During the floods which struck the city over the weekend of August 8 and 9, the Goulburn Golf Club was largely submerged in water.
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While most of the clubhouse escaped serious damage, the Pro Shop was not so lucky, and local professional Andrew Grove has spent much of the last two weeks throwing out ruined stock and beginning repairs.
"The water came up into the pro shop, it came into the counter," Grove said.
"That's when the cameras went out anyway, it obviously got up to the power and cut the power. I got a boat in, I had to get the SES to get me across the water. I woke up at 5am and checked the cameras, and the water was already up over the mats. I got down there and tried to walk through the water but it was too high."
The extent of the flooding was more severe than Grove had seen before. The club's dam, which is located behind the seventh tee, was roughly half a metre from overflowing, which was a first for Grove.
Along with the damage to the Pro Shop, roughly 30 of the club's electric golf carts were destroyed by the floods, of which Grove owned six. Another handful of scooters were also rendered useless.
At about $10,000 per cart, the loss to Grove personally could have been significant if he weren't insured. He is now in the "messy" process of putting together insurance claims, while simultaneously trying to repair the shop.
"I've moved the Pro Shop upstairs for about four to five weeks until the shop dries out," he said.
"All the carpenters have to come and get the shop redone again. Because all those guys are busy, I've been told it's a 4-5 week wait at minimum.
"There's been a lot of long days, especially from the start when it first happened. We had to take all the carpet out .. at least I had a lot of people help me out, which is good, otherwise I'd probably still be doing it.
"It took about three days to strip the whole shop. It's just the mud that gets through, it's unbelievable."
Along with the damage to the carts and the shop, the driving range has also been impacted. The mats will all have to be replaced, and sinkholes have begun to emerge which will have to be filled in.
The course itself, Grove said, was soaked but largely unharmed by the water. However, a couple of pumps and bores were damaged, as the water destroyed all of the electrical equipment with which it came into contact.
Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, equipment can be difficult to come by, so Grove is unsure when he will be able to replace lost stock.
Despite the difficulties he faces, Grove remained pragmatic and said "we've just got to get through it."
He also thanked all those involved in the clean up and repair of the shop, which is still continuing.
"I would like to say a big thank you to the club directors and the members for your help and hard work with the clean up from the recent flood," Grove said.
"And to my wife, Rebecca Grove, thank you for your help and support."
He also offered a "massive" thanks to the following businesses who offered their assistance:
- John McLaughlin and Adrian Charles Innovative Concrete Goulburn
- Tony Boyd Integrated Building Group
- David Alt Electrical
- Rod Brooker R&S Kitchens
- Scott Hore Goulburn Plumbing
- Barry McEntee First National Goulburn
- Boral Concrete
- Leugh Layden CNR Insurances Brokers
- Divall's Goulburn Sand and Soil
- Corey Peterson from Goulburn Power Centre
- Kennards Hire
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