The fairways at Nagambie Golf Club will be looking as pristine as ever this summer after the club was awarded a $101,000 funding boost from the Victorian Government as part of the Golf Infrastructure Fund.
One of eight clubs around regional Victoria set to receive funding through this latest investment, Nagambie will use the money to assist in upgrading three of its fairways and install a new pump system.
Nagambie Golf Club projects manager Michael Roberts said a lot of work went into getting the grant approved.
“It is great for the golf club. It has been a long time coming, having applied for the grant way back in 2019, and a lot of work has been done by a lot of people behind the scenes,” Roberts said.
“We missed out on the larger grants we initially applied for, but there was a bit of money left over and they offered us a chance to apply for some smaller grants and we were lucky enough to get approved.”
Continuing to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, upgrading the course is a major focus for the club as it looks to attract new members and take advantage of the town’s standing as an up-and-coming tourist destination.
“It’s not going to solve all our problems down at the club, but it’s a start and it gets us going for upgrading three fairways and installing a new pump system,” Roberts said.
“For us it’s the stepping stone for more future upgrades.
“Obviously a lot of sporting clubs have suffered through these times. But I think Nagambie has taken off as a tourist destination, so we are really focused on improving the golf course in whatever way we can to attract new members and this will help us do that.”
As for a timeline on when the upgrades are likely to get under way, Roberts said the club was looking to get started as soon as possible to ensure the project was complete by summer.
“The first part of the funding is due to come in September, but in order to complete this part of the project, the club is going to have to fork out a bit of money as well,” he said.
“So we will be able to get things going as early as next month and I would have thought by October and November, leading into the warmer months, we should have this system up and running.”