New Australian Golf Centre to unite golf's peak bodies

A new state-of-the-art golf facility, the Australian Golf Centre is to be built on the site of Sandringham Golf Links, opposite the Royal Melbourne Golf Club and will become the headquarters for Golf Australia, PGA of Australia, Golf Victoria and Sandringham Golf Links Management.

The $18.8 million project, majority funded by the Victorian Government’s $15.3 million investment, aims to create one of Australia’s premier golf facilities.

The facility will feature a new public 30-bay driving range with target greens, the redevelopment of the existing 18-hole golf course, a public café and the National High Performance Centre, which will help shape the next generation of golf heroes.

The industry-leading centre will also feature:

• Short game practice area including a large chipping area for the high performance program

• Coaching facilities to showcase golf’s innovative and inclusive programs, including becoming the home of the industry’s accreditation program for training PGA professionals to coach people with a disability

• Indoor high performance training facilities

• A new two-storey building that incorporates office administration space for Golf Australia, PGA of Australia and Sandringham Golf Links staff, in addition to meeting rooms, education spaces and new public amenities and changerooms

• Additional water storage capacity for course irrigation that will reduce the course’s reliance on potable water; and

• An extensive revegetation program to increase the number of indigenous trees, vegetation and overall biodiversity value of the site.

The contract for the building construction work, to be undertaken by local firm 2Construct and expected to generate 24 jobs, was signed this week. The projected completion date for these works is April 2021.

Redevelopment of nine holes has been completed, with the remaining nine holes to be finished by December 2020. The course redesign and construction is being undertaken by Australian golf architects Ogilvy Cocking and Mead, with help from the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

PGA of Australia Chairman, Rodger Davis said the project was another sign of the increasing unity in Australian golf and noted “The Australian Golf Centre will help unify golf’s peak bodies and create efficiencies that will introduce more participants to our great game.”

Golf Australia Chairman Andrew Newbold said the centre would generate many benefits for “not only for our emerging talent but for Australian professionals as well, which gives the entire industry a base and a place to inspire the next generation into the sport.”

Golf Victoria President, Stephen Spargo was excited about the centre’s potential to be a nationally unifying force for the golf community and enthused “It’s fantastic to see those in the sport rally behind such a great project and we’re delighted that it can take place in the heartland of Melbourne golf.”

Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula noted that the new centre would enhance the state’s reputation as “the home of golf in Australia” and continue to help the community’s re-emergence from the impacts of Covid-19.

Minister Pakula highlighted that “Golf is a great employer at the local and elite levels and investments like this are important in setting up the industry to thrive on the other side of the pandemic.”

Images: Impressions of the New Australian Golf Centre from Greg McNally (Waypoint)