By David Nagel
Golfers will be faced with a new and exciting challenge when the Pakenham Golf Course is scheduled to reopen to the public on Thursday 14 December.
Originally constructed in 1980, the Pakenham Golf Club moved to a new facility on Cameron Way in October 2019; with a name change to Deep Creek Golf Club reflective of its new surroundings.
Just five months later, the course and new facility were shut down due to the Covid pandemic.
The club reopened; but faced insurmountable financial pressures over the next three years that led to voluntary administration being announced in mid-April this year.
Now, under the guidance of Golf Services Management (GSM), the facility is reopening; with golfers now to play on the rebranded Pakenham Golf Course.
“We’re very excited, and we’re definitely getting a sense that locals are pretty much itching to get the place open again,” said GSM Marketing Manager Kristian Faul.
“GSM has well over 30 years of experience in golf management, and our current portfolio includes some of the best public golf courses in Australia.
“St Andrews Beach Golf Course is the number-one ranked public golf course on the Australian mainland, and Growling Frog is top-100 ranked.
“Bay Views in Rosebud is also an impressive facility, and we’re looking forward to the Pakenham Golf Course being a success as well.”
CHALLENGES OF REOPENING
With GSM entering into an agreement with Cardinia Shire Council in late October, questions are being asked as to why it has taken so long to get the course and facility reopened.
Council owns the Deep Creek Reserve land, including the golf course and main building, and has an agreement with GSM to revitalise and reopen the course and manage the Deep Creek Reserve Centre until March 2026.
“The simple fact is there has been, and still is, a lot of work to do,” Faul said.
“Entering a facility that has been closed for an extended period requires a huge amount of work and our team have been excited to tackle the challenge of reopening the facility to the community.
“The golf course received minimal maintenance following the previous operators entering into administration.
“The minimal maintenance that was in place during closure has thankfully prevented us from inheriting an overgrown jungle, but still left us with plenty of work to do.
“Works are underway; the grounds crew is working hard; but there’s lots of work to be done…it’s not just turning the light switches back on or opening the doors.
“We’ve reconfigured the course layout, which means new signage for each hole; new directional signage and carving out some new paths.
“There are over 50 new directional and tee signs being erected throughout the golf course; the coordination and planning of that is a big job in itself.
“Additional grounds staff has been working hard to manage the length of the rough, however getting machinery on the course was, and continues to be, a challenge.
“We’re making progress, but it has been a big task to get there.”
THE NEW LAYOUT
Even golfers that are very familiar with the Pakenham Golf Course will be invigorated by a new course layout, with two fresh holes in play and not one hole on the new course carrying the same hole designation as the previous design.
Players will see an immediate change upon arrival at the course, with the fairway on the former first hole now out of play.
The first fairway became an unplanned collection point for errant balls being hit from the driving range.
“The number-one reason for course re-routing was safety, and mitigating some of the issues that we were cognisant of, regarding the driving range, and the proximity to the first tee box,” Faul said.
“And the secondary reason, but also a very important one, was improving the flow of the golf course.
“The feedback we’ve had: that the layout was not conducive to improving the flow of play.
“It’s not perfect but we’ve made significant improvement in that area.
“Between the re-routing, and the significant invested in on-course directional signage, the flow of play will be more suited to a public golfing audience.”
There will still be two lengthy walks between holes, with the journey between holes one and two – formerly 10 and 11 – still not ideal, while the walk from the ninth green to tenth tee is also a lengthy one.
KEY NOTES OF THE LAYOUT CHANGE
• The old first fairway will not be in use; becoming an overflow area for the driving range.
• The new 16th tee will sit in front of the old 18th green, which will no longer be in play.
• The new 16th hole will play down the old 18th fairway; reverse direction to previously, and then dogleg right to the existing first green.
• Hole eight on the original Pakenham design – a 150-metre par three – will be back in play, now the fifth, after sitting idle during the Deep Creek design.
• The course will be par 71 for the first time, down from par 72, with the front nine now containing three par threes and two par fives.
• There will be a tough finish to both nines, with the two hardest holes on the course – via index – being the 18th and ninth holes respectively.
TARGET AUDIENCE
The Pakenham Golf Course is being promoted as a public access golf course, for social and green fee players, with GSM confident it can use its experience to make its newest ‘public golf course’ venture a success.
“We are well-versed at coming into situations that are very similar to this, into venues that have been closed, and into clubs that have faced financial challenges and gone into voluntary administration,” Faul said.
“GSM commenced at St Andrews Beach under similar circumstances to Pakenham, and Peregian Golf Course on the Sunshine Coast was in the same circumstance as well.
“We refined the branding of that course; transitioned the venue from private to a public after going into administration, and turned that into a financially sound business.
“And that’s exactly what we are planning to do here at Pakenham.”
While the Pakenham Golf Course will be a public access one, annual passes are available for regular players – paid monthly or annually – that provides unlimited golf or discounted green fees.
“There are a range of options available: from full seven-day unrestricted access through to the more popular ‘Lifestyle’ pass, which gives 50-percent off greens fees, seven days a week.”
Season passes do not include a Golf Link number (Official Handicap), however that service is available through a membership of the newly formed ‘Pakenham Golf Club’.
See the Pakenham Golf Course website for more details.
