On Sunday, December 19th 2021, the entire Lusignan Golf Club committee was reinstated. This means that at the helm once again are President Patanjilee Persaud and Vice President Paton George.
LGC President Patanjilee Persaud
A little over 16 months ago, the Executive Committee took over a club which needed to be stabilised. There were several areas needing urgent attention, some of which were known and others that were discovered along the way.
According to the LGC boss, the most pressing areas that were addressed were the finances, rebuilding of club morale, and managing through the COVID pandemic. Persaud related that, as faith would have it, the rains began to expose the vulnerabilities of the ground, and also uncovered that the club was in greater financial debt than they were made aware of.
“In the 16 months since taking office, we have successfully reduced our real debt, and have put the club in a strong position to now expand,” Persaud posited. The committee started by first rebuilding employee morale, as getting out staff to embrace the coming changes was a critical step towards uplifting members’ spirits.
LGC VP Paton George
After the staff shuffling, and having a team that could be worked with, the club was able to hit the ground running, with everyone embracing their reporting structure. Staff buy-in was critical to providing the support structure needed to facilitate delivering on-time financial reports and ground works.
Members’ morale was bolstered by having up-to-date financial reporting and a stable environment in which to socialize and play golf.
MACORP donated much-need tee signs to the LGC
“We are all aware of most of the challenges all businesses faced as a result of this generational disease situation. Not since the 1930s has the world been saddled with such a health crisis. As a golf club, we decided, in consultation with our members, that we were going to keep the club open. That decision meant serious adherence to all COVID regulations. We did what we could to ensure a safe environment, and were fortunate that through the measures we followed, no outbreak occurred at the Lusignan Golf Club. A bit of good fortune is always to thank…but we feel our effort to be adherent played a role,” the LGC boss has said.
The LGC hosted a successful GTT Open
Persaud went on to state that, as is always the case, the rainy season presents many challenges, and the past year was no different. While the ground was manageable during the dryer season, the rains exposed a series of vulnerable areas. Most pressing was the breach dam along the eastern perimeter, which caused water from outside to flow into the ground. Fixing the many breaches was just a part of the overall repair.
He reiterated that the club had to tackle the rebuilding of low-lying areas – Fairway #5, known as Basil hole, was lifted, and went from being one of the soggiest to now being one of the driest areas on the course. Other work included clearing the drainage canals to ensure smooth flow of water to the pump, expanding the reserves, unclogging stubborn blockage channels, and rebuilding several bridges. In addition to the areas mentioned before, several other important things were accomplished to allow the club to confidently say it is in a very good position to expand.
The effervescent Persaud has reiterated that the Executive Committee has a vision for the club, which includes growing the financial resources by developing the unused areas around the golf club, and expanding the club to a full 18 hole potentially championship golf track.
While they were able to do some needed upgrades to the ground and the club house, and were able to secure a long-term partnership with GTT and several other sponsors – including Assuria, who will be financing the rebuilding of the caddy facility – they still have a long way to go.
