The Royal Mougins Director's Word - March / April 2016

Mougins, Tuesday March 29th 2016

Dear members,

Spring is the time of the year, when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.

Time to send you an update about what’s happening at your Club.

11. UPDATE ON COURSE RENOVATION WORKS PHASE 2

Works have now started on the course with the continuing upgrading of the bunkers and other general works. The plan is to address the bunker issues that we have had on the following holes:

• 2 bunkers on the back of the 2^nd green.
• Relevel and top up with sand the bunker on the 3^rd fairway.
• Soften the front bunker on the 5^th green.
• Reshape the bunker to the left of the 5^th green.
• Reduce and reshape the bunker at the 6^th green.
• Reshape and increase the levels of both bunkers at the 7^th green.
• Reduce and reshape the bunker at the 8^th green.
• Reduce and reshape the bunker at the 10^th green. Put 2 new bunkers in.
• Remove the 4 bunkers at the 13^th green and build 2 new bunkers.

We shall also be carrying out the following works on the course:

• Creating better entrances/exits to the fairways from the paths on several holes.
• Returfing poor areas on the course.
• Creating a new walk area to the 6^th green due to the destruction of the bridge from the October storm.
• Removing the worn area in front of the 8^th green from the buggies and reshaping the approach for better drainage. A new parking area will be created to ensure safety for the players.
• Reducing some of the unmaintainable mounding on the course the allow machines to cut and grass to grow.
• Creating hardline areas outside of the irrigated turf to improve maintenance and esthetics.
• Building a new artificial state of the art practise tee in the range.
• Softening the area to the right of the 4^th green for better access and playability.
• Softening the mounding to the right of the 10^th green for better access.
• Increasing the size of the approach to the 8^th and 13^th greens.

Once again, we appreciate your patience as these works take place. We would appreciate if you give the construction team priority to continue with their work which will be on no more than 2 holes at a time. The team will be working through weekends sometimes. This will allow for delivery by mid- April, weather dependant.

When an area has been sodded or seeded we would ask for you not to enter these zones. They will be roped off and while they might look ready to walk on until the ropes are removed they are not.

Here are some pictures of the works to date:

10^th hole before

 10^th hole after

 New bunker on 8^th

New bunker on 6th

2. OTHER BUSINESS.

The renovation of the kitchen has now been completed and our Chefs Philippe ARTAUD and Servé VROMEN are happy with the result. New menus and ideas await you at their La Terrasse du 18.

Security remains an issue. As you know there is a member committee who have worked hard on a plan in order to improve security at Royal Mougins. The outcome depends on the votes of the residents. The installation of a speed gate at the main entrance is however not something which depends on the residents. RMGC will install such a gate. The planning was to do this before the season however due to delays in negotiations between the speed gate provider and French construction companies this will now not be feasible. I will keep you posted on the progress but we aim for construction to start just after this season. Please note that you Security Committee is not responsible for the delays.

At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.

Meanwhile we have experienced the first robberies on the course. We have taken some measures to prevent but the best way is to never bring any valuables with you on the course. If you, as member, would like to help us and from time to time be our ‘security agent’ for a day then please contact me. Together we can keep the course safe. As a small token of our appreciation we would reward you with a (staff) lunch and a green fee voucher. 

None of us is as smart as all of us.

A few reminders. On March the 31^st we start our bi-annual spiking program and we rely on your understanding as this measure is of utmost importance to keep the greens in good condition all thru the 2016 season.

As you know the Rattan Chadha Cup will be organized on April 23^rd and 24^th. The theme of the Gala Dinner on Sunday the 24^th will be ‘East meets West’ as Michelin Star Guest Chef Zei Lai Sin will cook you a marvellous menu together with our Chefs Philippe Artaud and Servé Vromen.

When you’re surrounded by people who share a passionate commitment

around a common purpose, anything is possible!

Other dates in April to mark:

April 7^th      green spiking

April 22^nd    General assembly ‘Association Sportive’

April 30^th     Dutch king’s Day

And last but not least I extend a very warm welcome to our new members:

Peter Andersen (already scored a hole in 1 last week on 17! Congratulations.)

Laura Revel

Jean-Francois Ballin

RMGC is focussed on attracting more members to assure its future for at least another 20 years. There are various membership programs (that already exist between RM’s opening). Rest assured that we apply these programs to the letter contrary to rumours going around (see Elisabeth for details). We have but a few odd and rare cases out of the ancient past which are currently being reviewed by us in order to align all annual dues soonest.

Obviously golfers will have to start growing in number before the industry can even consider returning to its 2003 highs. But current trends indicate the sport is adapting to a new generation of time-strapped individuals that value family and flexibility just as much as time on the golf course.

