April 16th, 2024New owner for Hepburn Springs Golf Club
Members of the Hepburn Springs Golf Club have approved the acquisition of their golf course and assets by Golf Services Management.
GSM has committed to clearing all of the club’s liabilities, provide discounted fees to existing members for a minimum of five years, and make significant investments in capital improvements works to both the golf course itself and associated buildings.
GSM director Ian Denny said: “We certainly never expected to be in this position and are saddened by the club having to wind up after 98 years. GSM are committed to keeping the doors open for existing members and to driving new visitation by tapping into the thriving tourism market in the area with a new ‘open to all’ policy.”
Hepburn Springs Golf Club president Vic Delosa, above left with Mr Denny, said the club had been heavily reliant on volunteers “who have been doing an incredible job for a very long time, however, the combination of an ageing and dwindling membership base and a lack of funds created a situation where the club was facing insolvency”.
“After exhausting all avenues to retain control of the club, the committee proposed to pass ownership to GSM contingent on undertakings to preserve the operation of the course for the benefit of existing members for a minimum of five years. Members supported the committee’s proposal with a vote of 98 per cent in favour of the motion.”
New innovative shorter versions of the game will be introduced in spring as a supplement to the traditional golf round, along with a host of associated activities designed to attract a new market demographic to the venue and drive increased utilisation of the facility.
GSM, who operate multiple golf course in Victoria, have a history of successfully transitioning struggling private golf clubs into viable businesses – most notably St Andrews Beach and Peregian Springs. The company will take over the operations from April 24, with a refreshed website and new trading information to be made available under the new banner of ‘Hepburn Golf’.
