Two of Australia’s most remote golf clubs, Gove Country Golf Club and Jabiru Golf Club, will undertake clubhouse renovations and irrigation works after receiving major grants in the latest round of the 2024-25 Northern Territory Community Benefit Fund.

Having made do with volunteer builders and maintenance in recent years, Gove has received $119,272 to undertake a full clubhouse renovation, while Jabiru has been awarded $250,000 for major irrigation upgrades.

This funding is transformative for these remote regional clubs, and is a direct reflection of how important they are to the local community.

Located 250km east of Darwin, Jabiru has around 250 members and is a real social hub for locals and tourists alike, especially as the town goes through a post-mining transition.

"Our club is recognised as a valuable community asset and makes significant contributions to the community through its active volunteer efforts, holding regular community events focused on families,” said Club Secretary and life member, Heidi Walton.

“We hold regular fundraisers, bake sales, social golf days, kids water fun afternoons, trivia nights and more.

"We are a unique golf club, situated in the middle of the world-heritage listed Kakadu National Park, with Bininj (Aboriginal) people from the wider Kakadu region, also involved in the club.

"While our primary focus is golf, we actively work with other community groups and clubs that do not have their own facilities, and acknowledge the important role we play."

With an aging irrigation system, Jabiru has been spending a lot of money on maintenance which is undertaken by dedicated volunteers.

"The project to upgrade the irrigation system is vital to the future of our club," said Walton.

"This funding will ensure our continued operation and our ability to provide a well-maintained course for all users.

"We will be putting in a brand new automated programmable watering system for the course, featuring a new irrigation switchboard and sprinklers for tee blocks, approaches and greens.

"One hundred percent of club maintenance has been undertaken by dedicated volunteers for many years, and his project will support those who contribute so much of their time to maintain the course."

Close to 1000km further east in Nhulunbuy, Gove Country Golf Club shares many of the struggles that Jabiru faces being a remote regional club.

"As our clubhouse is so close to the ocean, we've got quite a lot of our pillars rusting through and getting holes in them," said Club President, Zayden McKinley.

"We pretty much have got to the stage where we were just going to do one post at a time with the help of volunteers just to keep our clubhouse open and safe for our members and the community.

"Having somewhere safe that all our members and community can come and enjoy is obviously a big, big benefit to us and a big benefit for the whole community."

With the help of Golf Australia's Grant Writing Assistance Program and working directly with Red Tape Busters, Gove was awarded the full amount they had been quoted to fix the clubhouse.

"It's definitely a big, big headache off our committee's shoulders," said McKinley.

Gove has secured the Norther Territory Country Championships this year, and has plans to increase its hosting of community night golf events which have proven extremely popular in the past.

The clubhouse upgrades will ensure that Gove can continue to be a community host and attract events to the region, and also means the club can capitalise financially when they accommodate crowds.

To find out more about Jabiru Golf Club, CLICK HERE.

To find out more about Gove Country Golf Club, CLICK HERE.

If any clubs in the Northern Territory are interested in discussing potential support, reach out to Andrew Leventis from Golf Australia at [email protected] / 0403 633 361.