A major project is nearing completion at the North Ryde Golf Club near Sydney, Australia.

Architect James Wilcher of the Golf By Design firm has worked alongside the course’s superintendent Ron Duffy and his team on the project, which has seen the introduction of new greens on holes one, four, nine and seventeen.

GCA spoke to Wilcher about a project that has successfully overcome a series of hurdles.

“The project required some government funding to make it financially viable for the club, and after a close vote of members they elected to proceed, which led to a lot of negative perceptions of the project,” Wilcher explained. “Now after 18 months and two stages of construction, we are within a week of finishing the whole project. Golf By Design has acted for the club as architects and project managers, leading the consultant team to firstly get building approvals and now managing all facets of construction of the project.”

“Now it’s near completion, there isn’t a negative word from members –they just can’t wait to play the new holes,” added Wilcher. “Not only will the club have some new and interesting holes but it should be self-sufficient in terms of irrigation water, with the storage capacity of the three dams that have been built totalling nearly 28 megalitres. This should reduce the club’s yearly water bills by about AUS$150,000, a significant sum.”