The Merewether Golf Club is already in talks with an unnamed retirement village operator and a property developer for the four-storey project which would be on a 99-year lease and include between 115 and 150 ‘’high-end’ retirement living apartments at the course, 3km from the Newcastle CBD.

The Club says it has lost close to $50,000 in the past year to maintain its ageing clubhouse, despite new flexible memberships and course improvements boosting its membership numbers to a 15-year high.

“The traditional golf, relying on membership fees, it’s really difficult to make a living for a golf club out of that,” Merewether president Phil Merrigan told the Newcastle Herald.

It’s not the only golf club redevelopment in Newcastle either. Aveo is currently building a new village and clubhouse at Shortland Waters, while the Newcastle Club in Fern Bay is also planning to redevelop their site with seniors’ living.