Work will soon commence on installation of a new irrigation system at Collie Golf Club after they successfully applied for State Government funding.
The South West regional club received a grant of $269,875 from the Department of Local Government, Sport & Cultural Industries’ Community Sporting and Recreation Facilities Fund, which has committed more than $20m to 24 projects for 2024-25.
This, when added to club savings, $50,000 of funding from Bendigo Bank and a loan from the State Treasury, will allow Collie GC to replace its existing irrigation system, which was first installed 50 years ago and has become increasingly obsolete.
Lesley Motion, Collie GC’s immediate past President, who oversaw the funding application in 2023 along with Greg Bell and Steven Ireland, says that news of their successful funding bid was met with great relief from all at the club.
“If we had been unsuccessful with the grant application, we’d have been in dire straits,” Lesley told GolfWA. “We’ve had a lot of problems with the existing reticulation, which has been updated over the years with all sorts of mismatched pieces causing breakages and leakage.
“We’ve also encountered issues with out-of-date software and decoders not working properly, leading to 30 sprinklers around the course needing to be operated manually. The last few years have been pretty challenging, so the successful application will have huge benefits for the club and the wider community.”
The club hopes that work on the new irrigation system will begin in winter and although no completion date has yet been mooted, Lesley says the club’s members are looking ahead with great optimism.
“Collie is a magnificent course, certainly one of the best in the South West, and the members are delighted that we’ll be able to carry out this much-needed work,” she added.
“The funding application is long and arduous, but we kept the members updated throughout and the general feeling throughout the club now is that this will be fabulous for us.”
Amongst the other sporting clubs to benefit from the latest tranche of funding was Bridgetown Golf Club, which lost its clubhouse to a bushfire in February 2022. The Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes was awarded a grant of $700,000, which will be put towards the construction of a new clubhouse.
