Fellow Members,
This AGM marks my third year as treasurer of the club, and it has been an honour to serve again this year. Going into 2024 the main goal for the club post servicing its debt was to invest in our No.1 product, our course. It is clear from the accounts that this investment has been significant, and we now have a course that has vastly improved in 12 months and will continue to improve due to the shrewd investments made.
The 2024 season brought a number of challenges to the club that has had a significant impact on finances. This was not just an Edenderry golf club challenge; it was challenge to all clubs across Ireland and the UK. The historic levels of rainfall between July 2023 to April 2024 presented stresses to all golf club’s finance due to prolonged closures of the course which had a big impact on revenue. This was also compounded by the cost of running golf courses increasing due to impacts such as the Russia/Ukraine conflict, supply chain stress and inflation.
This report will be a positive in terms of showing the level of investment in the club (over €230k) and look to set out the achievements throughout the year along with a view of the coming year ahead and further. It should be noted that we need to be realistic that the costs to run the club are having a significant impact on cash flow and as always, the club is being ran as cost effective as it can be but there are still challenges ahead.
Subscription increase
The decision to look to increase Subs is one of out of necessity. The costs of running the club are ever increasing and if we want to course to improve, we need to invest money into it. Our main source of income is our subs, and we hope with this increase it will also help reduce the need to do so many fundraising events to try increase revenue. We also feel that the improvement in the course has justified the increase in the number of course staff and the investment in machinery so there is proof to the membership that the money is being spent wisely. This decision was not made lightly and through rigorous discussions at committee level the €100 amount was decided upon, we appreciate the costs of living are rising but if we do not make this increase there will be significant stresses on club finances at current expenditure rates. We are all shareholders in the club, so we need to look at this as an investment in the club so that our club can grow and improve to make the experience better for us all.
Servicing of Debt
2024 has seen a further payment off our main AIB loan leaving outstanding debt of €258k on that loan. This year we have also added the financing debt to fund the purchase of the green’s mower with €38k still owed on that.
Due to the cash position post investments and the impact of winter closures/loss of members as we moved towards winter 2024 and the potential impacts of loss of revenue over the winter months due to unpredictable weather, the committee along with the Trustees decided to avail of another €50k debt facility which is to be held as a rainy day fund in case the weather takes a turn for the worst over the winter in 2025. This loan will be drawn down at the end of November and the funds are segregated and can only be used on express agreement of the Trustee’s of the club. This again was not a decision taken lightly but ultimately; we needed to act now to leverage off the healthy sets of accounts in recent years. These funds will not be used unless necessity is required and Trustee’s sign off on it.
Looking ahead into 2025, it is most likely that we will look to restructure this current debt that will be approx. €350k across all the above over a longer term to try reducing the repayments each year so that will free up capital to invest in the club. The fact we have a €86k profit this year means we should be in a good position to do this so again this will allow the club to grow further and still remain prudent with our finances to service our debt accordingly. This is always the key objective above all each year for the Finance Committee and it will remain that way.
Course Staff and Winter Program
A key objective of this year’s finance committee was to invest in the course and the course team throughout 2024. We had a lot of challenges throughout the year with the weather but upon reflection, a lot has been achieved.
The Winter Program (Oct-Mar) put in place showed significant investment in tree removal to help with drainage. There were investments in cleaning out the ditches and the OPW helped in the perimeter of the course. There were bridges built and general tidying up around the course for overall improvement. Overall, over €115,000 was invested over the winter period on improvements including course wages.
We have added an additional full time member to the greenkeeping staff and added additional staff over the Summer months. The challenges faced by the course staff at the beginning of 2024 with the water-table made it tough but by working hard and listening to our consultants, Will and the team really did deliver a course over the Summer that we all were privileged to play. The greens are at a level that the club probably hasn’t seen for 20 years, and this is very promising in terms of the future of the club’s finances as the reputation of the course increases. The course program is working so it is good to see such investments bear fruits. The purchase of the brand new Greens Mower at a cost of €64,627- €20k own funds €44,627 (BOI Financed) last January has really proven it’s worth already and the knock on effect of that is that our old greens mower is now used on our tee boxes which has upgraded them too.
Machinery upgrades
Due to the challenges the club faced over the past 15 years; the course staff have had to work with what the club could afford. This was a constant challenge as our machinery was generally second hand but 2024 has seen us turn the corner in a major way in terms of our machinery fleet.
There were further investments in a rough mower and a shockwave machine in August and September. These machines have both played significant parts already. These machines will help with the overall presentation of the course along with helping with drainage which is a key priority moving forward in the club. Our machines play a significant part in how the course is presented each week so with better machines it will mean a better course.
House related Developments
Not to neglect the clubhouse and surrounds, we have also looked to invest in this area where we can. Credit should go to the House committee who again this year put the needs of the course ahead of the needs of the House. But it is good to be able to say we did see investment in the house also in 2024.
This year has seen development works in the bathrooms kindly financed by the ladies’ section. There was with necessary work in relation to repairing of the roof. We have also installed a new security system and automatic gates which are welcomed and will help the volunteers who lock up the club on a daily basis. There was uplift in the bar with stainless steel shelving added to improve the overall look of the bar as well as further investment in the water system within the clubhouse aided by the Ladies section also. Again, over €15,000 was invested across the different initiatives.
