Beachside Golf Course UPGRADE
Mollymook Golf Club are investing in the future of golf by committing to player safety and the preservation of our community asset
LEARN MORE AT OUR OPEN DAYS
Wednesday 19th May
3pm - 7pm
&
Thursday 20th May
9.30am - 1.30pm
Function Room - Mollymook Golf Club
Drop-in at any time and have your questions answered
• Talk to the key stakeholders involved in the upgrade plan
• Understand more about the construction timeline and inclusions
• Learn more about how golf memberships will be handled throughout
BACKGROUND
Course History
The first golf course at Beachside, known as ‘Molymoke Links’ was established in the 1930’s. The course was on private property and stretched around Collers beach. The course now fondly known as ‘Beachside’ was purchased and established as Mollymook Golf Club (MGC) in the 1950’s. The greens were sand until 1959 and the first clubhouse was an old 2-bedroom residence located at the top of the hill near the current maintenance shed. A small clubhouse was built at the northern end of the course in the 1950’s and the current building was opened in 1969.
In the 1970’s all attention transferred to the establishment of the 18-hole course at Hilltop which over time has developed into a premium golfing facility. Unfortunately for Beachside, there has since been no meaningful investment in the course and associated infrastructure. The 9-hole layout, bunkers, drainage, and irrigation system are much the same now as they were 40 years ago.
Time moves on...
The residential population of the region has and continues to grow, as has the number of visitors holidaying in the area. Mollymook Beach is a highly popular destination and the number of pedestrians and vehicles utilising paths and roads near the Beachside golf course increase every year. Proportionately, the risk of a wayward golf ball causing serious injury to a member of the public increases.
In recent years, the problem is further exacerbated by a steady increase in the number of golfers utilising the Beachside course. Proportionately, the number of errant golf balls entering neighbouring properties and public thoroughfares increases.
The safety concern has been an ongoing issue for many years and in 2006, Ross Watson Golf Course Architects was commissioned to assess both the Hilltop and Beachside golf courses in terms of modernisation and safety.
The following is an extract from the opening paragraph of the assessment:
At the Hilltop course there are several issues of concern regarding safety, aesthetics and maintenance and the general thought process is to ‘modernise’ the course by addressing shade problems, bunker consistency, and tee design.
The Beachside course possesses dire safety problems with the routing of the layout requiring attention. The layout of holes presents numerous safety problems both internally to golfers and externally to adjacent public roadways. To solve these safety issues, the entire site needs to be revamped.
RW Golf Course Architecture, MGC Concept Control Plan Design Report, Dec 2006.
A “Control Plan” for each course was subsequently developed. Changes proposed for Hilltop were relatively minor and most have been implemented however the plan for Beachside was based on a new course layout which required substantial redevelopment works. In 2007 the proposed new layout was designed, and the construction tender released. Turnpoint Maintenance was appointed to carry out the works however the project was abandoned before construction commenced.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Golf Management Committee (GMC) is responsible for overseeing the development of the Beachside Course Masterplan and upgrade project. Regular progress updates and recommendations requiring approval are presented to the Board of Directors (facilitated by the GM).
GMC members currently comprise:
David Hassall - Club President
Sean Carson - Club Captain
John Holt - General Manager
Specialist golf expertise is being provided by the following contributors:
Barry West - Golf Manager
Mollymook Golf Club
Barry West is the Golf Manager at Mollymook Golf Club on the south coast of New South Wales and has been representing Troon Golf, the world’s largest golf management company, for 13 years. Barry has been a member of the Australian PGA for 30 years and has spent the last 25 years in golf management at clubs and resorts in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, China and South Korea.
Barry is a Certified Professional and has “Advanced” status in Small Business, Game Development and Golf Management with the PGA’s Accreditation and Continuing Education (ACE) Program. Barry is a member of Golf Management Australia (GMA) and has completed Golf Management, Leadership Principles and the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer modules with the Business Management Institute (BMI) for the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA).
After a successful career in teaching, Barry moved into golf management in 1996 and has been the General Manager at some of Troon’s largest and most prestigious facilities around the world including Alpensia Golf & Country Club in South Korea which was the venue for the 2018 Winter Olympics and Lion Lake Country Club in Guangdong, China which won the “Best Golf Course Design Award” and was also voted the “Best New Golf Club” in China when he was the General Manager.
Barry has been involved in the pre-opening and construction phases of 5 golf courses in 3 different countries and worked very closely with some of the world’s leading golf architects including Robert Trent Jones Jnr, Rick Jacobson and Rick Robbins.
In recent years, Barry has been on the Golf Advisory Committee to Golf NSW and has both hosted regional GMA events and been a guest speaker for GMA NSW and GMA QLD.
Mark Pullinger - Head Superintendent
Mollymook Golf Club
Mark is responsible for the course maintenance and turf management at both the 18 hole Hilltop course and the 9 hole Beachside course. Mark has a lot more experience at this club than most superintendents do at their own courses as Mark has been associated with Mollymook Golf Club for over 30 years. Mark started playing golf at the Beachside course as a young boy and has since become a very accomplished golfer in his own right featuring on the club’s Honour Boards multiple times. Mark has played off a handicap of 1 but is now hovers comfortably around 2 to 3 handicap.
Mark’s passion for the game became his life’s work after starting his greenkeepers apprenticeship at Mollymook in 1997. Six years later, Mark was promoted to Assistant Superintendent and became the club’s Course Superintendent in 2018. Nobody has more knowledge about both the Hilltop and Beachside courses than Mark.
