You’ve spoken, we’re listening.
Posted on: 7 July
Thank you to all of the 538 golfers who responded to our Whaleback Survey in May. Your responses were important in helping us understand how we are doing and identifying areas where we can improve our offerings.
Key learnings from the survey:
We are getting a lot right.
89% were satisfied with your Whaleback experience.
89% thought the course was in great condition
84% thought the golf was great value for money
83% enjoy our practice facilities
Your main concerns:
Pace of play
We get it, slow play is frustrating. It happens at just about every course and, being a public facility, Whaleback has its fair share of beginner and social golfers.
What we are doing:
1. Education: we encourage beginner (or less proficient) golfers to play outside of the busiest times (see Pace of Play document here). We want everyone to enjoy their time here.
2. Peer review: we encourage all golfers to pay attention to the speed of their own play and group. Play ready golf, keep up with the group ahead of you and gently remind players in your group to play at an acceptable pace.
3. Tee sheet intervals: we have 8-minute intervals between tee times, and we also have a blank tee time in each hour to help space things out.
4. Course marshalling: During busy periods such as weekends, our pro shop staff keep an eye out for bottlenecks and are ready jump into action.
Improvement to the practice area
Many of you would like us to make improvements to the chipping and putting areas.
What we are doing:
It’s part of our long-term plan to work on these areas. However, with upgrades to the Driving Range and the buildings coming soon, the best timing for these upgrades is in 2026.
Improvement of Range condition and technology
The Driving Range has been around for two decades, and it’s no secret that it is starting to look a little tired.
What we are doing:
Well the good news is that the entire Range is about to undergo a $4.5 million upgrade. We will be upgrading the hitting bays, modernising the technology, and adding entertainments bays, kitchen facilities and toilets. Upgrades are due to start in August, and are expected to be complete by the end of January 2026. The Range will stay open during the works, so you’ll still be able to hit balls and work on your game.
Online booking system
It seems the main concerns with online booking system are: the early opening to the advanced bookings (6am) and the refund process.
What we are doing:
The system has essentially not changed since the City of Canning took over operations. We have extended the advanced booking to 10 days, but the opening time of advanced bookings and the refund system remain the same.
We are exploring alternative booking and refund systems.
Twilight Golf
Many of you wanted us to extend our Twilight Golf hours, noting that you were unable to fit 9 holes of golf in before the sun went down. Some also suggested we make Twilight Golf bookable.
What we are doing:
The reality is that Whaleback’s Twilight hours are among the earliest in Perth. In June, we brought the start back to 3.30pm and while this does not guarantee 9 holes, we still believe it offers great value. In summer, golfers could easily play more than nine 15 holes during Twilight, so it does balance out. If you want to guarantee 9 holes, a 9-hole tee time is available for booking.
General course maintenance
Some suggestions include: more sand in the bunkers, improved cart paths and level tee boxes.
What we are doing:
We are aware of these, and they form part of our long-term course maintenance plan. We don’t have the budget – or the manpower – to do them all at once, but we have identified the most-needed areas and will work on them throughout the year.