Manly Golf Club | Fleetwood Urban

Manly Golf Club.


Client	Manly Golf Club
Design Partners	Golf by Design
State	New South Wales

Getting in the swing with enhanced course access.

Nestled less than 1km from the breaking waves of the Pacific Ocean, Manly Golf Club is an iconic greenspace on Sydney’s northern beaches.

As part of a major redevelopment of the course, Fleetwood was engaged to work alongside the project designers, Golf By Design, to deliver a series of eight Balmoral™ bridges and boardwalks to improve access for members and visitors – on foot and also in golf buggies.

Our involvement.

Guided by our proprietary project methodology, Fleetwood undertook the design, manufacture and installation of the new bridges and boardwalks.

The first stage was to review and refine the initial concept plans supplied by Golf By Design. From here we recommended the use of our highly flexible and cost-effective Balmoral™ bridge system, allowing us to take maximum advantage of off-site fabrication and pre-assembly.

The final groundwork and installation phases were completely quickly and successfully with minimal disruption.

How does this project inspire people to love the outdoors?

The new bridges and boardwalks significantly improved access in and around the golf course, especially for the increasing number of golfers who prefer to use motorised buggies. This has helped to attract hundreds (if not thousands) of additional visitors to Manly Golf Club every year to enjoy a round of golf.

Design Challenge

Manly Golf Club wanted the structures to be thoughtfully-designed and highly functional. But rather than make a bold visual statement, they wanted the aesthetic of their new bridges and boardwalks to be as natural as possible, blending in seamlessly with the existing surroundings.
Construction Challenge

Much of the golf course sits adjacent to Manly Lagoon, a sensitive and low-lying local waterway. To preserve the flora and fauna we needed to carefully consider the best way to build and install the new structures. The other challenge was keeping disruptions to an absolute minimum for the Club’s members.
Innovations

The project made extensive use of pre-assembled boardwalk modules and bridge components that were prepared at our specialised facility in western Sydney. This meant our on-site crews only required a very narrow installation window at the golf course itself, significantly reducing the impacts for golfers, neighbours and the surrounding habitat.

Another innovation was the specification of a bespoke bitumen covering over the FRP decking to help reduce the noise when the buggies drive along the boardwalk.
Features
- Low-lying bridge profiles blending seamlessly with the surrounding environment
- FRP boardwalk decking with sound-reducing bitumen covering
Safety & Risk Considerations

All of the usual site safety precautions were implemented for a project of this nature. In addition, our crews needed to be wary of stray golf balls!
Sustainability Considerations

Preserving the sensitive local lagoon was a key consideration in the way the new boardwalks and bridges were installed. Materials were carefully chosen for their high durability and low-maintenance properties to ensure minimal ongoing disruptions to the local area. All timbers used were sustainably sourced Australian hardwood.