Hmm...wonder what will happen with the golf club??

When we first put a deposit on our land - the promise was for a Greg Norman golf course and a membership worth about $30,000 included. As both hubby & I play golf - we were after a 2nd membership - which we told we could purchase at a discount price of $6,000. The running model for the golf club at that time seemed to be a private golf club with the big buy-in cost similar to Macquarie Links, The Vintage, and Magenta Shores.

However - the developer seems to have changed strategy with due diligence currently occurring at Ashlar Golf Club. The plan is for there to be a straight swap of Ashlar Golf Club land for the Stonecutters Ridge golf course. Urban Pacific plan to redevelop the Ashlar site into houses. Ashlar Golf Club is also reported, by members, to be in some financial distress with falling membership numbers. There is some opposition by local residents to the swap & development .

Ashlar GC has been running info sessions for members and will soon hold a vote. The club is currently offering "no joining fee" to new members. We have heard of someone joining Ashlar GC now to get cheap access to Stonecutters Ridge GC without paying a joining fee. Once the Ashlar members vote and if the vote is in favour of moving - the club will instigate a $5,000 joining fee.

Obviously this causes some concerns for us. We signed on with a membership joining fee worth $30,000 included in the price of the land. With the Ashlar/new Stonecutters joining fee set at $5,000 - there has been a significant drop in value! We are optimistic that we will be treated well by Urban Pacific on this front - we have been waiting since February 2006. Our best outcome would be a family membership - to cover myself, hubby and any future children we would have - and waiver of fees for the first year. I will be making some enquires next week with "M" about this.