The grant comes from the Stronger Country Communities Fund and will allow the golf club to make some much needed upgrades to its course.

Lithgow Golf Club president Geoff Brooks said the board had put in for a grant to do some work on the course with the main feature being solar panels.

“Having 124 solar panels on the building will help to ease our power bill which is one of our biggest costs,” he said.

Mr Brooks also said other upgrades would include the drainage and irrigation systems on the fairways, new cart paths and to extend the club’s cart and machinery shed for members to store their carts.

“The biggest issue here is the lack of water, we have a k-line irrigation system and this money will allow us to get another couple of them to make the fairways better.

“But this grant is more about improving the golf course especially with the solar panels, the more money that we can save, the more money that we can put back into the golf course, that’s why we want the solar panels,” he said.

Mr Brooks also said the drought had a significant impact on the golf course with grass dying and erosion.

“One of the biggest problems we have here is lack of water, we’ve got a bore down near the railway line that we pump out of up to a dam, so we’ve gotta pump twice to put our water on the course which is a huge electricity cost,” he said.

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He also said the golf club had been quiet and hoped the upgrades would make a difference.

“The better the course is the more people you get out here, getting the water on the course will boost the towns' profile,” he said.

Mr Brooks said being a not-for-profit organisation, everything the club made above its running costs, it would be put back into the golf course and the members.

He also wanted to thank Bathurst MP Paul Toole who backed the club from the start.

Member for Bathurst Paul Toole said it was important to ensure the golf club kept its doors open.

“When you have a look at the golf club there’s a lot of volunteers here and they’ve got over 190 members, giving this grant ensures that this facility is going to be improved upon, keeping not only the locals but also attracting big events into the future,” he said.

Mr Toole also said it was fantastic to be able to announce the fund and support the members of the Lithgow Golf Club.

“This is a big grant but also an important one for this club that’s been around for a long time,” he said.

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