Elite golf club plans course expansion ahead of Olympics
A prestigious Brisbane golf club, which has a strict dress code, has unveiled plans for a multimillion-dollar expansion after dropping an earlier proposal that members feared would lower the tone of the course.
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The elite Royal Queensland Golf Club has unveiled plans for a multimillion-dollar expansion including a new par 3 course bordering the Brisbane River.
But the club, which is the playground of the city’s business elite, has dropped an earlier proposal for a TopGolf facility after opposition from members concerned that it would lower the tone of the course.
According to a circular sent to members, the club’s preferred option is for a short course and practice facilities on the unused eastern portion of RQGC.
Short courses, which typically feature par 3 holes, are becoming more popular as time-poor business executives seek a quicker version of their favourite sport and seniors aim to reduce the amount of walking required to get around a round in.
“The short course and practice recommendation comes after extensive investigation into a range of options,” the club said in the circular. The club has declined to comment.
The club, which hosted the Australian PGA Championshop in January and will be the home of Olympic golf events in 2032, will hold an online plebiscite in late October where members can have their say on the recommendation.
Since the completion of the Gateway Bridge duplication in 2010, around a third of the club’s available land had laid vacant.
“The club is in a strong financial position and has an extensive waiting list,” it says in the emailed document. “With the successful delivery of the PGA and the upcoming Olympics, it is likely that interest in the club will remain strong. Now is an ideal time to consider whether additional member offerings are possible.”
The club had considered several other options for development, including the proposed $35 million theme-park style Top Golf facility on the century-old course.
But that has now been dropped after some members complained it would have diminished the brand of one of the state‘s most exclusive institutions.
Top Golf, which already operates next to Movie World on the Gold Coast, allows players to hit microchipped balls at targets positioned on a driving range course while sipping cocktails and eating snacks from airconditioned bays.
That contrasts with the storied greens of Royal Queensland where a strict dress code of tailored trousers, collared shirts and golf skirts applies.
There also is a ban on jeans and baseball caps and where etiquette requires players to be on time and remain silent while others are teeing off.
NEW INNINGS
Former Queensland Cricket boss Geoff Cockerill has landed a new job as a kind of health conscious Willy Wonka.
Cockerill, who most recently was chief executive of Subway Australia, has popped up as the CEO of ATP Science – an Australian leader in the sports and nutrition industries. The firm is currently rolling out a range of tasty collagen-based bars.
We hear private equity fund Cortina Capital has invested heavily in the Meadowbrook-based business and is bolstering the brand to further expand its 40-plus products into overseas markets including the US, Asia and UAE.
ATP Science, recently named as one of the fastest growing Australian companies, has just confirmed a million dollar deal with national grocery retailer, Woolworths.
The manufacturing of the product line happens from a state of the art facility where we hear Cockerill is holding meetings with strategic investors and partners.
Cockerill, whose recent appearance in CEO Magazine sparked comparisons to a youthful Richard Gere, has had a dream career working across liquor, beverage, coffee, food and sport, heading a string of iconic brands including Bundaberg Rum, XXXX, Queensland Cricket and Subway. Under his watch, Subway Australia made some of the biggest changes to its menu in its history including the introduction of panini sandwiches, signature wraps and salads.
Cockerill was a mainstay of the liquor industry for many years following a long career with Diageo, one of the largest liquor companies in the world.
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