Ascot Vale’s Riverside driving range suffers in favour of new courts
When new netball courts were built next to a driving range in Ascot Vale, golfers thought there would be safety measures to stop balls potentially hitting players. But what Moonee Valley Council has done instead has enraged people just wanting to have a putt.
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Golfers will be banned from using a popular Ascot Vale driving range on weeknights and Saturdays due to safety concerns that balls could hit nearby netballers.
The Riverside driving range will reopen on Sunday after upgrade works, months after the completion of new netball and tennis courts at the precinct.
The courts, which are directly next to the driving range, have no safety nets or measures in place to stop golf balls from landing on them.
As a result the range will have its opening hours slashed so that it is not in use at the same time as the courts.
The range will be closed on Saturdays, and shut at 3pm on weekdays.
It had been open until 8pm on weeknights prior to the works and both days on weekends.
Both sites are being managed by Moonee Valley Council.
The move has angered golfers such as Chris Duff, 39, who said he would no longer be able to have a hit after work.
“I try to get to the range once or twice a week for a practice session and this will make that pretty much impossible,” he said.
The avid golfer said the safety issue should have been “blatantly obvious” when installing the courts.
“They plonked them down right alongside the right-hand boundary of the driving range, so of course, if you hit a stray ball they could fly out and over onto the new courts,” Mr Duff said.
Long-term golfer Brendon Harbert, 48, said he was disappointed the community wasn’t consulted about the decision to limit the opening hours.
“It’s so frustrating and annoying that the council have just winged it when they could have put safety netting up,” he said.
“They might as well just close it for good because no one can use the facilities because of the hours being cut back so much.”
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But Netball Victoria general manager government relations and affiliate services Amanda Basu said Parkville Netball Club, which used the new courts, was thankful there were no longer any safety concerns for the netballers.
Moonee Valley Mayor Narelle Sharpe said the council understood the frustration at the new driving range hours.
Cr Sharpe said the council had been advised that a 9m to 15m-high fence would allow the two sporting facilities to safely operate together, but a further study has suggested additional measures would be required.
The mayor said the council was exploring a realignment of the driving range so both the courts and driving range could operate at the same time.
The realignment would be considered as part of a master plan for Riverside Golf Tennis and Netball Centre.