REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Friday August 6, 2004

A GOLF club at war with a group of angry women went mad with its security.

Arundel Hills Country Club started to look more like a fortress than a luxury private golf club.

The club was at the centre of a dispute with a group of women golfers who lodged a complaint against the club with the Anti-Discrimination Commission when they were banned from playing golf on Wednesdays before 3.30pm.

Ever since, the club turned media shy and beefed up security.

Large signs stating “Trespassers will be prosecuted” were placed all around the course and extra security guards were employed who were highly visible, driving around the grounds in white 4WDs with `security’ in red on the side.

With the arrival of Japanese owner Hata Zaki Hiro Toshi at the course, the security crackdown went into overdrive and The Gold Coast Bulletin was caught in the middle.

Club security guards approached Bulletin photographer David Clark on four occasions as he was taking photographs from outside the course on Arundel Drive, a public road.

In one instance a Japanese club official tried to stop Clark taking photographs, placed his hand in front of the camera and grappled with Clark, saying “No photo, no photo, private property”.

The women understood the owner has brought teams of rugby union players to the Coast who are being housed in club accommodation. Some team members had been playing golf there that week.