Parkes Golf Course upgraded and redesigned to make way for Newell Highway bypass

The course has been upgraded and redesigned as part of the $187.2 million Newell Highway bypass at Parkes to improve freight productivity, traffic flow and pedestrian access through the town, while removing about 1200 heavy vehicles and other traffic from the town centre each day.

The bypass is a 10.5 kilometre new section of the Newell Highway being built on the western outskirts of Parkes and it extends next to and along the western length of the golf course.

"Safety concerns about the possibility of stray golf balls landing on the new road led to the scope of the bypass project to include the redesign and delivery of work on the Parkes Golf Course to improve safety for all road users," a spokesperson for Transport for NSW said.

It has involved reconfiguring 12 of the 18 holes on the course and it has been entirely funded through the joint NSW and Australian Government project.

The tender for the delivery of the upgrade of the golf course closed in August last year, with lead contractor Golf Spectrum winning the contract.

Golf Spectrum managed the construction of 12 new full or partial holes as well as other work on the course, such as construction of new tees and greens, establishment of new fairways and cart paths, the planting of new grass and trees, and installation of new irrigation infrastructure.

With major work on the bypass itself beginning officially in November 2021, work on the golf course started a year later in November 2022, and with a mid-2023 completion date, the work has been on track and is just about done, except for a bit of tidy-up.

Parkes Golf Club president David Stevenson has described the project as hugely exciting.

"It will be the best thing for this club, especially for introducing new or visiting players," he said.

"When it's all finished people will see 1.5 kilometres of our fairways as they're driving past."

Mr Stevenson said there was a bit of uncertainty about the redesign from the community at first.

"But the golf designer has gone above and beyond when you look at the bigger picture and access to our course," he said.

As part of the bypass project London Road, where the Parkes Golf Club is located, is being realigned and will include a T-intersection with the Newell Highway. The club will have property access from the realigned London Road.

"It's important for people to know too it's a recognised golf course designer who has designed major courses in Sydney and Queensland," Mr Stevenson said.

"The configuration is actually quite good, they've utilised existing fairways and greens with new tee configurations, which involves new holes.

"For example the second hole which was a par 5 becomes a par 4, the third hole now becomes a par 5 heading north, utilising the previous eighth fairway and seventh green.

"There are two new water hazards and there's been the removal of trees but for every tree removed two new trees will be planted."

The construction has caused some temporary disruption to the club's golf competitions, with play limited to certain holes and played twice.

But golfers have taken it in their stride and many are looking forward to a hit on the new course when it's officially open.

That may not happen until August however, with the weather unfortunately preventing complete grass growth.

The club executive will review playing the new holes later this month but that will still require favourable weather conditions.

"During construction in the short term it has been hard on the club financially," Mr Stevenson said.

"But long term, this is a huge opportunity and has huge potential."

Work began on the bypass' southern connection to the existing Newell Highway near Barkers Road at the end of May and will continue until July 2024.

The estimated completion date for the entire bypass project is December 31, 2024.

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