By Michael Davis
Golf Australia (GA) and the PGA of Australia have thrown their weight behind the fight to retain Oakleigh golf course in south-eastern Melbourne.
GA senior staff including General Manager Clubs and Facilities Damien de Bohun have met representatives of Monash City Council and made it clear that the national body would not accept any attempt to close the nine-hole public course.
Golf Australia and the PGA are calling for clubs, facilities and golfers to get behind Oakleigh so that it can be retained for golf long-term.
Monash has begun a consultation process with the local community, under which the golf course is guaranteed to remain for five years, but not beyond.
The two options under consideration for the public land are to retain and improve the course, or to convert it to a park.
GA’s de Bohun, said it was “unthinkable” that an inclusive public facility like Oakleigh could be closed by the council.
Oakleigh has operated as a golf course since the 1970s and has a facility management group appointed by the council.
There are more than 30,000 rounds of golf played each year, with a golf club, a veterans’ group and an acclaimed program for golfers with disability run by Reach and Belong.
A green fee costs less than $20.
De Bohun said public courses were crucial for a sport such as golf which is booming and for local communities through the social, economic and environmental benefits they provide.
“We’ll be extremely active on this issue. We’ll be working with the community groups here to ensure that Oakleigh golf course is here for a long, long time.”
PGA of Australia Chief Executive Gavin Kirkman said: “With golf participation climbing everywhere, now is not the time to be closing public facilities that are accessible to everyone at a very reasonable price.
“We urge the council to consider the fabulous work being done at Oakleigh by PGA Professional Sandy Jamieson in the All Abilities space, and to consider the thousands of golfers who use the facility on a regular basis with all the health benefits that come along with it, many of them connected with the game through Sandy’s terrific programs for beginners.”
Reach and Belong director Fiona Memed said the golf program for players with disability, began in 2021 and been an invaluable source of organic community inclusion.
“If Oakleigh closes it will have a devastating impact on everyone who uses this course,” she said. “We employ four participant-players with disabilities as fully accredited, Golf Australia coaches. They’re on full award employment and they will lose their jobs. We can’t go to Glen Waverley golf course, which is too large,” Memed began.
“The outcomes we’ve seen with our golf program have been phenomenal.
“We have participants who might be very anxious to start. The way it’s set up is very supportive, and they very quickly realise whatever they do, they’ll just be building on their personal skills. It’s an informal social setting. We’re all out, it’s very relaxed, a lot of social outcomes playing golf and keeping safe and getting exercise. Being in the fresh air for your well-being. Going to a park has no purpose. Being out here in the fresh air for golf has a purpose and you’re actually achieving an outcome.”
The Oakleigh Golf Club is home to two clubs with a combined membership of 144 people. The $110 annual membership has made it an accessible club for beginners and senior golfers, as well as those with special needs.
The council says an upgrade of the ageing clubhouse facilities and the irrigation system would set it back $20 million, while annual operational costs are about $100,000. Converting the area into parkland would cost about $11 million.
The population of Monash is expected to increase by 17 per cent, or 238,000 people, in the next 12 years, and the council argues it will need more public open space.
But Oakleigh Golf Club vice president Tracey Gardner told The Age newspaper the club was one of the few public short courses in the area. She said most surrounding courses were private, with memberships costing thousands of dollars, while rejecting the council’s argument for more open space.
“There is no way the people at our club could afford to do that. Within half a kilometre of the golf course there are significant open and green areas. To have another playground seems a bit crazy,’’ she said.
The south-eastern suburbs boast more than 20 golf courses. The City of Monash has six, including the council-owned Oakleigh course and 18-hole Glen Waverley course. Neighbouring Kingston is home to 11 golf courses, and Bayside has five.
In the past year, there has been community backlash against the sale of courses as struggling clubs in the area cut multimillion-dollar deals with developers for the land.
Monash Mayor Tina Samardzija ruled out any sale of the Oakleigh course to developers and said there would be no change to the use of the site for at least five years.
“There are no plans to use the Oakleigh Golf Course site for anything other than recreational open space, either as a golf course or regional park,’’ Samardzija told The Age. “Access to more open space is a driving factor behind the decision to consult.”
According to Golf Australia’s 2021/22 Participation Report, membership numbers grew in Victoria by 2.6 per cent, or 102,769 people.
‘‘There are huge opportunities for councils to maximise and further drive the value of their golf courses to become a serious revenue stream by investing in the club facilities and new technologies,’’ de Bohun said.
Golf Australia and the PGA want golfers and golf-lovers to provide feedback to Monash Council using this link: https://shape.monash.vic.gov.au/oakleigh-gc
The feedback period ends on November 30.
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