TO ALL GOLFERS
DRIVING RANGE AT RISK IN MONASH
As members or players at the Glen Waverley Golf Course you may have recently been made aware of Monash Council’s announcement that they have accepted $21m from the State Government to build an 18-court public tennis facility at the Glen Waverley Golf Club on the driving range.
The plan – to replace the courts being demolished in Boroondara to make way for the North East Link freeway interchange – was developed with NO consultation with the residents of Monash City Council prior to the announcement of the $21m deal with the Victorian State Government, and raises serious concerns among the golfing community.
In order to build this facility, Council has revealed the existing driving range will be removed and replaced with tennis courts.
The Glen Waverley Golf course is currently a beautiful and quiet environment, providing important health and wellbeing benefits for golfers and the wider community. If the 18 tennis courts are built on the golf course, it will result in the loss of the practice driving range, a large part of open parkland as well as the health benefits of golf enjoyed by the community using the Glen Waverley Golf Course.
Golfers have some serious concerns about this proposal including:
- Without a suitable driving range, the ability for young people to learn how to play golf, and experienced players to hone their skills will be greatly diminished. This in turn could affect future golf club membership at Glen Waverley Golf Course. As any golfer knows, practice nets are not enough. Understanding ball flight is just as important as making contact with the ball.
- The proposed 18-court public tennis facility will generate more noise from increased traffic, constant tennis playing from 7am to 11pm and shouted line calls. If the proposed show courts and tournaments eventuate there will likely be a public address system, used to broadcast play. The potential noise increase from all these activities will be a distraction and annoyance to golfers who may choose to play elsewhere.
- The Glen Waverley Golf Course is the ONLY public golf course in Monash City Council. It is the only course with a driving range to allow new participants and golfers to practice. We currently have 45 tennis Courts available to the Monash Community and only 1 driving range.
- From the 2017 Community Consultation Report, the Monash Council is fully aware that the top most important health and wellbeing priority for Monash community members is getting outdoors to use parklands, reserves or playgrounds (67% of respondents) as opposed to only 17% for outdoor sports courts.
Golf offers 5 mental health benefits to participants; Reduced anxiety, improved social interaction, reduced effects of depression, lower stress levels as well as providing a form of therapy through engaging the community and the natural environment.
The entire Monash community needs to monitor the Monash Council’s actions in relation to this issue and those actions will demonstrate whether the Council is acting in the genuine interests of its community, or not.
If you value the benefits golf brings you, we seek your support in communicating the above concerns around the future of golf in Monash to all the members of your club by sharing this information with them as well as communicating your concerns to Councillors, see the list of sample questions to ask Council here and who to contact.