Meadowbrook Golf Club rises from ashes after $5m spent on driving range, minigolf, beer garden and fine dining

Hundreds of southside residents have swung into action, digging into their own pockets to support a southside golf club that is suing its local council for $24m after council dug up its fairways.

Hundreds of southside residents have swung into action this week to support a southside golf club which has risen above financial ruin after a council dug up its fairways.

Meadowbrook Country Golf Club has risen from the ashes left after its predecessor, Logan City Golf Club, went broke battling course closures and a flight of members over five years while Logan City Council put down sewerage pipes.

Members of the not-for-profit club were up in arms after their plans to add a gaming licence venue to bolster the coffers were taking more than six months to get council approval.

Logan City Council took five years to put down sewer pipes under the golf course.

This week, they voiced their anger online and also dipped into their pockets to raise nearly $12,000 to fight the council, which held a secret meeting to discuss the gaming licence venue.

Their pokie outrage followed Meadowbrook management’s two-year legal wrangle with the council in the Supreme Court over compensation for the loss of $24 million in income and goodwill following the earth works.

Meadowbrook managing director Tom Linskey, a professional golfer who has played around the world and been a consultant to top golf course managers in Italy, said the gaming licence venue would ensure the club’s long-term survival.

Australian Golf Management Corporation’s Tom Linskey at Meadowbrook Golf course which has risen from the ashes after $5m spent on a driving range, a minigolf course, a beer garden and fine dining.

“It’s been a long hard struggle and has cost us, and other people, a lot of money,” Mr Linskey said.

“But we have had massive support from members and others who have all helped to bring the golf course back up to scratch.

“This is one of the best courses in southeast Queensland because of its location and because of its beauty.”

The 27-hole course, in the heart of Logan, is one of the best kept secrets for golf lovers and their families.

The Meadowbrook Golf Club spent $5million repairing and upgrading its greens and facilities after the council sewer debacle.

It has created a small slice of heaven for those who love the sport — and a great outdoor dining experience for those who don’t.

Logan City Council held a closed-door meeting this week to discuss a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought by a golf club, which claims the council deliberately subjected it to a decade of financial turmoil. The council also discussed the Meadowbrook Golf Club’s request for a gaming licence to run 50 pokie machines in secret.

Tucked in behind trees along Logan’s Slacks Creek, the 27-hole course is a quiet spot hidden from the Logan Motorway and minutes from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

In 2005, the club started building its business and within five years had more than 1300 members and an annual turnover of more than $3.5million.

But that all fell away when the council announced its plans in 2011 to dig up three sections of the course.

Five years later, the course was still undergoing repair works and the two men leasing the site were in financial strife when their turnover fell to under $1 million.

Mr Linskey took back their lease and has been working with his son, Steven, and club executives to rebuild ever since.

One of Mr Linskey’s first projects was constructing a $1 million state-of-the-art 29-bay undercover driving range.

The Meadowbrook Golf Club's new driving range has computerised analysis booths.

Non golfers can tee off after buying a bucket of balls for $22 and let the computer measure shot distances and give graphs to help improve swing technique.

To play 18 holes walking costs $45 and 18 holes for two people with an electric cart is $135.

In line with European trends, Mr Linskey wanted Meadowbrook to be known for al fresco dining and hired a chef.

For those watching their waistlines, fresh soups are made daily and tasty Italian and herb salads are on offer along with usual club food fare.

Sit on the balcony at Meadowbrook Golf Club and watch the minigolf, while having a beer or lunch.

He wanted to include entertainment and started weekend markets pre-Covid.

But he also wanted the club to have a family appeal and so he built a $1.3million fully licensed 18-hole minigolf course, complete with a food truck and beer garden.

A family mini-golf pass costs $49.

Meadowbrook has 60 electric golf carts.

Further millions were spent on 60 electric golf carts to get players around the massive course.

“After $1.67 million was spent on the clubhouse, Meadowbrook was hardly recognisable,” long-time club member and former president Kerry Howie said.

“This will one day be the best golf club in the southeast but we still have some work to do.

“The gaming licence and extension will add a different dimension to the business but it is the location and atmosphere along the creek that make this very different.”