“We have recently put in spoon drains
across some of the fairways to help with
drainage,” he said.
club had to do it all again in March when
heavy rain again flooded the course on
two separate occasions.
“But we have had to scale back our plans
because a lot of the money went towards
getting the course up and running again.
“We have trouble keeping up with
ongoing maintenance because we only
have a staff of two greenkeepers, two
labourers and one apprentice so we rely a
lot on volunteers.
“When the January floods hit, we were
closed for six weeks and then in March we
went under again,” said the club manager
Leanne Toms.
“We’ll build a new pro shop because it
is a demountable, which was put there
temporarily 30 years ago. We’ll also do the
verandah, but the clubhouse will have to
wait a few years.”
“The glue that holds us all together is that
we love golf.”
The club’s head pro Ian Collins said his
bottom line had taken a huge hit.
“Last year we virtually had five months
of reduced trading and by quite a big
margin,” he said.
Smaller clubs like Dalby Golf Club on
the Darling Downs know a thing or two
about hardship.
Following the January 2011 floods, the
“We had $100,000 damage to the golf
course and $50,000 in lost revenue,” she
said. “It’s been a struggle over the last
year, but we have come a long way.
“There is still a little silt around, but other
than that the course is looking pretty
good. Our greens are really good at the
moment.
“Luckily we had a little money in the
bank, which we had earmarked for big
renovations.
“We wanted to build a new pro shop,
extend the verandah and knock down and
rebuild the original part of the clubhouse.
A Big Thankyou
A big thank you to Golf Australia and Golf Queensland. The Golf Industry
Recovery Fund was initiated by Golf Australia immediately following the
Queensland floods in January 2011 and raised nearly $500,000.
Golf Queensland Chair Tom Crothers said 18 golf clubs and one PGA member
had submitted applications for assistance. Without that assistance many would
not be open for business even a year later.
With less than 250 members, who pay
just $390 annually, the club operates on a
shoestring budget.
Toms and two part-time bar staff keep
the clubhouse operating and a full-time
greenkeeper and his part-time assistant
maintain the 18-hole golf course.
Increasing the members’ annual fees isn’t an
option, according to Toms.
“If we try and put up our fees, even by $5, the
members will jump up and down,” she said.
Last month southeast
Queensland golf clubs were
reminded of last year’s big wet
when Mother Nature dumped
heavy rain on golf courses.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast had
falls of more than 400mm (16
inches) in a 48-hour period.
Golf Industry Central Autumn 2012
15