Strathfield Golf Club shines on international stages
The new Strathfield Golf Club has been named as having one of the top three golf clubhouses in the world by a prominent golfing magazine. Find out why.
Strathfield Golf Club beat Donald Trump’s New York golf pad, which overlooks the Manhattan skyline, on a list of the top new three clubhouses in the world.
“We beat Trump, so,” Strathfield Golf Club general manager Neil Hardy said.
The list was compiled by Golf Inc, a US-based magazine, for golf course developers, owners and executives.
In first place was the Royal Golf Marrakech in Morocco, a 1600 sqm building owned by King Mohammed VI.
Although the cost of construction was undisclosed, Mr Hardy said Strathfield was in high-end company.
Papago Golf Club in Phoenix, USA was named in second place, a $4 million, 836 sqm clubhouse with a restaurant and bar.
That puts Strathfield Golf Club, designed by Atlas architects, in third.
“Some of them are huge resorts … big and exotic, with swimming pools and resorts,” Mr Hardy said.
Trump’s 1858 sqm Golf Links at Ferry Point in New York received an “honourable mention”.
The Strathfield clubhouse built late last year includes a 650-capacity event centre, a garden gazebo, multiple foyers, a members lounge, sports screen, twin boardroom, and about 340 car spaces.
Strathfield Golf Club sold off $52.5 million worth of their property to build the “iconic” clubhouse, and were able to construct their vision from scratch.
The whole process took about seven years.
Mr Hardy said the club is off the beaten track so it had to be impressive.
“There’s hardly a straight line in it, there’s three levels, the views are fantastic, the whole front of the clubhouse is glass,” he said.
“A lot of clubs tack rooms here and there, and it becomes like a beehive. But we designed a clubhouse from scratch to suit what we wanted,” he said.
With about 1000 playing members and 250 social members, the club seems to be succeeding in a declining industry.
“We had 100 new playing members last year, most clubs are losing members,” he said.
“(But) golf clubs aren’t surviving on golf incomes … we decided food and beverage was the best opportunity. We designed it so half of the club is Strathfield events centre.”
Along with the new clubhouse, they redesigned the golf course to make it more efficient and allow for double the players at one time.
Soon the NSW/ACT Professional Golfers’ Association offices and the Australian Golf Museum will be relocated at Strathfield.
“Our member put up with a lot, but they are happy now,” he said.
Although Strathfield Golf Club are being recognised internationally, they are looking to become a hub for the Strathfield community.
“We have better facilities, better food, social Sundays, high teas every month. There’s a lack of that in the Strathefield area,” Mr Hardy said.
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