HE’S the popular general manager at Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales and he also happens to provide his management expertise to nearby Macksville and Bellingen golf clubs.
Johnathon Zirkler, a qualified accountant, has been at the helm at Nambucca Heads Island GC since November 2019 following a two-year stint as GM at Toowoomba Golf Club on Queensland’s Darling Downs.
In the past five years, he has managed to grow the Nambucca club’s revenue and membership while also dealing with a bushfire, Covid lockdowns and four floods.
Now he is providing his business acumen and management skills to help nearby Macksville and Bellingen golf clubs streamline their facilities.
Born at MacLean (NSW) and raised at Macksville, Zirkler and staff have been assisting that club for the past year while Bellingen only recently came on board.
“Bellingen asked the club (Nambucca) to help them out with some of their financial issues – kitchen and management services,” he explained.
“The staff and the kitchen are supplied by us but come under their control. We had a chef who lived nearby so it benefits him to work there while we provide support.”
Zirkler says the Macksville arrangement is quite different.
“With Macksville, it’s all-of-house administration falls under our banner and that gives them access to me and my admin team,” he said.
“It’s been a good challenge to have, but it’s been made tougher by the economy. It has put a dent on most hospitality operations, but we have taken steps to change it and we have seen the benefits there.
“We have made some good changes at Macksville which has seen their revenue increase dramatically, but at the same time wages and the cost of goods keep going up so it seems you are always chasing your tail.”
The difference between Nambucca and Macksville is vastly diverse.
Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club general manager Johnathon Zirkler puts in the hard yards.
“They are different styles of towns and each club represents different styles,” Zirkler said.
“At Nambucca, it is virtually a retirement community with a lot of tourism whereas Macksville is more of a younger family-orientated town where they feel the economic pressure a lot more.
“When things are going well, they are out and about spending but when things get tight, they rein it in a little bit.”
He provides 15 hours of his time per week to Macksville and five hours to Bellingen.
“At Bellingen I don’t have much contact with the membership. It’s more about providing advice to their board, the bar manager and having a regular chat with the head chef,” Zirkler said.
“Over the last 12 months Macksville has really gone to another level. They have some good playing surfaces and the greens are back to where they need to be.”
Still, Nambucca Heads Island GC is Zirkler’s number one priority and it’s where a lot of time and effort has gone into improving the golf course and clubhouse facilities.
“When you come to Nambucca it’s very different from all the other courses because it’s a lot more relaxed,” he said. “We take pride in selling great products – good quality fairways, great bent grass greens, good food and the best local beers plus the best wines.
“We also try to source our staff locally.”
Speaking of staff, Nambucca employs 44 people with Zirkler the longest-serving member of staff after only being at the club just over five years.
“We have seen a good growth in membership and have put in place an under-25s category,” he said. “Our membership breakdown is Gold, Silver and Bronze. Bronze is access to the golf course at a reduced rate.
“Players under the age of 25 pay the Bronze rate but have Gold access.”
Meanwhile, the club has introduced the Island Women’s Invitational 54-hole invitational Jean Derrin event.
“We also have a Good Times Charlie Cup in October, which is a 36-hole Vardon Event this year and through one of our new staff members who has developed a passion for the game, we created a LIV-inspired event and call it Nhiv Golf,” Zirkler said.
“We even had our own party hole. We thought a pass mark was a field of 60 players and we ended up with 116.”
As for Zirkler’s own golf game, well, “it’s a little rusty”.
“This year I’ve played three times, which is more than I played last year,” said Zirkler, who remains a member of the PGA after completing his traineeship in 2005.
Away from the rigors of work he loves the beach and remains a dyed-in-the-wool Canberra Raiders and NSW (Blues) fan.
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