Ahead of Queenstown Golf Club celebrating the 50th anniversary of its scenic Kelvin Heights course in April, its clubhouse has undergone a $1million refurb.
Almost half that amount was spent tripling the size of the outdoor deck to accommodate 80-plus people — it was formerly often jam-packed.
Both the kitchen and bar were also enlarged, with the former now able to provide more cooked as well as cabinet food, while the latter’s range of tap beers has increased with a new beer chiller.
The original country-style clubhouse also opened 50 years ago, but board chairman Russell Thoms says a total rebuild "was one of those sorts of questions that was thrown out very quickly".
Extending the deck, however, "was a no-brainer, and it wasn’t really impinging on golf space as such".
It also comes with an electric louvre roof which can open and shut.
And electric sliding doors now open on to the deck, replacing single-glazed windows.
Former board member Kim Wilkinson, who drove the project, says the refurb was also aimed at improving the course’s appeal to the community at large.
Thoms adds: "And one of the requirements of our lease [with the council] is we need to show we are not a closed shop.
"We’re now getting a lot of cyclists and walkers, not golf-related at all, now they’re learning this is open.
"We think it’s probably the best surrounds for a little cafe or restaurant in the whole of Queenstown."
The head contractor was Naylor Love, and club member David Jerram, an architect, and Steve Rosling, from Christchurch’s Element 17, were involved with the design.
The project was funded by debentures taken out by 20 members — the new $550,000 pro shop, opened in 2017, was also debenture-funded.
Meanwhile, Thoms says the course itself — recognised late last year as New Zealand’s best in the World Golf Awards — has come on a lot in the past five years.
He pays tribute to new greenkeeper Sam Davis, formerly 2IC at Arrowtown’s The Hills, and his team.
"Sam has actually told the board there’s no reason why he can’t get this course up to a standard that’s approaching The Hills or [Arrowtown’s] Millbrook."