Warringah Golf Club: First drawings of new community clubhouse for North Manly
A vision of Warringah Golf Club’s long awaited new community clubhouse has been released to the Manly Daily and includes family friendly dining and terraces with views.
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Warringah Golf Club’s vision for its new community clubhouse has been revealed and includes a casual dining and bar area with two terraces, one looking out onto the beautiful golf course.
The two-storey building, which is expected to cost up to $6m will be situated on the corner of Kentwell Rd and Pittwater Rd, North Manly, and will be open to everyone, not just golfers.
It comes after a tough few years for the club which won a battle with council to stop the course from being demolished or reduced to nine holes.
Club president Scott Campbell, president, said it w has a promising future, especially following an unexpected boost in new members due to COVID-19.
He said many people wanting to get some respite from isolation have turned to golf because it is seen as a safe, socially distant sport.
“In the last four months we are doing 50 per cent better than over the same period last year,” he said.
“Golf is a naturally self-isolating game and we are seeing a resurgence in our membership numbers.”
He said growing numbers prove saving the club was the right thing to do.
He said its future now looks secure with a 20-year lease for the site due to be signed in the next couple of weeks.
Once signed it will mean it can move foward on plans to improve its facilities and golf course, including building a new clubhouse.
The current one on Condamine St, which is across a busy road from the golf course, is a “while elephant”, according to Mr Campbell.
He said the money from the sale of that building, expected to be in excess of $6.5m, will fund the new one which will be on the Warringah Recreation Centre site.
Meanwhile, an early vision of what the clubhouse could look like has been released to the Manly Daily.
The new 1000sq m building will take up the space of about two tennis courts at the edge of the golf course.
The drawings show two outdoor family terraces, one facing the green and another looking towards public sports facilities, which the council still has to decide exactly what that will look like.
Currently it is a mix of tennis and futsal courts.
On the second storey of the clubhouse will be a dining section, a lounge bar and another bar and function room, again open to the public.
As part of the council’s agreement, no poker machines are permitted.
“We are looking to create a family friendly club open to the community,” Mr Campbell said.
“There will be an outdoor area for kids.
“Upstairs there will be a licensed area.”
The carpark will also be improved and expanded with parking for nearly 95 cars.
The regeneration of the Warringah Recreation Centre site is part of the creation of a new sporting hub in the area, with plans to build new sporting and community facilities at the old North Manly Bowling Club site across the road in Nolan Reserve.
Suggestions for that site include an indoor basketball centre, snowboard and skateboarding facilities, tennis and futsal courts.