Horsham golf club on brink of collapse

It rose from the ashes of Black Saturday and has been rated one of the best courses in Australia. But this golf club is teetering on the brink and has launched an urgent fundraising drive.

Horsham golf course.

A country golf club ranked in the top 20 rural courses in Australia despite being ravaged by the Black Saturday bushfires has issued an SOS for its future.

Horsham Golf Club needs to raise $200,000 this week or risk losing control of the pristine course rated among the nation’s top 100 overall.

With debts piling up, the club will be forced into administration, merger or sale unless it meets the target to keep the course in community hands.

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Club general manager and golf director Paul Riley said the course — ­established in 1898 — was a lifeblood to the town but needed urgent aid.

“This is it, there will be no more asking for help,’’ he said.

“It’s our last roll of the dice.’’

With dwindling memberships despite its pristine greens and fairways, the club is $1.39 million in debt and bordering on insolvency with monthly interest repayments of about $6000.

Since its present board took leadership in November 2017, it has reduced debt from $1.45 million and paid off a further $30,000 to creditors.

Horsham Golf Club vice president Ken Breuer.

It raised $220,000 in nine days after calling on the community to save its skin last month, but Mr Riley said it had “arrived at the end game”.

“If we don’t raise the funds, then all cards are on the table and the club will have to look at administration, merger or amalgamation, single sale or group sale,” he said.

“We’ve got an incredible golf course, a lovely clubhouse only built six years ago … but our job is to right the ship and get it into a position where it returns a surplus every year.”

The club has literally risen from the ashes, rebuilding after the 2009 fires destroyed it and key parts of the course.

The fire-damaged clubhouse.

In a message to members, Horsham Golf Club president Leo Delahunty said “our debt position has to be dealt with”.

“We also know we can’t keep coming back to our members appealing for contributions in this way, (but) we are clear of the need to receive these funds” he said.

The temporary clubhouse.

There is even hope a Melbourne sandbelt club could buy it for a peppercorn agreement and run it as a regional drawcard for its members.

“After the fires, trade went down and never picked up again — we need players to come from Melbourne and Adelaide,” Mr Riley said.

The club has offered to ­return donations if it fails to meet its fundraising target, but directors want to not only keep the course afloat, but put it on a path to long-term success.

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