16
September 2010
www.insidegolf.com.auINDUSTRYNEWS .................................................................................................................................................................................................
Tigers Woods’ impact being felt on Aussie
New general manager for Riverside Oaks
golf participation
IN November 2009, Tiger Woods
returned to Australia for the first time
since 1998 to contest the Australian
Masters. With a very successful
event staged at Kingston Heath GC
in Melbourne, where Woods also
prevailed as its winner, the event may
well have also been the catalyst for
increasing rounds played at golf clubs
across Australia over the summer
period, according to the Australian
Golf Industry Council. From October
2009 to March 2010 club competition
rounds across the country, as recorded
by GolfLink, grew by 3.8% over the
corresponding six month period in
2008/09. Nationally, in the month
of November when the Masters
tournament was held, club competition
rounds increased by 8.6% over the
Monthly Competition Rounds – 2008 and 2009
1,100,000
1,000,000
900,000
TROON Golf Australia-Pacific has
announced its appointment of Scott
Ranse to the position of general
manager to oversee management of
Riverside Oaks Golf Club located in
Cattai, NSW. Scott Ranse has been
working in the Resort and Leisure
industries for over 20 years with
varied experience both nationally and
internationally. Scott will be responsible
for managing the day-to-day operations
of the 18-hole championship course, a
fully stocked pro-shop, golf practice
facilities, and the Clubhouse food and
beverage operations. Scott’s previous
management positions with Golf and
Country Clubs has seen him work
with some of the best in the world
including, Hyatt Regency Coolum,
Sunshine Coast, Australia, Empire
Hotel & Country Club, Brunei and the
Suttera Harbour Resort, Malaysia. Troon
Golf Australia, Asia & Pacific Senior
vice-president – managing director Ryan
Walls said that Scott is a great example
of the calibre of management personnel
that Troon Golf brings to its courses.
“We place enormous importance on
our management personnel gaining
worldwide experience,” Mr Walls
said. “Scott’s experience in the golf
management industry will ensure he
plays a key role in positioning Riverside
Oaks as a popular golfing destination,”
he said.;
800,000
700,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2008 Rounds
2009 Rounds
Source: Golf Australia, JBAS analysis.
same month in the prior year with a
4.1% increase seen in the month of
December versus December 2008. For
the full report go to www.agic.org.au;
Note: The Golf Manager Association
of Australia (GMA) have announced
new appointments for general managers
around the country. David Gazzoli
to Killara Golf Club – NSW; Owen
Madden to Carnarvon Golf Club
– NSW; Daniel Constable to Ryde
Parramatta Golf Club NSW; Warren
Smellie Bendigo Golf Club – VIC; Nick
Condell Queanbeyan Golf Club – NSW.
New Horton Park GC land for sale
LAND critical to the future of
Maroochydore, QLD becoming the
commercial and retail hub of the
Sunshine Coast is to be offered for
sale. The land had been earmarked as
the new location for Horton Park Golf
Club. If it is no longer available for that
purpose, the entire planning scheme for
central Maroochydore would collapse.
Their five owner’s future has been in
limbo since a deal with Babcock and
Brown, swapping their land for the
Horton Park Golf Course fell through
with the investment house’s demise.
The owners have instructed Savills,
Maroochydore, to handle the sale. It
is believed that an adjoining property
would also be included in the package,
believed to involve more than 160ha.
The five different owners received
letters from Horton Park Golf Club’s
director of relocation Tony Nicholson
two months ago saying the club was
not in a position to extend an option
it held over the land. They were sent as
the club remained a party to ongoing
negotiations involving property
giant Lend Lease, Sunshine Coast
council and the state government
over planning for a regional principal
activity centre at Maroochydore.
Central to that planning was the
understanding that the club would
relocate. The option expired on June
30. Mr Abbot said early this week
that without the golf course land it
would not be possible to locate in
Maroochydore a regional commercial
and retail centre to service the Coast.
