Around the Traps - The times they are a-Changin

As we begin the New Year, there are several significant development projects across the country that Australian Golf Digest will be watching closely. These include redesigns, restorations, new courses and proposed projects in remote and exotic locales. There are also the relocations of the Eastern and Horton Park Golf Clubs to new golfing homes, which will be undertaken sometime during 2015.

Among the new projects rumoured to be in the planning stage are courses on Kangaroo (SA) and King Island’s (TAS), near Wollongong in the Illawarra region of NSW and in dunes outside Nora Creina in SE South Australia. There are also projects planned for the Tasmanian mainland that may begin construction during the year, subject to approvals, permits and the necessary finance. These include the Seven Mile Beach and Arm End developments near Hobart and Musselroe Bay east of Barnbougle Dunes. In Queensland there are hopes that Tower Holdings can win approval to build a Greg Norman golf course on Great Keppel Island. Norman has also announced plans for an ambitious golf/residential project in Port Lincoln (SA) for Olympic Gold Medalist Dean Lukin.

Further advanced are the likes of Silverwoods at Yarrawonga and Bingara Gorge at Wilton, an hour southwest of Sydney. Bingara Gorge has a long and checkered development history, with numerous delays and changes of designer since first being floated many moons ago. Presently 9 of the Graham Marsh holes are open to resident play, with the remainder to be finished shortly and open by the end of the year. This is a course that was originally scheduled to open in 2012.

Another project that’s had a rough ride through to completion is Silverwoods on the Murray River, a Ross Perrett design that is currently expanding from 12 to 18 holes and should be fully open by the middle of the year. Silverwoods was always planned as an 18-hole layout, but progress stopped in 2008 when the economic downturn struck. Positive feedback on the existing holes encouraged the new owner in 2012 to not only fund construction of the remaining holes, but also an enhanced practice area.

Perrett has also been involved, with partner Peter Thomson, in the new Mandalay golf course at Beveridge, to the north of Melbourne. Thomson and Perrett returned to familiar ground with Mandalay, working on a flat residential site and building an open, playable course with generous greens and undulating fairways. The course has been open for preview play since late 2014.

The other new opening in recent times was the Bungool Course at Riverside Oaks in Sydney’s West. Designed by local architect Bob Harrison and set near the banks of the Hawkesbury River, Bungool has already proven a popular addition to the once high-profile resort. Unlike the existing course, Bungool is more expansive with fewer internal trees and more generous playing corridors. It also feels more rustic, thanks to an earthy sand in the traps and the deliberately unkempt appearance of the bunkering. Pleasant views of the River no doubt help, but Harrison’s course is far more interesting to play that the older layout and is certain to prove popular with both members and visitors.

Harrison is also involved in the redevelopment of the Townsville Golf Club, alongside LPGA legend Karrie Webb. Having spent more than twenty years working with another famous Queenslander, Greg Norman, Harrison should be familiar with professional golfers and the collaboration process. The Townsville project involves converting a 27-hole course into an 18-hole layout and residential estate. Townsville is one of the oldest golf clubs in Australia, and are looking at the Harrison – Webb team to position them as North Queensland’s premier golf establishment. Work on stage 1 of the project begins shortly and will involve the redesign of 8 holes.

Another high-profile redevelopment project currently underway is the Royal Canberra redesign, overseen by the recently rebadged Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead design team. Last winter the club closed its front nine and let the designers get to work, reshaping greens, bunkers, tees and making a couple of small, but crucial, changes to the routing. The 4^th hole reverts back to a par four and the 6^th to a par five, to better resemble John Harris’s original plans. With construction and grassing nearing completion attention will soon turn to the back nine, which is scheduled to go under the knife this winter. If all goes well the OCCM design team will redesign the third nine at Royal Canberra in a subsequent year.

OCCM Design also has major redesign projects on the books at Bonnie Doon in Sydney and Sun City north of Perth. The Sun City project had initially been labeled a revision, but the first 9 holes (2,3,8 & 10-15) have changed dramatically and improved the strategy and charm of the golf course. These are more than mere modifications. Later this year the 4^th, 5^th and 6^th holes will also be redesigned, with the remainder expected to be rebuilt sometime in 2016 or beyond.

Perhaps the greatest transformation in recent years has come at the Bonnie Doon Golf Club in Sydney, where members golf on a course that is barely recognisable from the previous Ross Watson version. During Stage 1 and 2 of the project, which was completed last year, 10 new or rebuilt holes were completed, including several terrific short par fours. The bulk of the remaining holes will be rebuilt during Stage 3, which is likely to begin in 2016.

Finally, interesting industry news last October when it was announced that The Metropolitan Golf Club had appointed Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford of Golf Strategies as course consultants, to advise initially on the redevelopment of their practice facilities. Crafter and Mogford replaced previous consultants Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead, who had worked with the club since 2006 and reshaped much of the back nine. Clayton is a long-time member at Metropolitan. Whether Crafter and Mogford are asked to advise on course changes remains to be seen, but if so it will be fascinating to see how they handle the potentially delicate issue of altering those newer Clayton holes.

Darius Oliver

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