CANCELLATION OF THE 2025 PENNANT - UPDATED

Member Update – 24 August 2025

Fellow Seniors and Clubs,

At the commencement of our pennant competition midway through July, we all believed that we had seen the last of the wet weather.  How wrong were we!

By the end of July, all Divisions had managed to get 3 rounds under their belts.  With the return of the rain, Round 4 saw the tally drop to 7 and then to 5 the week after.  As the weeks progressed the number of cancelled, rescheduled or deferred games progressively increased whilst the availability of playable venues steadily declined.

Of the few games played at the commencement of last week’s Round 6, it was evident that bad weather was once again headed our way.  By week’s end, in the 24 hours prior to Friday’s Committee meeting, the Illawarra, Metropolitan and Mid North Coast recorded rainfall of around 120mil, 100mil and 220mil respectively.

Courses that were still struggling to recover from the May onslaught were right back at square one.

From feedback that clubs kindly provided to the Committee prior to Friday’s meeting, supplemented by data obtained through MiScore – Leaderboard, it was clearly evident that this year’s competition could not proceed as the number of open and available venues was down to just a handful.  It is a situation that is not going to improve in the short term.

Additionally:

• As courses progressively open, many will do so without access to carts.  For many clubs, this would make it highly unlikely that they could field a team.

• Many clubs that had deferred greens renovations have now moved to implementation.

• Whilst courses may be open, it does not automatically translate that they are playable.  The risk of slips, trips and falls, to mention just a few, are ever present when traversing damp and sloping ground.

• Our clubs are suffering financially whilst our fellow members and guests are deprived of the use of their courses.  If it was business as usual, our competition could be accommodated.  It is clearly not business as usual – and our clubs, members and guests must be considered.

Consideration was given to finishing the divisional games at the end of next week where possible and calling all other washed out matches a draw, but that would potentially create unfair results in quite a few divisions, so ultimately the decision to cancel the 2025 series, was the only feasible option.

Whilst this year’s Pennant has been cut short, the Committee has been looking positively to the future and will engage with members not too far down the track, with an exciting new opportunity.

In closing, the Committee would very much like to thank all players and clubs for their support and camaraderie and the hospitality provided by all the clubs.

On behalf of the NSW SSGA Committee,

Kind regards,

Leigh Brydson

Captain

0410 373 452