Barnbougle bounces back
• Richard Sattler, golf course superintendent Phil Hill and general manager Penny Sattler at the new course.
By Daisy Baker
December 16, 2020
After two and a half months of complete shut down due to COVID-19 earlier this year, things are starting to ramp up on Barnbougle’s golf courses.
Barnbougle managing director Penny Sattler said since interstate borders opened recently, bookings have been streaming in.
“It was a very quiet winter because most of our clientele are mainland or international and Tassie makes up a small portion of what we do,” she said.
“We were kind of overstaffed and we had people on Jobkeeper but apart from that we couldn’t really have anyone else because we didn’t have anyone coming through.
“Then we opened and it started getting busy and all of a sudden it’s just everything exploding – there’s people coming from everywhere and they’re booking for the next day.”
In peak season they require around 150 staff to service the pro-shops, restaurants, bars, accommodation, bookings and greenkeeping.
They are recruiting more staff across the board as they build their team back up to, to meet the demands of the fast-approaching busy summer period, with a focus on local staff.
Ms Sattler said usually between Christmas and New Year locals come for lunch but their accommodation isn’t that busy.
This year has seen a change of pace with returning large groups of golfers coming to play and families booking to stay over the Christmas and New Year period.
“Usually we’d be quiet from about now for about a month but the polo always made things a little bit busier whereas now it’s changed,” she said.
“Our busy period usually ends in April but the forward bookings for April and May are about double what they would usually be.”
With their new 14-hole golf course set to open in late February or early March, Barnbougle is also looking to recruit three new local trainee greenkeepers to help keep up with the ongoing maintenance of the three courses.
An architect from the United States visited Barnbougle in December last year to walk the proposed site with owner Richard Sattler and to discuss the vision.
The wheels were in motion later that months and the architect flew back to the United States with plans to return in March but due to COVID he couldn’t return so instead oversaw the project remotely.
Golf course superintendent Phil Hill said they took advantage of the quiet winter months, pouring most of their time and resources into developing the new course.
“We were mowing the other two courses every second or third day instead of every day because we didn’t have to maintain them to the standard we normally do as there were no golfers,” he said.
“All the earthworks and seeding happened in 12 weeks and the growing is taking place now.”