Whether inspired by clubs overseas or the growing number of Australian clubs thinking the same way \u2013 or both \u2013 it\u2019s a positive movement for golf in numerous ways.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Can short courses spark a movement in Australia?<\/a><\/p>\n Short courses work for every golfer. Expert and everyday players can sharpen their wedge play and short games on them, while perhaps more importantly, they serve as a wonderful entry and exit point to the game. Beginners and those in their twilight years welcome the reduced challenge, faster rounds and less taxing version of golf. To say nothing of the \u2018fun factor\u2019 at play, of course.<\/p>\n The backstory at Royal Queensland is: when the course was redesigned in the mid-2000s, it was done so to cater for the duplication of Brisbane\u2019s towering Gateway Bridge, underneath which the course famously flowed for six holes. Mike Clayton\u2019s redesign used only land to the west of the existing bridge. With the duplication now long complete, the 35-hectare parcel of land was returned to the club and left it with a decision to make on how best to use it.<\/p>\n The space was not ample enough for another nine holes and it was too distant from the clubhouse precinct for a relocation of the practice facilities. So building a short course represented the most practical use of the club\u2019s \u201cEastern land\u201d.<\/p>\n The new short course at Royal Queensland will occupy land returned to the club after the Gateway Bridge duplication project.<\/p>\n OCM Golf\u2019s plan<\/a> at the host golf venue for the 2032 Olympic Games features fluid teeing grounds, an island green in the saltmarsh, a 4,500-square-metre Himalayas-style putting green and a pavilion area on the riverside location.<\/p>\n RQ course superintendent Adam Mills told \u201cThe Cut\u201d, the weekly newsletter of the Australian Sports Turf Management Association, that construction of the new holes has already started, coinciding with their preparation work on the main course, which will host the BMW Australian PGA Championship in late November.<\/p>\n Atlas Golf Services has completed its preliminary work on site and has now started construction, \u201cThe Cut\u201d reported. Mills said he is confident that four holes will be turfed by the end of this year with all holes to be midway through grow-in by next winter. The short course is expected to be completed by late 2026.<\/p>\n RELATED: First Look \u2013 Kingston Heath\u2019s proposed short course looks absolutely SPECTACULAR<\/a><\/p>\n RQ\u2019s short course follows on from the wildly successful \u201cThe Furrows\u201d layout at Kingston Heath, also designed by OCM and opened in April 2023. With holes ranging from 50 to 140 metres in length and set up with similar geography to Royal Queensland\u2019s site \u2013 where the short course is some distance from the clubhouse \u2013 it has become a treasured addition for the esteemed Melbourne Sandbelt club.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Furrows\u201d added a new dimension to storied Kingston Heath Golf Club. [Photo: Gary Lisbon]<\/p>\n Prior to Kingston Heath developing The Furrows, 13th Beach Golf Links added a nine-hole short course in 2021, while Barwon Heads Golf Club tasked Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford with renovating its short course in 2008. Although not in exactly the same league \u2013 because its 14 holes are essentially full-length \u2013 the addition of Bougle Run at Barnbougle in 2021<\/a> mirrored the concept. In Perth, The Vines Resort last year announced its intention to downsize from 36 holes to 27 but with plans to add a short course to the facility.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/RQ_short_course-1-1024x576.jpg\")
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