In view of all that is happening all around us my advice is: ‘Carpe Diem’. Let’s make it a great year!

The Royal Mougins Team wishes you a great start of the season and please do not hesitate to contact me with any recommendation, comment or idea you have. We are here for you!

“The future depends on what you do today.”

Best regards,

Jurgen Wondergem

Proud to be Royal Mougins!

“Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.” 

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Royal Mougins Director's Word - February 2016

Mougins, February 2^nd 2016

Dear member(s),

As reported before we will have to close our kitchen from February 14th – March 11th due to construction works. As a bonus we will present you new menus right from the reopening. Our Chefs are currently working hard on new culinary ideas.

A food truck will be in place during this time, next to the ProShop so that you can order all kind of goodies before or after your round of golf. Just to give you an idea the following items will be served at the food truck (and then some):

Saumon Gravlax aux agrumes endives rouges et tomates cerises mesclun et vinaigrette

Mille-feuille de pomme golden à la chèvre frais et billes de carottes vinaigrette

Various pains cocotte and sandwiches

Ballotine de volaille aux cèpes tagliatelles de légumes, et sauce aux cèpes, cerfeuil

Navarin d’agneau aux légumes oubliés thym citronné

Scampis pochés au court bouillon, julienne de légumes et sa sauce crustacée, aneth

Obviously the Bar will stay open every day (from 7 to 19 hours). We apologize for any inconvenience. Our motivated and talented Chefs will make good soon!

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things,

Because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

In about two to three weeks we will start round 2 of the bunker works on the course. At the same time we’ll work on the driving range, repair the fences and clean up the remainders of the storm. We ask for your patience and understanding but the course will only become better.

We have also ‘lost’ two hotel rooms during the famous October storm. We will begin renovation works soon. We have finally received the go-ahead from our insurance company.

Since the beginning of the year we have signed on 4 new members. Contrary to rumours going around we respect the existing membership programs (including the published annual dues!). We apply these programs to the letter!

We have but a few odd and rare cases out of the ancient past which are currently being reviewed by us in order to align all annual dues soonest.

We welcome, with great pleasure, the following new members to the Royal Mougins family:

Mikkel  Beck

Carmen Chartouni

Régine Thiess

Michael Thiess

Also remember that if through your efforts we sell a full RM membership we will, also in 2016, award you with a discount on your 2017 annual dues. Please contact our Membership Director Elisabeth Boisson if you know someone to recommend to become member.

If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.

Sincerely,

Jurgen Wondergem & team

‘We are proud to be Royal Mougins!’

The Royal Mougins Director's Word - October 2015

Mougins, October 2015

Dear member,

While writing this newsletter we are all still in shock of the aftermath of the terrible storm we experienced Saturday evening and night. More than 200mm (8 in) of rain fell on the Cannes region in two hours causing havoc and killing more than 24 people. Our thoughts are with them and those close to them.

Golf Course.

With this unprecedented weather, we were very lucky at Royal Mougins. Nothing but material damage to the course and the hotel. We lost the pedestrian bridge at the 6^th green and unfortunately the majority of the sand from the bunkers has completely washed away. This has now been assessed by our experts and the insurance company and we are going to start the programme of repairing them. We could not do anything before everything was assessed.

We will start with the greenside bunkers and then move to the fairways. Your patience has been greatly appreciated and while the fairways only had a few dead fish on them the rest of the grass areas escaped compared to the other courses on the Riviera.  Rest assured that we are doing everything to repair and restore as soon as possible. One piece of good news for the bunkers is the arrival of our Course Architect this Sunday, Rick Baril of Von Hagge, to look at Phase 2 for the bunkers and the overall Masterplan for the Grassing Lines and the new Irrigation system. He will spend a few days with Turfgrass, our new Irrigation Consultant and the Course Manager to assess all areas.

Fairways held up very well and were dry 2 days after the flooding. We will continue to topdress these for consistency and drainage. The 13^th fairway continues to improve and has improved no end compared to last year especially given the record heat we had this summer. While the 13^th is our weakest fairway, we had less die back this year. Overseeding through the Autumn will continue.

The planned spiking on Tuesday the 6^th was performed as planned. This worked out well despite the inclement weather. The greens were heavily topdressed after and we will continue to do so on a weekly basis as this will improve surface roll and texture of the grass for the future. We do apologise for any small inconvenience but this light topdressing from now on should not affect play at all and will only help to improve conditioning. During this time last year we were suffering from one of the worst outbreaks of Dollar Spot and thankfully we can report that there is no problem this year. We are going into the winter with much stronger greens and the Greenstaff must be commended for this.

