Royal Canberra Golf Club insists the final stage of its 27-hole redevelopment "isn't on the scrap heap, despite postponing the upgrade of the final nine holes for at least a year," according to David Polkinghorne of THE AGE.
President Mac Howell said that the reasons for putting the last step of the A$6M ($4.3M) upgrade on hold "were three-fold" -- financial, to avoid damaging the new 18 holes through over use and to await the appointment of a new course superintendent.
The first nine holes "were completed last year with the second nine expected to be ready for play in September or October," with each nine-hole rebuild costing about A$2M ($1.4M).
But the board notified members via email on Saturday the final stage had been suspended and Howell said that "they would re-evaluate next year." The email read, "The club is not currently in a position to support the additional borrowings that would be required to proceed with this final stage of the plan."
It also said that the club had a "downturn" in income from new members, as well as "disappointing sales" from golf, food and beverage, but it was implementing "new revenue strategies" (THE AGE, 5/24).