Mark has an impressive array of qualifications including…
Diploma in Horticulture/Turf
Certificate IV in Horticulture/Turf
Certificate in Greenkeeping Trade
Chemical Certificate Accreditation
TORO Site Pro Accreditation
It is very rare to have a superintendent that has spent his whole life on the course that he manages but Mollymook is very fortunate to have someone so dedicated to the presentation of “his” golf courses.
Working directly with the GMC and providing specialist skills in the fields of Golf course design, agronomy and golf management are:
Justin Trott - General Manager
Programmed Turnpoint - Golf Division.
Justin is a passionate golfer and has twenty-five years’ experience as a professional Golf Course architect, having worked as a course designer with Thompson Perrett Golf Course Architecture for 16 years prior to joining Turnpoint in 2011. Justin, a current member of the Society of Golf Course Architects Design was responsible for designing the 2014 Hilltop Golf Course Masterplan and was the Project Manager of the 2015 Hilltop bunker renovation project. Justin has been commissioned to design the Beachside Course Masterplan.
David Lunardelli - Director of Agronomy and Golf Operations Australasia
TROON Golf
David Lunardelli has over 35 years’ experience in the construction and maintenance of golf courses throughout Australia and Asia. The past 20 of these years have been in his current role with Troon Golf which has seen him involved in construction and/or management of over 45 properties in 10 countries working in all climates and agronomic situations including soil, water and grass types.
Some Troon properties were David also served as the onsite superintendent include the Greg Norman designed Pelican Water’s and Brookwater Golf and Country Clubs, and the Links Hope Island.
Additional to the above experience, David has worked closely with multiple Asian and European tour events and has also furthered his studies majoring in Crop Science at Sydney University making his practical and technical knowledge in all aspects of turf maintenance, management, construction and operations sought after worldwide.
Note: Mollymook Golf Club and Programmed Turnpoint (contractor) will execute a fixed cost construction agreement prior to commencement of works. The contractor will be responsible for the project management of construction.
KEY ISSUES
Safety
In recent years, the number of incidents involving golf ball strikes to persons on neighbouring properties has increased, particularly along Golf Avenue. In addition, damage to houses, vehicles and other property has increased. It is important to note there are also safety concerns for players and employees on the course. The course is ‘tight’ and several locations are over exposed to the flight path of wayward golf balls.
Upon seeking legal opinion in 2019, Tony Johnston (Eastern Commercial Lawyers) advised the Club has a duty of care to minimise the risk of harm to the public due to errant golf balls entering neighbouring property. As result of this advice, the 1st and 9th tees were relocated to prevent golf balls travelling into and across Riversdale Drive (public road).
The image below identifies the primary danger zones of the current course layout. Of key significance are the areas to the right of the 3rd and the 8th fairways where wayward golf balls travel onto public roads and private residences. Note also the housing adjoining the 6th fairway.
Golf Appeal
In addition to the primary issue of safety, there is the question of golf appeal. With little meaningful investment in the Beachside golf in many years, the course has become regarded as a low cost, low quality alternative to Hilltop. Low revenues from membership and green fees reflect minimal investment in course maintenance and infrastructure. Conversely, practice facilities and golf shop services are limited.
The scope of works required to resolve the safety issue creates an opportunity to enhance the standard of the course at minimal expense. A challenging and visually appealing layout may provide a golf experience that better reflects the needs of the membership and visiting golfers. With a move away from the low-cost offering, there is potential to diversify facilities and services to a broader audience. Potential offerings include:
Practice Green
Practice bunker
Practice nets
Golf simulator facilities
Mini golf facility
Full-service golf shop
There is also potential to ‘overflow’ from the Hilltop course, easing the burden of course capacity issues.
COURSE DESIGN
The Beachside Course Upgrade project is underpinned by the Clubs obligation to reduce risk to the public, club patrons and employees as highlighted in the findings of the 2006 Ross Watson Design Report and 2019 legal opinion provided by Eastern Commercial Lawyers.
The 2006 Ross Watson Control Plan recommended:
The distance of the course be shortened to reduce the length of ball flight,
Realign fairways towards the centre of the course (inwards) to minimise the risk of ‘sliced’ golf balls entering neighbouring properties.
As such the key element of the design is a course layout providing the safest option possible in the space available.
Source: Justin Trott, Course Architect
Order of Works
Strip existing greens and tees not being kept and work areas. Stockpile stripped grass material.
Excavate and stockpile sand from old tees and old greens not being kept. Strip new green and tee sites and stockpile.
Bulk shape new tees, green, bunkers and cart paths as required. Roll bases of new tees, greens bunkers, cart paths.
Install drainage in new greens, tees, and bunkers.
Install bunker matt to bunkers as required on faces.
Install irrigation as required around course and commission. Import sand into green and tees.
Fine shape green and tees and surrounds.
Amendments to greens.
Final trim prior to grassing/seeding.
Grassing of greens.
Grassing of green, tee and bunker surrounds.
Installation of cart paths as required.
Final tie‐in of cart paths to fairway edges
Grassing (stolonising fairways or solid turf) as required. Grow In.
Inclusions:
New nine-hole 1234-meter par 28 layout with 8 par 3’s and 1 par 4.
All flight lines are aligned towards the centre of the course (inwards) minimising the risk of ‘sliced’ golf balls entering neighbouring properties.
The on-course danger zone on the western side of the water storage dam is eliminated
Larger tees and greens
Large practice green
Practice nets
New irrigation system covering all tees and greens
Access paths to all areas with a single crossing point on Riversdale Drive
Zoysia turf on the approaches and green surrounds
Rebuilt and new bunkers
Full course watering system