Woodford Golf Club Unveils New Driving Range

Woodford Golf Club, located just over an hour north of Brisbane, has officially opened a new driving range facility for both members and the public. The development was initiated after data collected through Golf Australia’s Player 1st Survey Tool highlighted a strong demand for improved practice options.

The Player 1st Survey Tool allows golf clubs to gather insights from members and guests to improve customer experience, recruit and retain golfers, and increase revenue. A survey conducted 12 months ago revealed that Woodford Golf Club’s existing 160-metre driving range—which required players to bring their own balls—was no longer meeting expectations.

Overcoming Space Constraints

To address the feedback within limited space, the club constructed a six-bay driving range that utilizes the corridor of the first hole. Consequently, holes one and two are closed during the range’s operating hours.

The facility operates from 2:30pm to 5:30pm on weekdays and 3:30pm to 5:30pm on weekends, with hours adjusted during daylight savings.

Woodford Golf Club General Manager Dean Dagan reported that the driving range has been well received, despite recent wet weather across Queensland.

“It’s only been open for a month and half of those days have been washed out, but despite the weather conditions, we’ve had people utilising it,” Dagan said.

Shifting Demographics and Increased Activity

The new facility has attracted a broader demographic to the club, particularly during hours that were traditionally quiet.

“There’s members and visitors, but it seems to be mostly families and juniors at the moment,” Dagan said. “You get that different demographic, the new golfer or the family golfers, those types of people that wouldn’t even experience the club normally get to experience the club in a driving range sense. It’s provided more attention and more eyes on our club, which is great.”

Previously, the course experienced low mid-week usage in the late afternoon. The driving range has altered that dynamic.

“On a normal midweek day, after two or three o’clock, the course could become very quiet and there’s only a few people out there, hence why we wanted to open the driving range,” Dagan said. “It’s something to look forward to now when the range opens midweek. There’s a bit of a buzz around and people stay at the club until dark now every day, which is great. It also gives the members another opportunity for practice, fitting days, lessons and endless capabilities for the short time frame each day.”

Funding Future Course Infrastructure

The driving range functions as an additional revenue stream intended to fund future course upgrades and maintenance, specifically targeting the installation of a fairway irrigation system.

“We don’t have fairway irrigation so we’re trying to increase revenue, increase profits to try and get somewhere where we can be in a position to irrigate the golf course,” Dagan explained. “Having other revenue sources other than green fees and membership income is going to be key in that.”

Aligning with National Strategy

The project aligns with the “Evolve” pillar of the Australian Golf Big Swings 2026-2030 strategy, which encourages venues to adapt to the needs of modern golfers.

Dagan emphasized that the Player 1st Survey Tool was essential in identifying and prioritizing the club’s areas of improvement.

“It narrowed down the feedback from members of what they really wanted – a practice facility upgrade was number one,” Dagan said. “Most of our members are really happy with the course and how it’s presented, but practice facilities were lagging, which we knew, but it was very good to get that feedback from the members and we could change it from there.”

Courtesy of Golf Australia