The ACT Government is on the verge of a decision to give it some extra land around the margin of Lees Paddock on the northern side of the Scrivener Dam road and along its Dunrossil Drive boundary so it can put in 18 more holes, subject to membership approval.
There would be a crossing across Dunrossil Drive (the road to Government House) to link the present 18 holes with the new ones.
The club has wanted to expand for more than a decade. It got a lease on Lees Paddock in 1984. There was a delay while the club negotiated with a potential developer for the adjacent Old Canberra Brickworks. There was a plan for a shared 18-hole course with the hotel development, but plan failed when the developer could not raise the money.
The club has now put the Brickworks and nearby land out of its sights. The Minister for Environment, Land and Planning, Bill Wood, said he would not give any land near the Brickworks, a community asset, to the golf club. It would be better to keep options open for future use. However, the land on the perimeter of Lees Paddock had no other use. It could be sold to the club.
The secretary-manager of the club, Richard Miller, said it was one of the best in Australia. There was a need for more golf in Canberra. With expansion the course would be able to attract a major tournament. It would cost roughly $3 million to $4 million for 18 holes. The feeling of members was to do something with the lease on the vacant paddock. If not extra land was obtainable, the club had enough land now to make and extra nine holes.
The club has came under fire some years back for cutting down some trees to make a new green. Mr Miller points out the club plants many trees each year and allows organised tree-education tours. In any development of Lees Paddock, it would gladly take advice on what sort of trees and shrubs to plant on what is now grass and prickles. The club might have an image of being for silver-tails, but the members shared only a love of golf. At under $1000 a year, it was less than most Sydney clubs.