Vincentia Golf Club closed to members for months after controversial development vote

Members of a coastal golf club claim they are being “punished” for voting against plans to construct seniors housing on the land, with the club suddenly closed after the controversial vote. Now, the president has spoken out.

The Vincentia Golf Club has been fenced off and shut for three months. Picture: Supplied, Wayne Pryor

Members of a NSW south coast town have been locked out of their local golf club for three months, claiming they are being “punished” for voting against plans to develop part of the property.

The Vincentia Golf Club was closed by club president Bob Proudfoot on August 26 after the club membership overwhelmingly voted against a proposal to reclassify some of the property to “non-core golf land”.

The reclassification would allow the board to sell the reclassified land to developers without membership approval.

However, Mr Proudfoot told this publication the closure was not a result of the vote, but the club’s dire financial situation.

“Their claim I’m punishing them is a blatant lie,” he said.

“The board agreed to close the club before the vote because the club wasn’t financially sustainable – this development would bring in hundreds of new club members and save it.

“They voted no so the development wasn’t going ahead, at least this year, so we closed it because it was losing money.”

In 2021, the idea to transform a portion of the land into a seniors living development with multiple four-storey buildings, a clubhouse and a pool was touted.

In August this year, the club membership was informed they needed to vote on reclassifying some of the land to make way for the development.

Vincentia Golf Club president and Shoalhaven councillor, Bob Proudfoot. Picture: Shoalhaven Council

Vincentia Golf Club member, Peter Laver, told this publication the members were not against the development, but wanted more information.

“We asked the vote to happen sometime in 2025 so we could at least see designs and see how the development would affect the club,” he said.

The Vincentia Golf Club. Picture: Supplied

However, the board held the vote on August 25 with the membership voting against the classification due to a lack of information.

“The next day, the club was surrounded by fences – it was shut and it’s been shut since,” Mr Laver said, claiming the members were “being punished” for voting “no”.

Mr Laver, along with other club members like Anna Everts, formed the group “Friends of the Vincentia Golf Club”, in a bid to see the social facility reopened.

Ms Everts said she missed using the club and said closing it was affecting the community.

The Vincentia Golf Club has been fenced off and shut for three months. Picture: Supplied, Wayne Pryor

“The club is great for Vincentia’s economy,” she said.

“Tourists who visit us at Christmas time go there for a feed, they’re not going to have that this year.”

The closure could also impact Vincentia residents’ mental health, according to Ms Everts, who said local widowers would socialise at the club every week.

“These are people who have lost their wives, their husbands – they’re lonely and they need this facility,” she said.

Mr Proudfoot said the goal was to re open the club at some stage, once it was financially appropriate.

“They can paint me as the villain if they want, sure, I’ll wear that – but I am trying to save their club,” he said.

“This development will save their club. We are continuing discussions with the board to look at how we can redesign the development to suit the needs of the membership.

“I want it reopened as much as everyone else, but right now it’s just losing too much money and they don’t understand that.”

Other members of the board were also contacted by this publication.

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