Play golf, or else...

Liverpool Catholic Club, which bought the club in 2002, will send its president Tony Atkins and general manager John Turnbull to Albury to meet Thurgoona golfers on August 27 to discuss various issues.

Mr Turnbull said his club’s involvement with Thurgoona Country Club Resort was not threatened.

He said the golfing section was the only part of the club not performing to expectations.

The meeting will take place after the Saturday golf competition and Mr Turnbull hoped many members would attend.

“The golfers are very ambitious and one-eyed and probably don’t realise the cost of running a golf club,” he said.

“I think they’ve got to support it a little more.

“Each division of the club is standing on its own feet, except the golf.

“It is not drastic and not like what they are doing over the border to the poor SS & A Club.

“We have poured a lot of money into the club down there — you are talking $12 to $14 million.”

Mr Turnbull said a rise in Thurgoona’s membership fees was inevitable.

“They’ve got to go up at some stage,” he said.

“We’ve got 180 acres (82 hectares) down there and we’ve got more ground outside the fairways than on the fairways. We have to look at that.

“We are doing it with a minimum of staff, but they have got the best equipment.”

Mr Turnbull said his view was that the licensed club industry was struggling on the Border with the exception of the Commercial Club which operated the Albury golf course.

Further information outlining Thurgoona’s financial situation will be mailed to members before the information meeting.

“It is going to be a reinforcement of our commitment and I am going to highlight where we can go and what we can do,” he said.

“Some of the things people want us do, we can’t because there is not a lot of money in the industry down there at the moment.

“But it is in a developing area and we still believe it will stand on its own two feet.”