COMMUNITY GOLF
A NEW PHENOMENON FROM THE OLD WORLD
The Old Course at St. Andrews Golf
Links in Scotland is acknowledged
as the home of golf and at this
prestigious venue each Sunday people
from all walks of life wander over
the links with their dogs and children
to enjoy the public open space
(there is an exception during major
tournaments). means either the developer or the
residential owners have to provide
funds for the ongoing maintenance.
The St. Andrews is public land and
the community have the right to
enjoy the area when golf is not being
played. There are rules picnickers are
requested to follow, such as please
do not go into bunkers or onto greens
but generally you can picnic on the
tees or fairways and enjoy the area. Arvind Infrastructure has developed
their ‘Uplands’ project in Ahmedabad,
a 135 acres low density residential
township with a 9 hole (Par 3)
Community Golf Course on 9.2 acres
and Club on 3.6 acres.
So Golf Course Architects are creating
nothing new with the introduction of
Community Golf Facilities into their
projects. These community facilities
are tracts of open space that are
designed for both golf and other
open space activities. For developers
creating new townships and those
who wish to take up the game of golf
it is a wonderful way of combining
community open space with golf.
Developers are often required to
allow for a certain percentage of
“Open Space” within a new project.
While the cost of developing a
community golf facility in such space
is more than say a Park, there is
at least ongoing income from the
golf facility (Green Fees and / or
membership) and this pays for high
quality maintenance as well as giving
a small return on capital invested
into construction. A park will cost
money to build and maintain without
any ongoing income and this usually
I have two such Community Golf
projects already constructed in India
(Arvind Uplands in Ahmedabad & Blue
Ridge in Pune) and understand there
are several more in planning.
I GOLF MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA
The concept has created such interest
that Arvind Infrastructure is doing
a second community golf project
(Beyond Five) about 35 minutes’ drive
from Uplands. When this second
golf course is completed both Clubs
plan to hold regular Par 3 interclub
tournaments.
The golf zone has a path system
around the area along with four
‘fitness stations’ (specialist outdoor
gym equipment), large lake, rest
gazebos and landscaping to
complement the golf holes. The
Developer has completed the golf
zone along with infrastructure (roads
& entry) first as the golf will greatly
assist marketing for the residential
product.
The golf zone was deliberately
developed about one metre lower
than the main adjoining road so that
vehicles and pedestrians (outside of
golf zone) can easily see into the golf,
there are also viewing platforms and
seats outside of golf zone fence so
that community members can enjoy
the zone at all times.
The Club will control all access to the
golf and users will always need to go
through the Club entry to enjoy the
area. All of the area will be covered
by CCTV / webcam for security and
targeted lighting will be used inside of
zone.
It is sometimes difficult for
potential new golfers to
walk onto a golf course for
the first time, however the
community golf concept
allows them to walk over the
golf without even playing,
thus breaking down the fear
and will obviously interest a
lot of potential new golfers,
30
encouraging them to try out golf.
Many see Community courses as
being a real nursery for new talent as
well as a fun place to hone the shorte r
shot aspects of the golf game.
I
SPRING EDITION 2017
The Community Golf concept is
also an extension of the Indian
Golf Union’s push for more training
facilities across India with past IGU
President Anil Seolekar indicating
recently “the Township Community
Golf concept is a great solution to
bringing golf to the wider population
as a sport option and will really assist
in growing the game in India”.
So where does that leave Australia
and its’ golf courses. At the moment
clubs are starting to think about using
the golf course for activities outside
of regular golf, but the potential for
creating a great community facility are
somewhat untapped.
Paul Reeves – Honorary Secretary /
Treasurer, Society of Australian Golf
Course Architects
Paul Reeves is a Golf Course Architect
who works throughout Asia and
Australia.