Why It’s Time for Me to Move On

Dear Leura Golf Club Community,

The end of April will see the end of my tenure as General Manager. I am not leaving the position for any negative reasons. Far from it, I am leaving for personal reasons and because I genuinely believe in this club and our future.

I accepted this challenge on a three-month trial basis with the goal of basically creating this position and making it attractive for the next General Manager. I reckon by the end of April it will be.

As GM, I still have a number of projects I want to see through and frankly the schedule is pretty ambitious, but I am excited by the prospect of completing them. I will share more about this with you all over the next six weeks.

Being General Manager of Leura Golf Club for me has been one of the most fascinating, rewarding and educational experiences of my life. It is a privilege working for and with you all. I entered relatively uncertain but ready to learn, and now, to quote the Monkees – I’m a believer! I believe that the club is genuinely special. I believe the 120 years matter. I believe in Peter Hume and his passionate, historical perspectives. I believe in the decency and integrity of people like our President Will Elliott. I believe in the courage of people like Bruce Cox. (I am delighted to learn he is feeling quite a lot better. Happy Birthday also to his darling wife Di.) I believe in our Members, Volunteers and Partners. I believe  in Matt and the Green Team, I believe in Paul and the Proshop Team, in Natasha Hemms, our Bar Team, our Office and our Partners. I believe in the heart, drive and skills of this Board. I have seen that lot put everything on the line for this club. I have seen them throwing themselves at their task and always with good humour, integrity and hard work. I can say exactly the same thing about Charlie Young’s  Fairmont team and Mark West’s crew of legends.

What a group we are and what a year we are having: the golf is going off, the course is fantastic, the numbers are up, the Fairmont is supportive, the Board is progressive, Dr Schwartz backs us,  the tech is getting better, the members are proactive, the multi-media and traditional media profiles are growing, the sponsors are coming on board, the LGC brand is on the rise and everyone is generally pretty happy. We have some fascinating innovations going on that may take some getting used to, but no one can say they are boring!

Thank you everyone for everything, and congratulations all of us! I think that we have collectively been doing a pretty damn good job of improving and growing the club while at the same time adapting to changing circumstances.

Our culture is pretty great I reckon. I think it is fair to say that we are generally a friendly, enthusiastic and positive club. We have our occasional clashes, not everyone always agrees, we all make mistakes but in general the Leura Golf Club is a friendly, professional and encouraging. No wonder we are winning so many awards! This is something to be proud of. I am proud to be a member of this club and I am proud to work here.

I am astounded by what we have all achieved in the last twelve months and I am excited about the near and distant future. I believe the time has come to meet the dual challenges of both strengthening the club while becoming financially strong. I think it is time we start dreaming of thriving. We start imagining a bustling, healthy club with happy members, and enough profit to invest back into our golf course and clubhouse!

Leura Golf Club is clearly going places and I am right with it. What a ride. I would not miss it for the world!  I am only leaving this job because I want to be there more for my family, I have some books to write, golf to play and I feel that the position deserves a little more than I have to give right now. Make no mistake, this is a great job and this is a great year to be in this job. I can’t wait to help the next GM help us all take this great club to the next level.

Wayne Clayton
17 March 2024