“It’s out of our hands,” Sunshine Coast
Mayor Bob Abbot said. A development
approval for two, 18-hole golf courses
is already well advanced for the west
Kunda Park site to allow relocation
to occur. There are no other large
parcels of land close to Maroochydore
of the size and topography necessary
to readily convert for that purpose. ;
Gainsborough Greens to have course overhaul
THE Gold Coast Bulletin announced
last month that property giant Mirvac
is teeing up for a major upgrade of its
Gainsborough Greens golf course at
Pimpama in Queensland. The course,
which will be the centrepiece of a $1
billion, 2300-home development in
the northern Gold Coast suburb, will
have a new clubhouse and six new
holes under the planned redesign
aimed at reinvigorating the 20-year-
old facility. Mirvac has enlisted Ross
Watson to undertake the project,
creating what he said would be one of
the region’s best all-round courses. “I
am very excited about what we plan to
do at Gainsborough Greens which will
involve considerable reworking of 12
existing holes and the creation of six
new holes,” said Mr Watson.
Mirvac’s Queensland development
chief executive Matthew Wallace
described it as an integral part of
the Gainsborough Greens estate, a
project which Mirvac has dedicated
65 per cent of the 490ha Gainsborough
Greens project to open space, including
parkland, conservation areas and
recreational precincts. Mr Wallace said
the golf course would become the heart
of the development.
“The course is very important both
as a recreational facility for residents,
members and the public, and also as
the green space that separates our
residential precincts. At present, we
see it as an unpolished jewel and with
Ross Watson’s expertise, passion and
enthusiasm we are going to create
something very special.”
Mirvac said the course renovation,
offering ‘uniquely styled bunkers’
and ‘generous fairways, and the new
clubhouse construction would be
completed ‘over a period of years’. The
works are not expected to disrupt play
at the course.;
Former IMG head joins PGA board
JAMES Erskine the former managing
director of IMG, (Australasia) for
17 years, has joined the board of the
PGA of Australia on an honorary basis
after being approached by new board
members, players Craig Parry and Peter
O’Malley. Mr Erskine quit IMG in 1997
to form his own company, Sports and
Entertainment Limited (SEL) which
is now involved in cricket, netball, V8
Supercars and rugby on a commercial
basis but says golf has always been his
passion. During his time with IMG, golf
in Australia was at its most prosperous.
IMG promoted and marketed most of
our major tournaments and he brought
big business into sponsorship. Parry is
delighted Erskine is on the new board,
which held its first meeting last month
at PGA headquarters in Melbourne:
“I rang him and without hesitation he
said, ‘I’d love to.’ It’s just great. He is one
of the smartest people in this country
and knows more about golf than anyone
else in this country.” Erskine says he
comes on board with no guarantees
of immediate success and expansion.
We’re not to expect a dozen $10 million
tournaments or anything approaching
that but he’ll do his best. “I love golf
and I would like to give something
back,” he said.;
Twins Creeks assigns new general manager
TROON Golf has announced Bill
Laird as the new general manager of
Twin Creeks Golf & Country Club in
NSW. With extensive experience in the
golf and resort industry, Bill has held
senior positions with Torquay Golf
Club, RACV Cape Schanck Resort
and most recently Sandhurst Club
in Melbourne. In his role as general
manager at Sandhurst Club, he was
responsible for the operations of the
golf club and two golf courses, the
1,850 residential unit estate, the health
club and other recreational facilities.
Along with his extensive industry
experience, Bill holds several
qualifications including a Diploma
of Business and Golf Management
and is trained as a qualified chef. Mr
Laird said the opportunity to join Twin
Creeks was too good to miss.
“To be offered the position of general
manager with such a prestigious private
golf club is an honour,” Mr Laird said.
“Moving from a similar position
at Sandhurst Club, I feel I will be
able to call on my years of industry
experience as I take on my new role at
Twin Creeks. Twin Creeks has already
established itself as a leading private
golf club in New South Wales, having
just announced its most successful year
of operation. I am looking forward
to working with the team here at
the Club to maintain Twin Creeks’
reputation as one of Australia’s best
golfing experiences.”
Twin Creeks Golf & Country Club
is one of New South Wales’ leading
private golf clubs incorporating a
Graham Marsh designed 18-hole
championship course. It is located
at Luddenham, just 45 minutes from
Sydney’s CBD.;
