Many golf clubs across Queensland are still in recovery and clean-up mode almost a month on from Tropical Cyclone Alfred, although pleasingly some were able to get back on their feet much quicker than they did after the devasting 2022 floods.

Two such clubs are Ashgrove in Brisbane, and Carbrook just south of the city, who both received significant funding after being hit by the 2022 floods and were able to successfully future proof for the inevitability that something similar would happen again.

Something similar was Alfred’s arrival in early March.

Thanks to the Community and Recreational Assets Recovery and Resilience Program, a $75 million government initiative, Carbrook received just over $1.4 million, and Ashgrove close to $450,000 to assist in the recovery from the 2022 floods

Carbrook General Manager Scott Wagstaff said that without the funding, and the infrastructure the club was able to put in place, the effects of Cyclone Alfred would have been much more severe.

"We were able to install four kilometres of concrete last year, which has been awesome to help us with most of our golf course," Wagstaff said.

"We could get around the golf course much easier. The first day of recovery we were able to get in a vehicle, and previously that wouldn't happen for a week.

"The mud that comes in is so slippery, but with all these new roadways, we could get half the way around the course down a road, which is massive.

"We were immediately able to get around and get volunteers on the golf course to help clean up safely. The concrete paths had just been amazing.

"The peak of the flood was the Monday. We were open on the front nine with carts on the Friday following and there's just no way we could have done that before."

Along with the concrete paths, the funding also allowed Carbrook to build new retaining walls after suffering significant erosion issues in 2022.

"Both help us significantly in a flood event get back on our feet quicker, but they also just make us generally more resilient to the heavy rain that is consistent in this part of the world," Wagstaff said.

Photo: Carbrook had significant tree damage to deal with after the Cyclone.

Having lost two significant bridges in the 2022 floods, Ashgrove focussed its funding to re-building and improving these to withstand future extreme weather.

"We replaced these with a concrete causeway, which now post-Alfred we're learning that we've got to maybe update that a little. There's some things we need to do, but we’re back in play much quicker," said Ashgrove President Jon Thorne.

"Then we also put in a metal bridge that the government contributed to, a properly engineered big steel bridge and it's about as high as it can go and the water still touched it, but there's been no impact to it."

With the funding Ashgrove received in 2022, naturally they were not able to replace every bridge on the property, and this is where the majority of Alfred's damage was felt.

"We've essentially lost a bridge that crosses over our 10th hole, which means we are now playing that hole short at the moment by playing it on the other side of the creek," said Thorne.

The club is hoping the bridge can be repaired, but if not the rebuild will cost more than the club can afford right now, especially if the new bridge is engineered to withstand the next flood or cyclone.

Just like Carbrook, the improvements made thanks to the 2022 funding meant Ashgrove could get golfers back on the course much more quickly than in the past, which had a significant impact far beyond the pro shop till.

"In 2022, it took us two-and-a-half weeks I think to reopen, this time it took us six days," said Thorne.

"One of the things that we would've noted in 2022, and during the closures in Covid, is the impacts of not being able to play golf on our members is linked strongly to their mental health.”

As shown in the Australian Golf Industry Council's Community Benefits of Golf in Australia report released in 2023, the physical exercise associated with golf “releases endorphins and serotonin that improve mood, and regular exercise has been evidenced to reduce stress, depression and anxiety”.

Golf is also often the facilitator of "social interaction between friends and community members, thereby reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation that may otherwise occur".

Thorne said: "Our golfers can find other things to do to be physically active, but having to disengage from that community in their normal fashion, we noticed that that was probably the biggest call out in 2022.

"The feedback we've had from members is 'thanks so much for reopening, we don't mind the re-routing, we're just happy to be here playing’.

"That just acknowledges how important golf and their golf club is to them."

Funding is available to golf clubs in the wake of recent natural disasters, and Golf Australia can assist with grant writing if needed.

CLICK HERE to view current grants available.

If you would like to discuss your club’s situation, please reach out to Clubs & Facilities Manager Andrew Leventis ([email protected] / 0403 633 361) and our official grant delivery partners Red Tape Busters, namely Andrew Hamilton ([email protected] / 0414557 612) should you require assistance with future grant applications.