Portland Golf Club receives $10,000 to tee off its tourism market

Federal Member for Calare visited the golf club and its members to deliver the cheque and congratulate them on their hard work.

Portland Golf Club president Bob Roberts said he was delighted and very thankful to receive the grant which would push the club a step closer to its dream.

"In trying to attract people to the golf club we noticed there was a lack of caravan facilities in the town of Portland, people come to look at the silos and for other events, so we have decided we would open up our top car park to caravaners and provide the facilities of the club," he said.

Mr Roberts said the funding would help in upgrading both the downstairs men's area and upstairs women's area and install electronic locks.

"The locks will give members and visitors 24 hour access to the facilities and as part of that we need to install some sort of solar powered LED lighting in the car park area that's motion sensitive just for safety," he said.

He said he believed increased tourism would help to attract more members to the golf club.

"Our problem is attracting members and then keeping them, and our other problem is our club is fully run by volunteers apart from three paid bar staff, so everything you see around you has been created and maintained by volunteers," he said.

The club also wanted to try and mitigate its susceptibility to flooding by harvesting some of the water to use on other parts of the course.

"There's lots to do, little money but these funds are a stepping stone," Mr Roberts said.

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He said the club was a large asset for the local community and it would be a shame to lose it.

"If we should lose this we will never get it back, once you've lost it, getting it back is incredibly hard," he said.

The golf club had already faced struggles and as a result has had to cut its 18 hole course in half.

"We do have the facilities to open up the other nine, but we simply do not have the manpower," Mr Roberts said.

Calare MP Andrew Gee said he was aware of the difficult times the club had faced and he was pleased to be a contributor in helping it become revitalised and refocused.

"Obviously more help will be needed over time but this is a great first step, I think it's wonderful the club has a plan in place to increase visitors and attract tourism," he said.

Mr Gee also said the club had a wonderful management team who were determined to make sure Portland Golf Club has a sustainable and viable future.

"They are very forward thinking and looking ahead for new opportunities, I think they deserve great credit for looking at ways to ensure the viability of the club," he said.

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