Our tree management programme has started and some of you might notice the removal of certain trees and shrubs that have grown over the past 15 years and completely obscured the view and playability of certain shots. An example of this is on the 5^th Hole where the scrub was blocking the view to the right side of the green. This has now been cleared. Our aim is to open the holes back up again by bringing the course back to the original planting where we can. We are focusing on some of the dangerous trees on the course and will then move to the line of sight trees and those that affect shade and light around greens and tees. We have contractors working on the larger trees but a special thanks must go out to Remy and his team for the work they have done.

Fall is the spring of winter.

Once again we ask for patience as we restore the bunkers and take into consideration the works that will be performed on these during the winter. This information shall be presented in the next Newsletter.

Restaurant

Please note that our restaurant will be open for dinner all throughout the winter time from Tuesdays thru Saturdays. Please check the blog or ask our team for special theme evenings with live music. The Bar will stay open every evening till 8pm. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you all through the winter period.

Spa

As of October the 15^th we have entered into a joint venture with Christelle Tortorici of Groupe Thalassotel. Farah and her team have done a more than great job over the past almost 2 years. Exactly the reason why we wanted to keep her on as manager and ‘face’ of our Spa. Unfortunately Farah has declined this offer which decision we have to respect. I wish her nothing but success in her new venture. Seeing her go is a setback for our Spa and Royal Mougins.

Christelle Tortorici will contact you soon with special offers as members will of course continue to receive certain discounts, etc.

The new brand will be SODASHI which today is only used in France at the Spa of the Four Seasons George V in Paris. The Spa will be open year round 7/7 from 10am till 8pm.

"Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax."

AS/RMGC sports teams

As our Club has but a few very low handicap players who are also willing to participate in the several teams, the need to find a solution arose as we as RLGC wanted to be present at the several competitions.

Therefore some time ago, upon request from Hans-Peter Franklin (Club Captain), Christian Simonsen,  Stéphane Damiano and the entire AS Board, we (Rattan Chadha and the management) decided to offer the possibility to attract a maximum of 10 very low handicap players in order to play in the teams and represent RMGC in any important competition. This to further develop the sporty side of the club and have a RMGC presence where there was none before.

The deal (as is common practice in other clubs) is:

-         Low handicap

-         Preferable under the age of 35

-         Yearly fee of 1.500,-

-         Obligation to play in the first or Mid-Amateur teams

-         Costs for competitions to be paid (in part) by the AS

-         Authorization to play RMGC

-         Maximum duration 3 years but to be renewed each year after evaluation

-         Have to remain in good standing and respect RMGC rules & etiquette at all time. If not player will be excluded immediately and loose right to access and play RMGC

-         Represent RMGC in style

Obviously these players will not receive a membership. If they pay the annual AS fee they can play internal competitions as well. However they would be excluded from the prize giving (as they are not members).

The deal will be activated for these 10 players, identified by the AS Board and the captains, on a trial bases. More players won’t be accepted. Obviously these players were and are more than eager to accept. They are mainly younger business men who adore golf and we wish all our teams lots of success in 2016. It will be good for the image of our Club.

We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things,

Because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

Golf

It’s not yet 2016 but please note that the Rattan Chadha Cup will not be played around Easter but on April 23^rd and 24^th.

Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.

         

New members

Last but most certainly not least we extend a warm welcome to the following new members:

Mariette Deiters

Pieter Deiters

Denis Cohen

Melissa Overbeek

Edzard Overbeek

Ole Lien

Henrik Fugsland

David Reuben

Sabine Benguigui

Patrick Benguigui

Wishing you a great (hopefully) Indian summer and winter wherever that might be. Know that your RM team is doing its utmost to offer more of everything in 2016.

Best regards,

Jurgen Wondergem

General Manager

Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction.

2015 Survey

Mougins, March 2015

Dear Members,

Recently you received a link to a questionnaire. Already 200 members have taken the time to answer these questions. We thank you very much for this since your responses, remarks and ideas give us the necessary knowledge on how you review your membership of RMGC and the Club’s services.

If you have not yet looked at the questionnaire we invite you again to do so. Please click on this link to continue:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1999640/Royal-Mougins-Golf-Resort

This questionnaire is part of the efforts of the committee working on a strategic plan 2015 – 2020. On the request of Rattan Chadha, management and several members Pieter Schoen (Chairman) put together a committee with the sole purpose to produce a Plan securing RMGC’s future. The committee consist of several members, former and current management. 

A strategic plan is the document that results from a strategic planning process and defines the following:

• The club’s vision or purpose for being in existence.

