City of Greater Geelong to exit golf course operation

Following the endorsement by City of Greater Geelong of a new Golf Facilities Strategy during Tuesday night’s meeting, Council will exit out of direct operation of golf facilities.
As part of the implementation of the strategy, the City will put alternative management models in place for the three courses still under its full or partial operation:
- Balyang Par 3
- Lara Golf Course
- Queens Park Golf Course
The other four Council-owned golf courses - Barwon Valley, Ocean Grove, Clifton Springs and East Geelong - are already maintained and operated by tenant clubs.
As part of the strategy, the City will finalise a long-term lease for Clifton Springs Golf Club. The annual rate for East Geelong Golf Club, which has a lease in place until 2041, has been reduced to bring it into line with similar facilities.
For all courses, the City will engage with the tenant clubs to offer support setting governance standards, monitoring performance and meeting the challenges and opportunities of modern-day golf club operation.
The strategy aims to help the City remain financially sustainable and deliver community benefit by supporting golf clubs and facilities, and ensuring public access to golf courses.
Other principles of the strategy include conserving and protecting the natural environment on golf courses, integrating with the Council’s other leisure and recreation strategies, and safeguarding facility maintenance.
The strategy was developed in consultation with Golf Australia, the local clubs’ committees, members and casual users, and other members of the community.
Councillor Kylie Grzybek notes “Golf is one of our most popular participation sports and helps many people stay active and socially connected.
“Through this strategy, all Council-owned courses will remain assets of the City but could be operated under a different management model. The City will provide support to help the tenant clubs achieve long-term success.”
Deputy Mayor Anthony Aitken added “Research for this strategy found that it’s important for golf clubs to keep offering experiences for the traditional golfer, but that they must also take advantage of opportunities to increase participation through different golf experiences aimed at broader markets.
“This includes offering fun and social experiences with less emphasis on competitions.
“In the implementation of this strategy, the City will work with each of the tenant clubs to help them grab hold of these opportunities.”
The Golf Facilities Strategy is available in the minutes of the Council's 22nd November meeting.
Image: Balyang Par 3
Related Articles
10th November 2022 - Golf Australia looks to reach female audience through Mamamia podcast
8th November 2022 - Golf Australia supports new rules for people with disability
13th October 2022 - Karen Lunn announced as first woman to chair Australian Golf Industry Council
11th October 2022 - Swing Factory acquires Sydney’s Golf Paradise Terrey Hills
6th October 2022 - Australian Golf welcomes golf’s inclusion in 2026 Commonwealth Games
30th September 2022 - The R&A advises of ‘surging’ growth in golf across the Asia-Pacific region
22nd September 2022 - Improved commercial partnership revenues see prize money increased for Australian golf tournaments
21st September 2022 - Australian Golf signs BMW Australia as first joint major partner
12th September 2022 - Swing Factory confirmed as new operator at Whitehorse City Council’s Morack Golf
29th August 2022 - Belgravia Leisure announced as new operating partner for Carramar and Marangaroo Golf Courses
29th August 2022 - Avana will continue to run Beresfield Golf Course and hopes decision will not lead to bankruptcy
27th July 2022 - Golf Australia welcomes Darebin Council’s decision to retain Northcote golf course
23rd February 2021 - James Sutherland calls for ‘need to protect’ public golf
15th June 2016 - New body to represent public golf facilities
Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?
As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.
supplier directory
The Complete Guide to Leisure Industry Products & Services.
revolutioniseSPORT
revolutioniseSPORT is the emerging market leader in online club management in Australia. Whether it is memberships, registrations, events, online sales or governance tools - revolutioniseSPORT is the…
read moreBH Fitness
BH Fitness, part of the long-standing and iconic bike manufacturer BH Group, is a global leader in fitness equipment for both Commercial and Home markets. The company, with the headquarters based in…
read moreSummit Fitness
Summit Fitness Equipment is now part of NovoFit - see www.ausleisure.com.au/suppliers/novofit/
read moreRiedel Communications Australia Pty Ltd
We live for media production and global events, providing real-time networks for video, audio, data and communications.
read morePathMinder
PathMinder Pty Ltd have partnered with AllUser Industries srl to bring Europe’s most advanced high security portals to the Australian and New Zealand markets. AllUser Industries started to…
read moreCENTAMAN
Centaman has been a market leader in Enterprise Software Solutions for the leisure and recreation industry and both profit and not-for-profit attractions since 1991. It offers a wide range of software…
read moreClubware
Clubware’s online gym software is not your run of the mill management system. It has been carefully designed to incorporate all the elements that a fitness club would need. How did we do that?…
read moreget listed with our suppliers directory
Get your business noticed in our targeted directory. Viewed by 10,000 industry professionals per week!