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The Course
Built on less than 30 hectares (74 acres) the course although flat and without sand bunkers or water hazzards hosts many of its own challenges.
The front nine hosts two par 5’s with a number of borders on the golf course bringing out of bounds into play for errant shots. The back nine hosts all but one of the eight raised greens on the course, with the entire course graded at a 128 slope delivering a challenging course for even the most skilled golfers.
Generally the back nine is a little more difficult with two tough par 4’s (holes 11 and 12) to negotiate, along with the number 15 par 3, providing a challenging 2 meter raised small green along a narrow tee off channel. The margin for error is minimal with the left zone out of bounds and the right dense bush.
By modern standards Broome Golf Course is not long measuring just under 6000 metres. Despite this, the golf course challenges the very best players with many narrow fairways combined with dense bush increasing the degree of difficulty. The wildlife are a further highlight of the course with a host of wallabies, frilled neck lizards, monitor lizards and an array of birdlife.
The real story of the Broome Golf Club is, like all vintage golf and sporting clubs, about people. There are players and there are characters and there are stories, which bonds the community and entices the existing and new members.
The Course Detailed
Over 50 years of Golfing history
The Broome Golf Course is located on the peninsula end of Broome at the fringe of the Roebuck Bay sand dunes. The first Broome Clubhouse was a custom orb (cowshed) tin structure built in 1967, situated below the sandhills. In 1970 a dedicated clubhouse was erected at the top of the sand dunes, overlooking the course and providing sensational 360 degree ocean and Roebuck Bay view.
In 2020 demolition of the existing clubhouse structure took place to make way for the present facility funded by a CSRFF and Shire supported grant developing a $5.5m state of the art Golf Clubhouse and function centre facility. The new facility paving the way for fantastic growth possibilities, in both golf development and community facility opportunities. A major highlight of visiting the Broome Golf Club are the spectacular 360 degree Ocean and Roebuck Bay Views. The start and end point of the golf round is a breathtaking sight at any time of the day. The new facility providing opportunity to relax in a social capacity either as part of a golfing or social afternoon.
For many years, Broome was the only Northern regional golf course, comprising sand fairways and sand greens. In 1967 the nine fairways were defined by windrows, with development in 1968 comprising expansion to 12 holes, and the 18 hole format played on recurring holes. By 1986 the club had worked on greening process and trialed artificial greens at a cost of $3,000 per green with the venture failing to be successful and removed a number of years later.
During 1989 negotiation began with the department of health to utilise recycled water from the effluent waste facility which required solution to disburse the increasing overflow and with council approval occuring later that year the processed water was approved for use on on the golf course under stringent hygiene conditions. During 1992 fundraising assisted cost development of reticulation to fairways with ongoing development over the next 3 years leading to a fully grassed course.
In 1998 President Wynn Rees officially opened the 18 holes of fully reticulated and grassed golf course. 2007 saw the commencement to redesign the course moving forward to comply with National golf course standards.
Historically the club has seen it's fair share of wild cyclonic weather, with the entire course inundated by 400ml of rain over 2 days in January 2018 turning the course into a 60 hectare lake. The only visible point of the 18th tee was the top 1.5 metres of the 18th hole flag. Images of the record rainfall at the club can be seen in our history gallery. Amongst the many weather challenges and setbacks, along with extreme hot and dry conditions, the club has thrived in the community and has become a leader in sport for both Men and Women's competitions.
The Broome Golf Club continues to develop, with Junior programs and Ladies Have A Go opportunities. The Broome Golf Club is without doubt a principal sport in the region.
The Broome Golf Club has made a fine contribution to golf in WA and Australia, hosting numerous championships, for both amateurs and professionals. Annual events entice WA and national golfers to the region with the opportunity to play golf in one of the top 20 holiday destinations in the world.
