secretary and led by a Board of 10 elected members, as stipulated in our Articles of Association. Over recent years I am sure you will agree that the Club has developed and grown in to medium sized business. With that comes an increased workload, which includes more legislative, social and environmental demands, as well as facing up to threats affecting all clubs, such as the economic climate, intense competition and of course Covid.
As the club continues to grows, it has become clear that like many of our competitors, our governance model and practices also need to evolve, and we want to involve you fully in that review process.
The club will be hosting two open forums on October 9th at 3.00pm and 7.00pm. These will last around an hour, and be an opportunity for us to outline our aims of the review, the principles that we are following and the practices that we have identified that would help.
We will be joined by an expert in Club Governance, Kevin Fish CCM, whose company Contemporary Club Leadership has helped hundreds of clubs to evolve their governance structure and practices. Kevin also helped the Golf Home Unions to create the advice document they give to clubs on this topic.
Overleaf you will some of the topics we would like to invite your thoughts on. This can come during the open forums, and for the 30 day consultation period that will follow. At the conclusion of that consultation period, we will provide a final proposal for your consideration, which will be looking for your support to adopt.
Some Governance Observations at our club –
(i) It is increasingly challenging to find people wishing to be on the Board
(ii) Those putting themselves forward can be frustrated when there is no clear role or position
(iii) Volunteers often want to be involved in action-orientated roles with specific short to medium term objectives and purpose where they have experience and/or a real interest.
One challenge at the Club is that there is not a clear distinction between those who are elected to provide a strategic perspective and those who are more heavily involved in its operations.
This can result in members having specific needs/issues and not being sure who they should approach to address them. This is common in clubs who have grown rapidly, and we are keen to address this with a new structure.
The proposal is for
(i) a slimmed down Board to focus entirely on Strategy and Business Sustainability (financial and legislative);
(ii) a management team to focus on day-to-day operational issues; and
(iii) empowered Committees to represent the members needs in the key areas of the Club.(including Golf, Course, House)
This will in turn
(i) facilitate greater strategic focus by creating ‘permanent’ clearly defined Board roles,
(ii) Create a pathway for individuals with the appropriate skills to participate at Board level.
(iii) Allow members to put themselves forward for and vote for specific positions against a planned timetable.
Attached is a draft proposal for a reduced-sized Board of 7
Led by a Chairperson, the Board would comprise individuals responsible for the strategy on the key cost and revenue areas of the business. Specifically
Chair
Business Development (including membership and Marketing) – revenue generation
Golf Development – attracting and developing golfers
House & Assets – F&B and the estate
Course – all aspects of the Course
Finance – monitoring, reporting, banking and financing matters
Governance and Compliance – complying with legal needs as well as ensuring Club rules and regulations are current.
Our Mr and Lady Captain would continue to be (non-voting) standing invitees to all Board meetings to represent the Members. The GM would remain the (non-voting) Secretary.
It is the aim of your Board to increase the professionalism in the running of Vicars Cross GC and also obtain greater membership participation in the various committees and voluntary activities the Club relies on to operate. We firmly believe that these changes will help us to deliver that, and we look forward to hearing your feedback on these proposals.
Board of Directors 17/9/25