Magazine - Lake Claremont Golf Course in for a Fight

By Editor in Golf on 30th Oct 2008 6:00

Residents are set to force Claremont council to hold a special electors' meeting over the future of the Lake Claremont Golf Course. They said a survey by the council this month was loaded against retaining the golf course.

Residents have only seven more days to give feedback. Claremont has hired a firm that has put forward a series of radical changes to the 40-year-old golf course. But this week nearby residents and golf course users slammed the council for the way it sought public comment. They said a council brochure had not properly represented the concept, and they were highly critical that golf course users were left out because they lived just outside Claremont.

Council CEO Arthur Kyron said the course's future had been a subject of debate for nine years and public consultation had been extensive.

Super Golf and a centre for WA Golf were two option under the master plan. Ms Wood said many people did not understand what SuperGolf involved. "SuperGolf is a leisure park pursuit, not a serious recreational game," she said after the meeting. "It is also usually accompanied by a very good nine or 18-hole proper golf course and there is no room for that at Lake Claremont."

Mr Kyron said groups who regularly used the course could submit their views, even if they lived outside Claremont.

The golf course currently includes:

• A short nine course, comprising nine holes of par three length (which means the golfer should be able to sink the ball in three shots);
• A long nine course, comprising nine holes of varying length (two par threes, two par fives and five par fours); and
• An area on the long nine course that can be used by golf course members as a driving range when warming up for play.

The course is covered in undulations, has significant reticulation problems and a tired clubhouse with a pro-shop and reception area.

The council's four-page brochure lists four options:
• The council to operate an upgraded golf course;
• A contractor to operate an upgraded golf course;
• Rehabilitate and revert the site to parkland/bushland;
• A golf alternative, also known as the masterplan – an option favoured in the 69-page report prepared by consultants CCS Strategic Management, who had been retained by the council in February.

This plan includes limited park and bushland areas, and the introduction of things like SuperGolf (played on a shorter course with over-sized balls and clubs) or a headquarters for WA Golf with a high-performance training centre.

Mr Kyron said the council would consider the consultant's report, a report analysing the survey results and a report from council officers before making a decision.

Source & More: www.postnewspapers.com.au

Read more articles in Golf, by Editor or from October 2008.