The award-winning Club Manager has made a significant impact at Newport during his year at the helm.
Newport Golf Club’s Rhys Morgan has revealed the “two fundamental goals” that he set his sights on when he took over as Club Manager last year.
Rhys was named Club Manager of the Year at the Wales Golf Awards in March, having driven significant improvements at Newport since joining in early 2024.
The former Assistant Golf Professional at Machynys Golf Club has carved out a distinct career path, also serving as Golf Shop Manager, Golf Services Manager and Golf Operations Manager at the South Wales Venue, where he rose to the position of Director of Golf & Senior Resort Manager during his 10-year spell.
His first role as a Club Manager came at Pennard Golf Club, where he enjoyed a successful six-year stay before moving on to Newport.
Describing his remit on arrival, Rhys said: “There were two fundamental goals. The first one was to look into green fee income. Previously it hadn’t been a priority to generate a huge amount of visitor income because the club has always had a very healthy membership base.
“However, the approach has changed in recent years because the club wants to be able to invest a little bit more in the facilities, and therefore green fee income is definitely a way that will allow us to improve and increase capital expenditure.”
This was an area in which Rhys had a proven track record, having driven substantial growth in green fee income at his previous club, Pennard.
“In the six years I was there, and with the help of the team, I oversaw an increase in green fee revenue from around £136,000 a year to just shy of £250,000 in my final year,” he said.
Rhys drew on that experience to get things moving in the right direction at his new club, driving marketing initiatives to engage potential visitors. As at Pennard, he had the help of a willing and capable team, to whom he paid tribute following his award success.
“It was an honour to receive that recognition and it shows very clearly that we are doing things the right way,” he said. “It’s an award that reflects on the whole team, and I’m very fortunate to have inherited a fantastic team at the club. They have all bought into what we wanted to do here and it has allowed us to achieve a lot in my first 12 months.”
The second key goal for Rhys was to improve the general maintenance of the facilities to match the calibre of the golf course.
“Over recent years, the club have been very proactive in developing the golf course and spending a lot of money there, but not so much on the overall club environment,” he explained. “Over the last 12 months, we’ve invested heavily in a lot of general maintenance, new signage and areas like to enhance the overall experience.
“We’re not only providing a fantastic course, but we’re striving to make sure everything else matches that.”
