Help! Master Plan Vote Information Needed!!

[JMEvensky]

Paul Richards  especially - but anyone welcome to comment

Our club has a master plan recently completed. It was conceived as a long term plan to at least stop the bleeding if we could not fund it. The maintenance crew could make simple changes, expanding greens / fairways, tree management etc .. within their existing budget.

Should the members vote on accepting the plan without asking them for funding?
What if they vote no? Get a different plan or have no plan?

In our case the vote would likely pass but stirring everyone up might cause resignations etc.

Should the committee execute the plan without a vote if the scope (read budget) is small enough (a bunker here, tee there, expand a green or fairway over there etc..) ?  At what point should the members vote on course changes?

Thanks

I have some experience,so I'll take a stab.

If I understand the premise correctly,your club(Board of Directors?) drew up a universal plan--not solely specific to the golf course.If I've misunderstood,disregard(most of) the following.

I think you do better when you go to the membership.You're more likely to have resignations if some members feel as though something was pushed through without their prior knowledge.If you go to the membership for funding,at least you know on the front end how large a percentage is opposed.If it's a large enough group,you just don't implement the plan.

As to the maintenance staff making "simple changes",not everyone will have the same definition of "simple".

Why not go to the membership?If they're presented with a well thought-out plan with hard numbers,they might surprise you.Most guys will spend money to improve their golf course so long as A) they understand what they're getting and why they need/want it,and B) they feel as though they were part of the process.

NB--visuals are really important to the presentation.

[Mike McGuire]

JM

Thanks for the response.

We hired an architect to draw up a master plan for the course. It is complete and was presented to the members at a few meetings.

[Paul Richards]

The plan at Beverly was to restore the golf course.  Ron Prichard was brought in to execute the plan, since Donald Ross is no longer alive, and we are limited in the amount of land we had to use.  The membership approved the plan, the work was completed and any further changes to the course need to be approved by Ron, or else it goes to a majority of the membership through a by-law vote.  We did not keep a standing Architectural committee, which would have been valuable, as over the years, the make-up of the Board changes, and their priority to keep the "Ross intact" changes as well.

Hope this helps.

[Scott Stambaugh]

The plan at Beverly was to restore the golf course.  Ron Prichard was brought in to execute the plan, since Donald Ross is no longer alive, and we are limited in the amount of land we had to use.  The membership approved the plan, the work was completed and any further changes to the course need to be approved by Ron, or else it goes to a majority of the membership through a by-law vote.  We did not keep a standing Architectural committee, which would have been valuable, as over the years, the make-up of the Board changes, and their priority to keep the "Ross intact" changes as well.

Hope this helps.

Paul-

A few questions-

Did the membership approved the plan because there was an assessment tied to it, or did the Board feel they needed the membership's blessing on the plan alone?

Has the club indentified a set amount of time they will use Ron as a consulting architect?  I would assume it would be as long as a majority of the membership is happy with the work, he would be the go-to guy, right?

Thanks.

[David Lott]

IMHO, the only reason to put it in the by laws is if you don't trust your successors. If you don't trust your successors, you probably have a unhealthy problem with factions. If you have unhealthy factions, fix that first if you can. If you can't . . .

Plus, don't over rely on written information. A lot of people--usually including the most difficult--don't read very carefully. Have meetings. Have one on ones for those who desire. (Not many will.)

Beverly is a great club. Good luck!