[Josh Stevens]

Mr Doak
I hear your firm has the gig for some work on Concord Golf Club in Sydney.

Some decent undulation, but otherwise your typical Sydney course - space constrained, clay based, tree lined, kikuyu covered parkland course.

It has some lineage, being the original site of Royal Sydney, but Royal Adelaide or Barnbougle it aint.  Pleasantly intimate I suppose.

Is it a major redo or just some tweaking to extract some more from the site?

[Hugh Griffin]

Hmm interesting. I played there earlier in the year and it has to be one of the best presented kikuyu courses in the world, although that statement is based on no actual knowledge. Beyond that it doesn't hold much interest and is grossly overrated in the Australian top 100 listings (in the 50's somewhere from memory?). If it was situated outside of NSW I doubt it would even get considered.

The site could have some potential though...

[Tom_Doak]

Actually I haven't been there yet.  They have been asking us for some time to consult for them, and Brian Slawnik wanted to take them up on it.  I'll make a MacKenzie-style visit just before they start to rebuild the greens and bunkers, two years from now.

[Scott Warren]

Hugh,
It's presented well enough, but isn't a shade on Riviera or The Lakes for kikuyu courses.

Tom,
This will be an interesting process to follow. The extensive hedges and formal lawns around the clubhouse give an idea of the sort of priorities the club has.

It's clay, it's kike and it's quite steep in places, also constrained by roads, which causes boundary issues at 2, 3, 5, 13 and 17 all of which are designed in some way around keeping golf balls away from homes and roads.

Also a huge amount of trees, which you'd love to see removed but for the fact that a lot of them separate holes that dogleg around each other and there's a safety need to prevent golfers taking a direct line (5&6, 3&8, 9&10, 11/12&14).

I'd never bet against you firm's ability to do something special, but if you wanted a challenge, this job is it!

If there's a course in Sydney that's crying out for your hand, it's NSWGC. I hope this work may cause its board to engage you.

When you and/or your guys are in Sydney, don't be strangers. Happy to show you Bonnie Doon and buy a few beers.

[Steve Okula]

If there's a course in Sydney that's crying out for your hand, it's NSWGC. I hope this work may cause its board to engage you.
.

what's wrong with New South Wales?

[Dane Hawker]

NSW is great, sorted the men from the boys during the Open.

[Scott Warren]

NSWGC is fantastic, but it could be better. What separates the 20th best course in the world from the 80th is not immense, but it's the little details. That's what NSWGC needs (as well as some more structural love on two or three holes).

Anyhow, this thread is about Renaissance getting the gig to overhaul Concord. I'm fascinated to see where they start, what of all the things you could do there gets priority.

[Anthony Butler]

NSWGC is fantastic, but it could be better. What separates the 20th best course in the world from the 80th is not immense, but it's the little details. That's what NSWGC needs (as well as some more structural love on two or three holes).

Anyhow, this thread is about Renaissance getting the gig to overhaul Concord. I'm fascinated to see where they start, what of all the things you could do there gets priority.

Since NSW is neither 20th or 80th in the world, I'm not sure what your point is here Scott..

While I think we could certainly do with less Greg Norman, I'm not sure that Tom Doak, as talented as he is, would improve things either. New South Wales is meant to be a very natural golf experience. The course should not be over-designed. and any 'improvements' would be constrained by our lease that prevents you from as much as relocating a tee box, let alone changing the routing.

The only improvements that have been worth a damn since I first started going out to La Perouse in the mid 70s with my grandfather are those that make the course more playable in every condition..

Superintendent Gary Dempsey is more responsible than anyone for the rise of NSWGC into the world's Top 40.

[Richard Chamberlain]

NSWGC is fantastic, but it could be better. What separates the 20th best course in the world from the 80th is not immense, but it's the little details. That's what NSWGC needs (as well as some more structural love on two or three holes).

I think if you look over the fence to St Micks you'll find a course more in need of a facelift than NSW, on very similar land.

[Scott Warren]

69er, Richard,

St Mick's needs more work than Joan Rivers had. A facelift would only be a start. Have you seen the new "creek" they've built in front of the 6th green?

Anthony,

You're entitled to disagree with my opinion about NSWGC.

I don't think the new 18th was an improvement or that the thick vegetation in many of the "sandy waste" areas makes those holes more playable. And the 15th just keeps getting narrower, not wider. The new 6th green is more playable if your ball and the pin are on the same tier, but I'm not sure when you're putting to a lower tier that "more playable" is the right descriptor.

Still a hell of a great course, in an awesome spot, with a brilliant membership. But is it as good as it could be? I don't think it is, and I think the direction it is moving is debatable.

Just as Ross Watson and Mike Clayton got Sydney reno work on the back of other Sydney reno work, perhaps the same will be true for Renaissance after it improves Concord.

[Josh Stevens]

Wouldn't be holding your breath for a gig at NSW.  Greg Norman is an honorary member and viewed somewhat sycophantically as a demi-god and so they let him butcher the place as he sees fit.  Seems every wall of the clubhouse has a picture of Norman with a map in his hand pointing at something in the distance and looking wise (may be a small exaggeration on my part)

Also its public land and national park - so huge limitations on any major clearing of vegetation changes.  Concord at least owns its land, such as it is.

[Michael Goldstein]

I'm with you Scott.  But don't see it happening in any hurry.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()