• Where the club wants to be in five years in terms of its

membership and financial position.

• How it intends to get there through a set of prioritized actions.

For Royal Mougins Golf Club& Resort the committee has outlined the following steps to be followed.

Resort Performance Audit & Market Study 

The first phase is to understand the business’ performance in key areas such as Golf Sales & Marketing, Hotel Sales & Marketing, Membership Sales & Management, Customer Service and Operations. 

Phase 2 ‐ Development of a Long‐Term Strategic Plan 

Using the information gathered and analysed from Phase 1, this phase will build a long‐term strategic plan for RMGC and in so doing also create a business plan and a membership plan for the future growth and management of the resort. 

Phase 3 ‐ Implementation

Planning is vital for a business to develop and to achieve its potential but it relies on effective implementation if the results are to be accomplished. 

It is obvious that a thorough strategic plan helps a club understand its competitive position, members’ priorities and financial position. It defines vision, aspirations and the steps the club needs to take to reach its goals. The plan is the result of a disciplined process that carefully considers market and financial conditions and members’ expectations. In a fragile economy and club environment, a strategic plan gives a club its best chance to grow and achieve best‐in‐class status.

Please fill out the questionnaire if you have not yet done so. We NEED your input and thoughts to advance!

Thanking you in advance I remain on behalf of the entire committee;

Sincerely,

Jurgen Wondergem

Verstuurd vanaf mijn iPhone

The Royal Mougins Director's Word - March 2015

Dear members,

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!”

Temperatures are rising, the sun is out and people are smiling. We can’t wait for a great and fun golfing season to start at Royal Mougins. Soon we will welcome back those that spend theirs winter elsewhere and we’ll kick off together during the Easter weekend (Rattan Chadha Cup).

But before we start looking for the Easter eggs all over the golf course I would like to inform you shortly about some of the changes you will find in 2015 at your Royal Mougins.

Obviously RMGC is all about golf and you will be happy to see improvements on holes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 while holes 7, 8, 13, 14 and 17 will follow shortly. On all holes we have been experiencing irrigation problems for a long time now. Currently the team is working hard to get your golf course in shape for the Easter tournament. For that same reason the greens were hollow tined and major parts of the course was top-dressed on March 12 and 13.

Golf! You hit down to make the ball go up. You swing left and the ball goes right.

The lowest score wins. And on top of that, the winner buys the drinks

A committee under guidance of Mr. Pieter Schoen, several members, former and current management has been formed some months ago to analyse data, create a strategic plan 2015 - 2020 and brain storm about solutions for many questions and threats we are currently facing.

I am happy to see that already so many of you have returned the questionnaires which were send out by the committee. We greatly appreciate your commitment and help. Let’s work hand in hand to improve RMGC where we can and come up with ideas for our Club in order to ensure a great golfing future!

Obviously my team and I are open to any comment, remarks and/or criticism. Don’t forget that we are here for you and that you can count on our commitment!

One of the biggest and most important challenges we face today is to attract and recruit new members. For all the obvious reasons!

I am happy to inform you that I have recruited a more than capable Membership Sales Director whose main responsibility is draw in new members as well as add value where possible for the existing members. Presentation of this new team member will follow soon.

We look to the future

because that's where we will be going to spend the rest of our lives.

A new restaurant director, Sébastien Palet (former Chateau de la Chèvre d’Or, Hotel de Mougins, le Martinez) has been appointed and we hope to offer you some minor but never-the-less exciting changes on and off the terrace. The same goes for the Mi-House where Ilona will offer some new and interesting food and beverage items.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food & wine."

Unfortunately we have had some problems with security on the course. An experienced security guard is now making non-stop rounds on the course and I am happy to report that we have had no new incidents. Security will remain a point of attention all season. Never-the-less do not bring valuables while playing golf.

Changes to the décor of the Clubhouse are on our wish list as well. We are working on several plans and once approved will present them in due time. However this will not be before the end of this season.

Some of the other new features to look forward to are: a new website for RMGC, buggies with GPS, year round marshalling, a new housekeeping team and a new magazine.

To golf or not to golf?? What a stupid question! J

More than ever RMGC is involved with social issues and we will organise and/or host quit a number of charities this season. Obviously we will inform you in detail about these events at a later date.

The team is looking forward to spring, summer and fall together with you. Farah and her team of the RM Spa are there to pamper you and help you to keep that shape so that nothing stands in your way to hit the course and soon the beach (Plage Royale, Cannes!).

A successful team beats with one heart.

Sunny regards,

Jurgen Wondergem

General Manager

Everybody makes mistakes. It’s what happens next that matters!