Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

by Bruce Matthews Photography: Paul Shire feature Golf clubs are usually run by boards or committees whose members live and breathe their club but in recent times some clubs have appointed non-members as independent gatekeepers to the future. BRUCE MATTHEWS meets one. Keen golfer Anthony Gurry plays once a year at Ranfurlie, the links-style championship layout on the outskirts of Cranbourne in Melbourne's south-east. He’s not a member and yet he has a profound influence on the operations of the private golf club. In what could be a forerunner to future golf club governance, Gurry is an independent director at the Amstel Club which runs the Ranfurlie Golf Club, the adjoining public driving range and the nearby gaming and functions centre. There he uses his business knowledge and vast experience at several clubs to advise the directors and manager of one of the most progressive golf operations in the state. "They felt that by appointing me as an independent director, which is their terminology, I would be a sounding board to management and also for the board," Gurry said. "My involvement at board meetings really is for any issues that have a business impact on the club or issues that are straying too far from the core activity, for me to give advice. "I stay out of issues such as whether the fairways are cut properly. My role is purely business issues, whether it's staffing, human resources, marketing and membership." Gurry was manager at Rich River Golf Club, on the NSW side of the Murray River, for seven years, at Keysborough for another seven years and then had stints at Sandhurst, Sanctuary Lakes and The Sands at Torquay before setting up a private business in hospitality. Amstel previously used Gurry's expertise for business planning a few years ago. The club contacted him again recently with what was effectively a new board to revisit a business plan and to have an ongoing presence for a club that was once under financial pressure but is now running smoothly in a corporate sense. To ensure Amstel stays true to its business plan and guidelines is equally important as advice and ideas in Gurry's portfolio. "The fact that it has worked successfully is a credit to the board, to the management, and myself in accepting the role and the parameters around that role," he said. "I don't believe it would work in every circumstance, but certainly the acceptance of a partnership-type approach in being prepared to offer and have that advice either listened to, requested or discussed in a professional manner is the key to it." Gurry now has several diverse business interests that require him to travel between Melbourne and Bendigo during the week. Amstel Club General Manager Peter Butler explained that the club valued Gurry for his independence. "He's not a board member or even a club member. He’s an independent non- voting director. He's someone who's not incumbent by being a member of the golf club," Butler said, adding that Gurry's extensive experience on the day-to-day operations at several golf clubs was critical. "He understands golf. Not that that was the criteria, but it helps. He has a good understanding of being on a board and being a manager of the day-to-day operations around a golf club," he said. "He has very strong and diverse business acumen and he will provide advice to the board. Sometimes they will want to or not want to hear it. But it's fair to say that, if Anthony says something, the board will take heed of it." Gurry, who also describes his role as a "circuit-breaker", has attended Amstel's monthly board meetings for the past two years and is in regular weekly contact with Butler on club matters. An Independent Anthony Gurry … giving an objective view. Eye Golf Victoria 35