Another significant improvement this year is the installation of the Solar panels, this was partly funded by SEAI grants and will ensure our electricity costs will be reduced moving forward. Again, this all shows us as a club moving forward and being progressive.
Grants
It is great to be able to present such a healthy set of accounts, but we must also be aware these are propped by our use of grant related money. As in recent years, Kevin and Mary Farrell have led the club in successfully applying for numerous grants throughout the year with Ciaran McDonnell working wonders in relation to the solar panel related grants. Without these grants, we simply would not be able to invest in certain areas within the club.
We received over 13.5k in grants and had the wonderful news that we have been awarded €89k as part of the Capital Sports Programme announced this year. The plans for that spend will be a key objective for the 2025 committee. We also received €67k off the Offaly CoCo for which a new fairway mower is being purchased. These are significant wins for the club and will help drive further growth.
Special mention again to Finbarr McGrath, who secured another 4.6k grant from Intel which went a long way towards helping us complete course development works listed above.
Fundraising
Fund Raising is a still a key factor for our club, after a bumper 2023 with the monster classic, 2024 efforts were still extremely well supported. The club classic done very well again and thanks again to all the members for their continued support this year. The Ladies section contributed over €2k in their fundraising efforts throughout 2024 which is also much appreciated.
Revenue
In relation to revenue, there are a couple of people I would like to thank. First of all, Deirdre Feely for her hard work making sure we get the Subs money in on time and all the admin work that goes with getting it organised. 2024 also saw an increase in societies coming to Edenderry, John Sheehan plays a huge roll in getting the societies to come and more importantly they are now returning year on year due to the welcome they receive. Anne Gunning and her welcoming team play a vital role in this, again all this work is done on a voluntary basis. Revenue from people outside the club is so important as this plays a huge role in our ability to spend on development projects.
Looking ahead
Apart from all the success throughout the year, the club has also faced numerous challenges in 2024. The weather continues to have a massive impact on our course and with record levels of rainfall last winter the club has meant we have financially felt those impacts. The impact on revenue is something that is being monitored closely and with the rising costs of running the club with significant rises in cost of fertilisers and chemicals along with an increase in the wage bill, the need to raise the subscription rate this year is a necessity as already stated.
I will repeat what I said in last year’s report, every finance decision is made through discussion and analysis and there is always a detailed rationale behind every decision being made. As with the majority of how the club is ran, these decisions are made by volunteers. This club is dependent on volunteers who are saving the club tens of thousands every year by dedicating their time and effort to making sure the club is ran accordingly. As a club, we should cherish these volunteers who are too many to mention for their service, as without them, the subscription rates would need to be increased even further.
The future is bright for Edenderry Golf Club, the investment in the course is showing results. Structures are in place within the club to make sure we keep on top of our finances, and we have some of the best volunteers in the country putting hours into the club every day. It was great to see Mary Farrell get recognised at national level as Volunteer of the year. It just shows you what we can achieve working together.
The 86k surplus in 2024 was a great success considering the investment into the club which was heavily supported by the great fundraising efforts and grants. It should be noted though that the clubs cash position is not as strong as it was due to loss of members (majority to not playing golf in 2024) and the increase in costs of running the club. The increase in subscription will help alleviate these challenges but we need to be realistic that the costs of running golf clubs is ever increasing but as I said earlier, this challenge is facing all golf clubs.
2025 will no doubt bring further challenges but again with the processes and controls in place, the club will be running accordingly and hopefully another successful year lies ahead. I wish James all the best as Treasurer. You will have my full support and no doubt the club will move even forward further.
Thank You
This is my final year of a 3 year term, and I would like to say a special thank you to Siobhan O’Callaghan for her massive help to me over the past 3 years. The hours Siobhan puts in to ensure our books are in tip top shape is above and beyond. This came to the fore when our computer went on the blink in September and we loss all our electronic files, Siobhan had all the receipts and payments on file and allowed us to turn around the accounts for the AGM which was a minor miracle. This club is blessed to have you.
I would also like to thank those members who sat on the finance committees over the past 3 years, great debate and discussion goes into every decision and I appreciate you all giving your time to help me do the best job I could do over the past 3 years. It’s been an honour.
I would like to congratulate Greg, Noranne, John, and Kathleen on a great year. We don’t record it on the Balance sheet but the goodwill in the club this year was amazing, great runs in the Barton Cup and Cullen Cup really brought us further together as a club. We had the successes in the Duggan Cup and the Fred Daly which really showed what great golfers we have and that the future is bright with more success to come. The feeling of community and friendship we have amongst our members is priceless and something we should all be proud of. The weather may not have been too kind at times but there have been huge achievements throughout the club in 2024 which has laid foundations for future years to be even better.
Finally, I want to wish Ciaran and Deirdre all the best in 2025. It has been an honour to serve as Treasurer of this great club for the past 3 years and I look forward to support James in the role in 2025. We do face challenges but I’m very confident that the club’s finances are in a good position and that we have the right people in place to continue to bring the club forward.
Yours in golf,
Brendan McGrath