PAUL Riley flew back to Sydney, travelled about an hour or so north for the final round of interviews and it was then he had a good idea this could be the place for him and his young family.
Magenta Shores near The Entrance, listed in 2024 in the top 14 courses by the Golf Course Guide, Australia and rated as the best in NSW outside of the CBD, is as close as it comes to sandbelt golf away from Melbourne.
The impressive overall set up at Magenta, coupled with the opportunity to bring his young family ‘home’, was all it took to entice Riley to grasp the opportunity to impart his special brand of member service and management skills on the Central Coast course.
For Riley, growing up in a golfing family in Sydney’s south, with brother Wayne, now a successful on-course commentator for Sky Sports in the UK and a multiple tournament winner in Australia and Europe, it’s been a professional journey that has taken him around the world, and now back home again.
Paul Riley.
“George is eight, Jenny is seven and my wife (Jess) and I were looking at bringing them home for the Australian lifestyle and upbringing,” Riley began.
“It was then about getting a job and this one at Magenta seemed like a great opportunity. For my final interview rather than do it on a zoom from Hoing Kong I flew down, was really impressed with what I saw and I’m grateful to be here.”
After completing a PGA Australia traineeship at Concord Golf Club under the guidance of PGA Life member Kyle Francis, Riley tried competitive golf for a time, before upskilling in undertaking golf operations and management courses.
His first significant posting came in 2002 when appointed Director of Golf at Orchid Country Club in Singapore, Riley’s responsibilities including that of National Coach of Singapore’s Men’s, Women’s, Boys and Girls Teams.
In 2006 he moved to Hong Kong, becoming the Head Golf Professional at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, a facility with three courses, two of which were designed by Gary Player. Riley remained at the Jockey Club for 12 years.
Then in 2018, the Horsham Golf Club in Victoria came calling, with Riley appointed General Manager, where in a short time in the role he assisted in considerably reducing club debt, while increasing the membership by more than 100-pax.
However, Riley was then lured back to Hong Kong soon after, as the Country Club Manager of the famous Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club.
“It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, one where I was able to enhance my skills from predominantly golf operations and management, to looking after a range of other things,” Riley explained.
Magenta Shores, sandbelt golf on the NSW Central Coast.
Those ‘other things’ he talks about were many and varied, including security, transportation, housekeeping, F&B, OH&S, not to mention managing seven tennis courts, two squash, two pickleball and two badminton courts, a large members pool, spa, sauna, jacuzzi, multiple changing rooms, gym and wellness centre, plus the indoor and outdoor playground and auditorium. He also assisted the Director of F&B and Executive Chef with promotions of the western-style and a Chinese restaurants, a delicatessen and private teppanyaki restaurant, in what was an all-encompassing role.
Now he brings those skills to the Central Coast, and is encouraging visitors, and perhaps potential members, to come and enjoy the special golf offering at Magenta Shores.
“If you want to play real golf and don’t have the time to go down to the Melbourne sandbelt, we are only 80 minutes from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Come and play here,” Riley enthuses.
“Our Superintendent, James Newell has turned the course around. It was struggling a little bit with poa greens, but in the last four years or so he’s eliminated the poa and winter grass and the greens are at a steady 11 on the stimpmetre most weeks now. They are pure. It’s very much like the majestic Melbourne courses.
“Sydney golfers can escape the city, travel in your own state, stay overnight at the Pullman Hotel right here on site and play a 36-hole package and enjoy a course that is similar to something you’d find in Melbourne,” he added.
While a members course, with over 940 on the books, Magenta can accommodate visitors with a golf link handicap on most days.
Riley encourages those looking for a unique golfing experience, just a comfortable drive north of Sydney, to contact him and/or his pro-shop and golf-booking staff and to pay them a visit. If you do make the trip, he’s convinced you won’t be disappointed.
An amateur standout, winning the NSW Amateur and Australian Medal in 1988, before going down in the final of the 1990 Australian Amateur Championship, Rob Willis turned professional in 1992, playing the Australasian and Asian Tours, with his highlight being his victory in the 1995 Dubai Creek Open and third placing at the European Tour's Dubai Dessert Classic. A former Editor of Golf Australia Magazine, Willis, who ventured away from golf for a period to be the media manager for the NRL's Cronulla Sharks, has been a contributor to PGA Australia's PGA Magazine for over a decade and for Inside Golf since its first edition back in 2005. 
