Looking to end ‘exclusivity’ Auckland Council considers opening golf courses to all

In a move to increase equity, Auckland Council is proposing opening the city’s golf courses to all to ensure more people can benefit from publicly-owned land.

With 13 golf courses currently operating on 535 hectares of Auckland Council-owned or managed land, the Council’s draft Auckland Golf Investment Plan sets out regional policy for council-owned or managed golf land and aims to increase land use by as many Aucklanders as possible.

Proposing wider access as “some Aucklanders are missing out on the benefits of golf”, the Council advises that it “needs to meet a wider range of community needs” and that “’exclusive’ use of publicly-owned land for golf is not sustainable.

As reported on New Zealand news website Newshub, it also points to market forces driving changes across the Auckland golf sector.

The draft Auckland Golf Investment Plan sets out how the Council determine the future use and development of council-owned or managed golf courses. Since last month, the Council’s Parks, Arts, Community and Events Committee have tasked Council staff with engaging with the public, stakeholders and local boards on its proposals.

The draft plans three key objectives are:

• Increased equity, sport, and recreation by opening up publicly-owned golf land to all Aucklanders

• increased equity and participation by providing a broad range of golf experiences that attract and retain participants and services targeted at low participation groups

• Best practice in ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation of publicly-owned golf land.

The ‘elitism’ of Auckland’s golf courses was put in the spotlight in 2020 after a golfer complained of criteria that required him to have 12 references to play at his local club.

Alekisanita Loloa made membership enquiries at Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club but was surprised at their list of demands.

At the time, he needed at least 12 referees who were current members as well as needing to fufil other criteria.

In 2018, the placing of a value on its course's in the Auckland Council's Golf Sector Plan led to NZ Golf expressing fears that courses might be sold off.

Image: Auckland's North Harbour golf course.