By Michael Davis
Let’s not gild the lily here. When we review little public nine-hole gems like Adelaide’s Regency Park Community Golf Course, we are not pretending they are akin to Royal Melbourne, St Andrews or Augusta.
But the proliferation and rebirth of these largely council-run facilities across the country is opening up the game to those who otherwise would not come within a bull’s roar of setting foot on a golf course.
And this can be nothing but good for golf. The game should not only be about old men and women paying $10,000 a year to sook their way around an elite golf course for six hours on a Saturday or Sunday, usually complaining afterwards about the pace of play and the speed of the greens.
No. Places like Regency Park are a joy for those who just want to have fun – no dress code, no worries, no problems. As long as you are wearing shoes and have around $20, you’re on.
And guess what? The course features some holes capable of challenging even the low handicap player.
The layout is surprisingly varied with anything from a driver to a long iron required on the par fours and fives, while a gap wedge to six iron is needed on the ‘one-shoters’.
A couple of the more interesting holes include the second – barely 100 metres – where a smooth wedge will find the ‘dance floor’. A deep pot lurks just short of the green to swallow anything that goes near it and leaving one of the more challenging up and downs on the course. Long will put you up against netting providing protection from the passing road.
And a two-tiered green makes two-putting far from a formality even when finding the putting surface with your tee-shot.
The sixth hole, a mid-length 400 metre par five, is another good one. It can require three shots to get home due to the challenging nature of the green complex. A bunker to the right about 200 metres from the tee swallows errant tee shots but longer hitters will fancy their chances of flying over it. It takes a very brave golfer to try to get home in two if more than a six iron is required. A deep bunker guards almost the entire front of the green, while shots that are long and right will find a water hazard and have you searching for the drop zone.
And once on the green, golfers are faced with a double tiered putting surface that will leave you happy if you get down in two.
The seventh is one of the hardest on the course. The left-hand side of the fairway is lined with bunkers capturing anything short to medium distance off the tee. If you find the fairway safely, you are greeted with a narrow entry to a sloping green, with bunkers guarding the left and dense shrubs to the right.
We don’t want to scare new golfers away. But as we said, this nine-hole layout little more than 10 minutes from Adelaide’s CBD, is certainly no pushover.
But we digress.
Peter Vlahandreas, whose company runs GreenSpace Management, manages four golf facilities around the country including Regency Park, and says this one is his favourite.
“It my favourite because it was the first one we did,” says Vlahandreas, who also has in his stable Freeway Golf and Royal Park in Melbourne and Little Para, in Adelaide.
“I also love the way in which the City of Port Adelaide Enfield has embraced everything we have tried to do and shares our vision for Regency Park,” he says.
“Our relationship has been strong from the outset and the council continues to share our philosophy for ongoing success and improvement of Regency Park Community Golf Course.
“GreenSpace and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield have a long-term strategic partnership ensuring the facility remains relevant for its community for today’s generation and the generation after it,” Vlahandreas proudly spruiks.
“Regency Park was our first management site. It was the start of our journey and we have a commitment to using every single square metre of open space at Regency Park for community benefit.”
Regency Park has been a landmark golf facility in Adelaide for many years. It was designed in 1977 by South Australian professional and TV commentator, Brian Crafter, and later by his son, Neil, after the addition of the new motorway along its boundary. It has long been described as ‘the best and much-loved little course in Adelaide.’
The full length nine-hole golf course with dual tees for an 18-hole configuration, has bent grass greens and established parkland vegetation. GreenSpace Management has been operating the facility since July 2020 in partnership with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
“We added ‘Community’ to the name to open the doors to the community and ensure that the facility remains relevant,” Vlahandreas says.
SHANX mini golf opened at the site in 2021 and in its first year of operation, welcomed over 50,000 new users to the facility; most of whom have never played golf before. To date, over 100,000 people have enjoyed joyed SHANX.
“The biggest shift however in our demographics has come since we opened SHANX. We believe that this amenity is exactly what traditional golf facilities need. If they have a strategic desire to change or expand upon existing demographics at their facility as well as welcoming more unique users to the location,” Vlahandreas says.
“Our focus is on community, not necessarily golf which means that we welcome everyone to our facility. Our focus is on participation from a diverse range of community cohorts. Recently we worked with Council on a community event named ‘Touch a Truck’ which welcomed over 6,000 people to the Regency Park precinct. It was an outstanding outcome, primarily because the vast majority of these visitors were families with young children.
Every school holidays we provide free activities for all SHANX Ticket Holders to encourage more fun, more activation and importantly, more value for families.”
In the latest financial year, Regency Park Community Golf Course welcomed over 90,000 unique users, making the facility the most utilised golfing facility in South Australia two years in a row.
“Our Season Pass Holders – not members, regular users of the facility – have grown by 190 percent since we took over management and we support the sustainability and growth of our local resident Golf Club, the Regency Park Golf Club.”
Vlahandreas is passionate and he’s on a roll.
“Regency Park Community Golf Course is a benchmark facility for every single public access golf course in Australia. When an operator and Council work in partnership, genuine long-term results can be achieved to ensure that the facility remains relevant for the next generation.
“We’re just getting started at Regency Park. It’s been a roller coaster ride over the last three years with significant growth throughout every area of the facility and we’re super excited to enter into the next phase at Regency Park in partnership with the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.
“Adelaide public access golf is in a great space. We are seeing significant growth off the back of the SA government’s investment in LIV Golf at the Grange Golf Club.”
One thing is clear, he says.
“When you remove the barriers for entry at golf courses, you can achieve outstanding results and have a very positive impact on communities.”
It’s certainly all systems go for Regency Park Community Golf Course.
And we doff our lids to the council and the course manager.
MORE INFORMATION:
Regency Park Community Golf Course
Days Road, Regency Park, SA 5010
info@regencyparkgolf.com.au
www.regencyparkgolf.com.au
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