Gympie Golf Club to renovate carpark as part of $2.5m upgrade

The overhaul of one of the region’s most popular venues continues as plans are unveiled to upgrade and finish work on a section originally conceived in 1994

Gympie Golf Course and Sports Club owner Phil Goodman says a newly upgraded carpark is the latest stage in what has been a $2.5m investment in the venue.

The owners of Gympie’s golf course have unveiled the latest stage of their $2.5m revamp of the venue.

A development application to upgrade the carpark opposite the club’s Shield St address has been lodged with the Gympie Regional Council, a step owner Phil Goodman said would enhance guests’ experiences at the club from the outset.

“The customer experience from the point they enter to the point they leave is part of it,” Mr Goodman said.

The land is being used as a parking area, but has never been fully developed.

If approved, the newly constructed and landscaped carpark would provide almost 100 parking spaces at the course, with solar-powered lighting.

The application puts the cost to build the carpark at more than $170,000.

Mr Goodman says the new carpark will improve guests’ experiences at the club from the moment they pull up at the facility.

Mr Goodman said the area had been designated as a carpark since 1994.

The area’s upgrade will be the latest stage in what has been a multimillion-dollar investment under new ownership after the $2m sale of the course in 2019.

Mr Goodman said the club now boasted a 6000-strong membership, which was important because “golf clubs today aren’t financially viable without a club”.

The transformation of the Gympie Golf Club won’t be complete after the carpark upgrade, either.

The course itself would also undergo an upgrade, Mr Goodman said, although this was not something that would happen overnight.

This block, which a development application has been lodged to the council for, has been designated as a parking area since 1994.

The upgraded course is going to be green, too – and not just in colour.

Mr Goodman said an improved irrigation system was in the works, which would use Gympie Regional Council’s treated effluent.

He said the new system will allow the club to use more water, and would be good for the environment as well.

“The more we take … the less going into the Mary River,” Mr Goodman said.

Which is good news for a city and region he and his wife love.

“We like Gympie because it’s the first regional town outside South-East Queensland,” he said.

“It’s just got a fantastic lifestyle.”