SIR, It was with satisfaction that Melrose Golf Club Committee posted a £5305 surplus to year ending September 30, 2014 at their recent AGM.

Within the income & expenditure account sheet it shows that staff costs which comprise of green keeping and bar personnel has been cut from £36,209 to £27,121 representing a saving of £9,088.

The course maintenance is now carried out by one full time green keeper who is already working at a level beyond what should be expected of him and the course cannot be kept in its present state with this level of workforce.

The bar within the club over the last year has been operated in general by a couple of retired members who do so at no cost to the club.

The bar takings for the club has also fallen from £22,281 in 2012 to a low of £12,573 during the last year. These figures would also have been darker if not for a great club sponsor Belhaven Brewery.

Also within the above accounts for the club the power consumption for the club due to the under usage of our clubrooms has dropped from £3,363 to £1,917 saving £1,446 and for some reason the rates and rent section drops from £1,777 to £211 again another saving of £1,566.

At last year’s AGM we had 317 members which with our subscription levy of £264 should have generated an income alone of £53,879.

This was when the true nature of what is happening at Melrose Golf Club came to light.

The actual figure of subscription income was at £45,527 which is in real terms a loss of £8,352.

As a club we had lost 64 club members during the year with this resulting in an overall drop in membership from 317 in 2013 to 263 in 2014 a net loss of 54.

The profit reported figure of the club does not truly present to our members the state we find our club in.

The biggest worry within the club over and above these damning figures is the complete disintegration of our Junior Section which in most clubs is the life blood for the future.

In this year’s Junior Championship which is normally a stroke play format but in 2014 a knock out event was held with only four boys entering.

At the 2014 AGM the General Committee presented a motion to remove our OAP membership discount which has always been available within the club to acknowledge these types of members for their outstanding service to the club.

The club stated this was required to assist with the club’s financial position but at no time did they take the time or effort to meet and discuss this with these members.

The General Committee have succeeded in this removal of OAP discount which will be phased in over two years, resulting in our OAP members having to pay the full £264 membership.

In doing this the Melrose Golf Club have achieved a first.

Yes the first of the main four sporting clubs within our town of Melrose to remove a discounted membership for OAPs.

I also feel saddened by the “Melrose Boys” who are members of our club committee who I feel have been badly advised on these matters and also with the various times within the last few years that our club Committee have carried out actions which went against the club constitution resulting in around four members of the club committee deciding to resign due to this.

I am, etc.

Saddened Melrose Club Member Name and address supplied