THE son of five-time Open champion, Peter Thomson, is cautiously optimistic about the future of the famous nine-hole course at Royal Park where his father first played the game.
“The last thing we want to do is get everyone’s hackles up and end up with another Northcote (in Melbourne) or (Sydney’s) Moore Park situation,” says Royal Park member, Andrew Thomson.
Representatives of the three Royal Park clubs – men, ladies and veterans – as well as council officers, have met with officials from Golf Australia in the hope of finding an alternative to part of the 20-year Melbourne City Council strategic plan for Royal Park, which is to investigate land areas, and course routing as part of the broader masterplan.
GA’s general manager of Places to Play, Damien de Brohun says he’s happy the way talks are progressing.
“Royal Park is an important part of Melbourne’s golfing landscape,” de Brohun says. “We’re working closely with, and advocating on behalf of, Royal Park Golf Club members and the thousands of public round paying golfers who play there regularly.”
The City of Melbourne has argued that redesigning parts of the precinct could remove the need for thousands of golfers to cross the railway each year, while also creating more space for indigenous vegetation, wildlife habitat and public recreation.
One option being considered is to consolidate the nine holes on the western side of the railway, potentially removing golf land south of the railway line.
That prospect has alarmed members of Royal Park Golf Club, who say the course’s small footprint makes any loss of land particularly significant.
Part of the quaintness of the 123-year-old course is that both tram and train lines run through it. Both must be crossed during a round.
The nine-hole Royal Park Golf Club near the Melbourne CBD.
Royal Park is one of Victoria’s oldest public-land golf courses and a place where generations of players have learned the game. With Peter Thomson’s legacy woven into its history, members fear that reducing the course’s footprint could ultimately undermine the very qualities that have allowed the unusual little layout to survive and thrive for more than 120 years.
The coming consultation will determine whether Royal Park can evolve without losing its identity – or whether one of Melbourne golf’s most distinctive courses will be fundamentally reshaped. Thomson applauds the Council plan to restore the ecology, biodiversity and indigenous heritage of Melbourne’s and Australia’s largest city park. He is hoping it can be done without reducing the golf course.
The city council’s team led by Lord Mayor, Nick Reece, and council strategists, will accept an invitation from Golf Australia, CEO James Sutherland and members of Royal Park to see how Royal Melbourne has superbly managed and restored the biodiversity at the Sandringham public course as part of a complete makeover. RM has acquired the course on a long-term lease. It has been re-badged as Sandy Links and houses the headquarters of Australian golf.
“Hopefully the council’s strategic team will see there is another way,” Thomson says.
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Nick Reece told IG: “Our long-term vision for Royal Park is better access for everyone – and with 50,000 golfers crossing the tracks every year, one idea we will explore is relocating the clubhouse and first and ninth holes.”
“This idea is in its very early stages and subject to a Council decision. Any changes would be developed with the club, golfers and specialist designers.
“Ultimately, it’s about making Royal Park safer and removing the need for golfers to cross the Poplar Road level crossing.”
The Royal Park layout measures 2,316 metres with a par of 35. The club fears its unusual setting – with both a train line and tram line running through the broader course precinct – is part of what makes it one of Melbourne’s most distinctive golf venues.
Not to mention the sounds of lions roaring, elephants trumpeting and birds squacking as you navigate the iconic layout beside the Melbourne Zoological Gardens and just minutes from the CBD. Andrew Thomson says the course needs careful maintenance rather than a wholesale redesign.
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