Most clubs concern themselves with more surface level questions like “are the fairways in good condition?”, “are the greens fast enough?”, “is it tough enough?”.

But when a club is coming up on a significant milestone… let’s say a centenary… the overall state of a course tends to come under sharper scrutiny, and so it was for Pymble Golf Club in 2020 with four years to plan for its 2024 Centenary celebrations which are just now coming to fruition.

Back in 2020, Pymble’s members were asked to define what type of course Pymble aspires to be. For the answer to that question, they turned to local Sydney golf course architect James Wilcher, whose persuasive style and flexible approach gave the club the confidence to proceed with an ambitious project to replace all 18 greens and tees. Wilcher proposed a reimagining of the golf course with a strong visual theme to the bunker and green shapes. A theme that would become recognisable as Pymble’s identity and set it apart from the pushed-up greens and rounded boring bunker blobs seen at many of Sydney parkland courses.

With a meticulously planned build over several seasons, Pymble members were able to continue playing a nearly full size 18-hole course throughout the entire project. A remarkable feat considering the property is desperately short on acreage and has just one spare hole. At times during the construction up to three holes were out of play and yet through clever use of temporary greens and half holes there was minimal disruption to everyday golf.

Add in a tumultuous few years that were disrupted by Covid, which in turn brought record demand for golf followed by a period of unprecedented rainfall in Sydney that severely impacted construction. Further challenges came in the form of inconsistent supply of materials and fluctuating costs of sand and turf.

Right: The drop-shot downhill par-3 11th green sitting beyond a brook complete with a waterfall. PHOTO: Brendan James.

It is a testament to the project team led by Pymble’s General Manager Jason Atkins and Course Superintendent David Stone and the dedication of their staff that backed themselves with an

in-house construction crew who were willing to take on challenges that might have led to massive cost overruns if reliant on external contractors.

Crucial to the success of the project was Stone’s insistence on growing in the new bentgrass greens from seed on makeshift nurseries dotted throughout the site. This took maximum advantage of growing seasons and provided a ready supply of healthy grass optimised for Pymble’s specific micro-climate. The time for each hole to go from muddy construction site to being open for play was measured in weeks not months with barely any remnant of the greens’ turf having been freshly laid from sod.

Stone was also instrumental in introducing Tahoma 31 – a hard-wearing Bermuda couch hybrid grass – to the new green surrounds and tees. This gives Pymble’s green aprons and edges that much-desired firmer option for more variety in approach and short game play while also providing a buffer against Poa invading the new bentgrass greens. On the teeing grounds it has good shade tolerance and is more effective than kikuyu at keeping

the new tees flat and tight. Pymble would still be characterised as a kikuyu course since it remains the dominant grass from tee to green but now there is a bit more variety in colour and texture around the greens as the different grasses respond to the seasons and change colours through their dormancy.

The fine detail in the new design was fashioned into the ground by the experienced hand of shaper Craig Brown, who has partnered Wilcher on several projects. Brown and Wilcher prioritised the needs of good drainage on Pymble’s dramatic slopes and clay base with the tilt and gradients in and around the greens designed to push water away from playing surfaces and towards the substantial underground drainage infrastructure that accompanied the USGA Spec Greens. The club also invested in a form of sub-air piping that can draw water out of the profile when needed and significantly improve playability and minimise turf disease whenever Sydney is hit by its frequent heavy rain events.

A sea of sand covers the high side of the fairway on the short par-4 13th hole. PHOTO: Brendan James.

From a golf point of view the new course is undeniably better than what was there. The greens have more interest, and the bunkering is visually striking. Whether or not one likes the wavy edges of the new bunkers is perhaps a matter of personal taste, but it is certainly a distinctive look, albeit an evolution of the shapes that are found at other Wilcher/Brown collaborations such as Brisbane’s Nudgee Golf Club and Strathfield Golf Club, just 30 minutes’ drive to the south of Pymble.

A signature “look” for many Wilcher designs is to find a way to flash the sand on the bunker faces and create more visual drama… even for uphill vistas. In some places this results in unnatural looking pushed up shapes on the reverse side of the bunkers, but this also afforded an opportunity for some interesting tie-ins in such as on the 5th and 12th tees where humps from bunkers on the 16th and 11th greens intrude into the teeing grounds in an enjoyably whimsical feature.

