WHILE many golf clubs around the Highlands have been struggling recently, Bowral has received a breath of fresh air in the form of Kevin Burke and Kevin Kenny.
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Burke has just taken over the role of men's captain while Kenny has come from Mt Broughton in order to help Bowral get back to its best.
A few months ago, David Stanley, who was the former men's captain, approached Burke and asked if he would be interested in taking over the role.
"I decided it would be a good thing to do and the members thought it would be a good thing to do," he said,
Now captain of a club that dates back to 1901, Burke said he wanted to maintain the traditions of the club while progressing with the times.
"I think my mission is for the members to enjoy their golf; that's the number one mission," he said.
"I've been a member of the golf club since 1984 so I'm well aware of the club and its traditions.
"So there's a balance between tradition and progression and the main thing is for people to enjoy their golf and run it to the best of my ability, competitions and such like."
Another of Burke's key goals is to increase the number of visitors to the club.
"I'd like to see membership increasing and I'd like to see bigger fields and more visitors," he said.
"That's really what we're after. With Kevin Kenny's activities, the visitor activity is going up so we're seeing a new life in the golf club, which is great.
"Bowral Golf Club has always had the reputation of being fairly staid- we're not.
"There are some older members and they're fantastic, but we've also got newer members and they're fantastic, so it's a great club to belong to."
Being involved with the club for 28 years, Burke said the members had been a highlight for him over the years.
"It's a good golf course, but it's a great club," he said.
"The members here, they come from a wide variety of backgrounds. I suppose the biggest highlight for me is to be appointed captain. It's a real honour."
And while he is yet to achieve the coveted hole-in-one, Burke has many other achievements out on the green.
"I think the day I got an eagle on the 10th. No hole-in-ones yet, but I could have been the unlucky golfer. I decided that probably the only way I was going to get my name on the honour board was to stand for an appointed office."
And tasked with the rebuilding of the club is new secretary manager Kevin Kenny, who was formerly the professional at Mt Brough?ton Golf Club.
Kenny is a professional of "long standing", according to Burke, and was Rookie of the Year when he went on the Australian Tour.
"Kevin's (Kenny) a great golfer and he knows a lot about golf so I think together with the board it's going to be an exciting time," Burke said.
Kenny already has a number of initiatives that will attract more visitors to the club.
"I've basically been tasked with marketing the club to a different arena of golfers to try to get more visitors in here while enhancing what we have here with the members," he said.
"It's no secret that golf courses in the Highlands are finding times difficult at the moment.
"It was a challenge to come to Bowral; the members here want to fight to keep the club going and I want to be part of that challenge.
"There's a lot of great members here and we have the bones here for a great club and to build it back to where it was and I believe we can do that."
With membership gaps in certain age groups, Kenny said they would be doing a lot of marketing online to try to attract more players, particularly from Sydney.
"Also with the catering side of it, we have a great club here. We have a lot of bridge, a lot of social functions and we're looking at restructuring the catering side to enhance that to offer people in the Highlands another venue to come and enjoy great food."
Within the past week, the club agreed to a partnership with Phatt Duck Solutions to be their exclusive caterer.
Stephen and Teena Crooks are the chefs/owners and will provide an exciting new menu for the club using local produce.
"From paddock to plate" is their motto, with the new menu set to kick off on Monday. It will also be on the website soon.
"We feel with this team we now have in place we'll take this club forward. It's one of those clubs where you walk in and it feels like a club," Kenny said.
Burke said while they were a traditional club, they also wanted to ensure it was there for future generations.
"Not only do we have a responsibility to our existing members, we've got a responsibility to the people that set the club up originally, but we also want to make sure the club's here for the future."
