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A new clubhouse at Ōmokoroa Golf Club has opened the doors to more than just golfers, with the modern facility aimed at becoming a hub for the wider community.
The clubhouse at 67 Links View Drive is now operating, with the golf shop and offices relocated and cafe, hospitality and function spaces available.
Club manager Allan Botha said the new building had already attracted people who’d never visited before. “Funny enough, on Friday, I was stopped in the carpark by a husband and wife who’d just signed up for social membership,” he said.
“They said they’ve been in Ōmokoroa for 35 years. It’s the first time they’ve come down to the golf club.”
The couple are among locals taking up the club’s $40-a-year social membership.
Botha said the new clubhouse was more welcoming and open than the former building and provided a modern home for the club’s growing golf membership.
The facility was designed so golf activities and private functions could operate independently, with an openable wall separating the members’ area from the function space.
Bar manager Fiona Lynch pours a celebratory drink at the new Ōmokoroa Golf Clubhouse. Photo / Kelly O’Hara
The club can host corporate functions, conferences, birthday celebrations and other private events, with a maximum capacity of 287 people.
Its kitchen and catering facilities allow businesses to combine corporate golf days or tournaments with functions at the clubhouse.
The cafe is open to the public, but those wanting to enjoy alcoholic beverages need to hold a club membership because of liquor licence requirements.
For those interested in taking up golf, Botha said the club was keen to make newcomers feel welcome.
The 18-hole course is an easy-walking, picturesque course beside Tauranga Harbour, with coaching and programmes available for juniors, women and players at different stages of their golfing journey.
“We’ve had a lot of ladies join the game recently through our She Loves Golf programmes,” he said.
His advice to anyone who thinks joining a golf club might be intimidating is: come down and introduce yourself.
“Most of the time – all the time, actually – golfers are really happy to have new golfers join.”
Project manager Fintan Downes, a club member for 20 years, was involved in the project from its early stages.
The idea stemmed from discussions about renovating the previous building. The board asked Downes to investigate building a new facility instead.
The new clubhouse is modern facility that aims to be a hub for the wider Ōmokoroa community. Photo / Kelly O’Hara
The project took about two years from initial design and planning to completion, with construction taking about nine months.
The building is the third clubhouse in the club’s history and occupies the same site as its predecessors.
Downes said the aim was to create a building that would serve the club and community for generations. “The idea of the clubhouse in the first place was to really extend the facility for the next 50 to 100 years.”
At about 750sq m, the new clubhouse is considerably larger than the previous building.
The overall project, including the building, carpark and associated works, cost about $4.4 million, with $300,000 contributed by TECT and further support coming through club fundraising.
Members have given the new facility a warm reception. “They’ve got places to display trophies, they’ve got areas that they gravitate towards to do their prizegivings,” Botha said.
The new clubhouse is modern facility that aims to be a hub for the wider Ōmokoroa community. Photo / Kelly O’Hara
“Organically, it feels like they’ve always been there.”
The new clubhouse is open seven days a week from about 8am, with later hours for events and summer twilight golf. The club has about 900 members, Downes said.
“The new clubhouse is a great facility for the community,” he said.
For more information about golf, social memberships, functions or corporate events, visit: www.omokoroagolf.co.nz.