By Peter Owen
BRAD Robb, the energetic general manager of Tin Can Bay Country Club, 220km north of Brisbane, reckons his lack of interest in playing golf has been an enormous benefit to his club.
“It means I have a broader outlook about what’s important for our club,” he said. “I can see what needs to be done – not just for golf, or for bowls, but for everybody.”
It’s a policy that’s paying important dividends for a club that serves as a community hub for the people of Tin Can Bay, a half hour’s drive east of Gympie on the Great Sandy Straits.
In the past few months the club has purchased 16 new Club Car golf carts, paid $45,000 for a new Kubota tractor and invested $1.4 million in a new irrigation system. He’s also employed course superintendent Craig Clarke, formerly the superintendent at McLeod in Brisbane.
And in July the club will upgrade all the club’s furniture, at a cost of $55,000.
“It’s exciting times for us,” said Robb, who has been GM for the past seven years, following a stint as manager of nearby Rainbow Beach Surf Club.
He puts the club’s success down to the fact that the club takes into account all members needs – not just the golfers and bowlers.
When he was first appointed, he told the committee the club needed an overhaul – a new bar area, new gaming room, an entirely new approach. And it would cost as much as $180,000.
“What if it doesn’t work?” asked a nervous committee member. “Well, we’ll be closing down in 12 months,” Robb said. “But if we do nothing we’ll be gone in six months.”
Six months later the debt had been repaid and trade was booming.
“I understand golfers are our bread and butter, but I invest heavily in the social as they are the cream,” Robb said. He’s particularly proud of the gaming lounge, where 28 poker machines work hard to generate income for the club.
In the end, of course, the golfers benefit, with funds ploughed back into better facilities for club members.
Robb recently leased two pro gators, a spray rig, a wide area mower and a top dresser to ensure Tin Can Bay’s 18-hole golf course was in the best condition possible.
The club also has golf practice facilities, two bowling greens, one with retractable shade sails, an air-conditioned clubhouse and a function room.
A feature is the Chinese restaurant, which provides lunch and dinner seven days a week and attracts diners from as far away as Maryborough and the Sunshine Coast. A local courtesy bus operates seven days a week.
The club is located at 220 Tin Can Bay Road, Tin Can Bay.
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