Nambucca’s Island Golf Course braces for rain bomb

One of Australia’s most famous golf courses - The Island at Nambucca Heads - is dreading another potentially devastating flood event. Club general manager Johnathon Zirkler explains the anxiety.

Island Golf Club general manager Johnathon Zirkler is nervously watching the skies after the course was almost completely inundated by floodwater 12 months ago.

At Nambucca Heads, management and members of Australia’s iconic Island Golf Course are bracing themselves for the forecast torrential onslaught.

The championship course is unique in that it is the only 18-hole layout which occupies the entirety of an island - and it went almost completely under in the March 2021, flood.

Club general manager Johnathon Zirkler said the golf community is on tenterhooks with the latest rain event.

“There’s already an inch of surface water at the back of the ninth hole,” Mr Zirkler said.

The sodden course has been closed since Saturday and the local rainfall measurements tell why.

“We’ve had 384mm so far this month and that includes eight days of no rain,” Mr Zirkler said.

“We’ve had almost 1100 year to date and that comes on the back of the 2600 last year.

“The playing surface is okay but the greens staff can’t get out there because the machinery tends to sink.”

The licensed club with restaurant continues to trade, but that hangs by a fingernail as the causeway on the sole access road can go under in flood, and even in big tides.

Flood damage to the course 12 months ago was so substantial that neighbouring golf clubs at Bonville and Coffs Harbour sent greens staff to help the local crew with the recovery.