A standout of the new design is the double green shared by the 8th and 14th holes. Not only were the existing 8th and 14th greens quite close together, but this little section sits on one of Pymble’s highest and most exposed spots and with the clearing of some ugly old hedges its proximity to the 10th green and 9th and 11th tees is emphasised such that now three greens and two tees are within “talking” distance and, with relatively clear sightlines between all the playing areas, it has become one of the most social spaces on the course.

Pymble’s double green also has some subtle features in and around the putting surface to encourage play in the intended direction and provide a natural boundary where a player might sense more than see that they’ve strayed onto the wrong hole. Some double greens are contoured to provide the offline golfer a way to sling the ball around the edge of the green to get back onto the correct side. Pymble’s double green takes the opposite approach with more of a repelling slope in the crook of the elbow which has the effect of keeping the ball on the correct green.

As for the golfing aspects of the course, some notable architectural features include a controversially challenging hump in the 2nd green, a completely bunkerless hole in the 4th, an enormous shared bunker between the 10th and 12th fairways, a new forced carry over water on the short 11th hole and a dramatically sloped 12th green that met enough criticism that it was tamed down with some reshaping in the final phase of the build.

Whether the initial form of the 12th green worked or not is debatable, but the feedback from members to this piece of work perhaps did more to define the rest of the project than anything else. The message was clear – take some risks but don’t go crazy.

The tough par-4 16th has challengers for the signature hole tag at Pymble. PHOTO: Brendan James.

A notable outcome of the new design is that where Pymble previously had one clear “signature” hole – the strong par 4 16th – there are now a handful of holes that are visually striking enough to be in the “signature” hole discussion. The short par 3 11th is a favourite among many visitors with lots of shapes and features to excite the eye while another par-3 – the 3rd – has emerged as a surprisingly pretty hole that was previously rather drab and suburban. Also, the view from the tee on the short par-4 13th features a hillside full of sand and wavy bunker edges leading to a substantially improved green making it another contender as a new “signature” hole but in the end if you’ve got multiple “signature” holes, do you really have any “signature” hole?

And so returning to the critical question – does the new course at Pymble give the members what they want? Feedback from members indicates it does. Part of what Pymble members wanted was a well-run project that didn’t disrupt play too much, didn’t incur massive cost overruns, and invested in drainage infrastructure that would keep the course more playable through periods of significant rainfall.

From a visual perspective, the new work is more distinctive and consistently themed while still maintainable in a way that should retain the characteristic look without the greens shrinking and the bunkers forming shapeless blobs. The extended shaping beyond the putting surfaces has softened areas where there were inelegant slopes and added interest to areas where there was banal, featureless ground.

As for the golf, the course is objectively more interesting and enjoyable than what was there before. Perhaps the ambition of the work was shackled to the member feedback which tended towards conservative choices and maybe dulled the risk taking that might have yielded a top 50 course from the compact but dramatic terrain. But an ongoing program to remove non-indigenous trees, manage vegetation, widen playing corridors and improve the mowing lines should enhance the strategic value of the work that has been done to the green complexes.

In Sydney’s North Shore private golf club market, Pymble can now hold its head among the redesigns performed at other clubs in the area and it probably joins Elanora Country Club as an example of James Wilcher’s best inland work. It might have been interesting to see what could have been done if the entire property was fenced off and redesigned in one go without the prying eyes and feedback of the members at every step, but credit should also go to those members for shaping the project in a direction that they ultimately found satisfying. While it might not be to everyone’s taste, the redesigned course at Pymble has – for the most part – answered the question of delivering what the members want.

FACT FILE

LOCATION:  Cowan Rd, St Ives, New South Wales.

CONTACT: (02) 9144 2884.

WEBSITE: www.pymblegolf.com.au

DESIGNERS: Carnegie Clark & Dan Soutar (1928); Eric Apperly (1953); Ross Watson (2006); James Wilcher (ongoing).

PGA PROFESSIONAL: Christian McGill.

PLAYING SURFACES: A1/A4 Pencross bentgrass (greens); kikuyu (fairways); Tahoma 31 bermuda (green surrounds and tees).

COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: David Stone.

GREEN FEES: Private club, member’s guests only. Tee time enquiries from interstate club members can be made via the office.

ACCOLADES: Ranked No.90 in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Courses for 2024.