A trio of greens at Commonwealth. All new greens and bunker complexes at the 7th in the foreground with the 10th top left and 12th top right.
HAVING ‘fine-tuned’ a hook and a block well before he arrived at Commonwealth Golf Club as GM three years ago, Peter Paccagnan light-heartedly says the newly renovated course suits him to a tee.
As it does everyone who plays the new layout, featuring signature widening of fairways and a course restored by Tom Doak’s company Renaissance Golf Design (RGD).
Brian Slawnik and Tom Doak of RGD say they have always loved the Melbourne sandbelt courses, including Commonwealth.
And GM Paccagnan believes the revamp the company has done alongside the club’s greens staff has breathed new life into the venerated course and clubhouse.
That somewhat annoying ti-tree is gone and the fairways have been widened.
“But the course is still a genuine test, especially off the back tees, as the field for the Australian Amateur title found earlier this year,” Peter says.
“While the fairways may have been opened up, the new greens are perilous and demand an excellent approach shot in from the right position on the fairway.”
Paccagnan says the response to the revamped layout has been nothing short of incredible.
Commonwealth GM Peter Paccagnan.
“It was no secret for a long time that our course was perhaps not as good as it could be. But since we’ve completed the overhaul, we’ve gone from people virtually being able to get straight into the club, to having a waiting list which is blowing out to four or five years. The response has been incredible really,” he says.
This is due in no small part to the club still setting aside every Monday as a corporate day.
This goes against a slight trend among sandbelt clubs to cease corporate days almost entirely or at least to scale them back.
“But as far as we are concerned it suits our membership and commercial model,” the GM says.
“We think in no small way these days have helped our membership and player numbers. Having experienced the golf and hospitality package, many people have liked it and joined Commonwealth.”
The membership at the club, where he has been a member for 20 years, is always “up and about” and was part of the reason Peter threw his hat in the ring for the GM’s job.
“The members are right into their golf but in a genial and convivial way. And there’s always a good vibe among them in the clubhouse.”
Part of this he insists is due to the fantastic main clubhouse bar, “which might be one of the best, if not the best, in the country.”
Peter says he always harboured a desire to work in golf having done work experience at Waverley Golf club and going back there for 18 months around the age of 20.
“It was there that I started playing golf and fell love with the community atmosphere at Waverley.”
The Commonwealth golf course and clubhouse.
However, his career took him down a different path in hospitality and he rose to very senior positions with three well-known, large hospitality groups before being lured back to golf.
He spent a more than eight years at Cranbourne and Metropolitan before winding his way, in a career sense, back to Commonwealth.
“I always wanted to return to golf. It just took me a while,” he said.
“Fortunately, I had a chance to work on a big course project at Metropolitan which helped for what was to come at Commonwealth when I got here.”
He admits he was well-schooled when it came to the hospitality expertise needed to be general manager but certainly “lacking knowledge in agronomy” when it came to the big remodelling project on hand at Commonwealth.
“I was lucky just to be part of the Project Team which had all the expertise on hand and worked seamlessly together to get the great result we have.
“I couldn’t be happier to be here and hopefully I can stay in golf for many years. I love it.” Peter says enthusiastically.
WHOOPS! Shane Greenhill has been the course super at Sorrento for 25 years. His first name was incorrect in our print edition in May.
