“We’re still open to any conversations,” Mr Boyd said.
“Ultimately, we won’t be able to have anyone on site here from the 22nd from a liability perspective, and we’ll do what we can to support them.
“This solution made the most sense to see that through that would give us a chance to give our staff and our members some notice on what’s happening, and also an occasion to run down our stocks.”
The club is now working on solutions to assist members, staff and the attached gym, Corowa Combat Sports, to move on from the closure with as little disruption as possible.
Mr Boyd took on the job as general manager at Corowa Golf Club just four weeks ago, with a focus to find a solution to the club’s financial woes.
In the 18 months previous he held a financial support management role at the club, designed to improve reporting and to get more clarity on the situation.
He said the role gave him the knowledge he needed as general manager to pursue all possible avenues to avoid closure before concluding that the club just couldn’t continue along its current trajectory.
“When the pokies were in full swing in New South Wales 30 years ago, there was money in the bank, and things were solid,” Mr Boyd said.
“It’s been a gradual deterioration since then.
“The financial results over the last seven to eight years show a deficit almost every year.”
While public perception is that the club is always busy, Mr Boyd said there was a delineation between what happens on the course and what happens in the club, even though they’re part of the same business.
“Golfers come here for golf first, and then the club,” he said.
“Particularly, the full members who are down here all the time playing golf don’t necessarily come into the club all the time.
“They’re here for their sport and their recreation, and that’s the whole purpose of the course.
“It’s the attraction of outside players, we call them the ‘play and stay group’, which needs more growth, and ultimately, it’s coming too slow and too late in the piece for that focused growth.”