Pennant Hills and Club Taree Crowned State Champions for Water Innovation and Flood Rescue

SYDNEY – Two of New South Wales’ premier golf clubs have stolen the spotlight on the club industry’s biggest stage, securing top honors at the prestigious 2026 ClubsNSW Clubs & Community Awards.

Pennant Hills Golf Club and Club Taree both claimed major victories at the annual gala event, dubbed the “Night of Nights” for the state’s club sector, proving that modern golf clubs are serving as critical environmental and social pillars within their local communities.

Pennant Hills Strikes Gold with ‘Tunnel to Turf’ Water Project

Pennant Hills Golf Club was crowned the winner of the Sustainable Future category, recognizing its literal ground-breaking water initiative, “From Tunnel to Turf.”

The award marks a staggering environmental turnaround for the club. Back in 2005, Pennant Hills appeared on the notorious list of New South Wales’ top 50 water users. Fast forward to May 2026, and the club officially commissioned an engineering marvel that gives them 100% self-sufficiency for course irrigation, without drawing a single drop from the municipal town water supply.

The initiative centers on an innovative partnership with the NorthWestern Roads Group, the operator of Sydney’s NorthConnex tunnel.

• Capture: Groundwater that naturally seeps into the traffic tunnel is captured by operators.
• Purification: The captured water is treated to pure drinking quality through a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis plant.
• Delivery: The purified water is piped directly beneath Pennant Hills Road into the club’s storage infrastructure.
• Integration: The water is blended with output from the club’s existing on-site recycling facility—which has run since 2006—to form a fully sustainable irrigation ecosystem.

The project was heavily backed by local government through an infrastructure grant recognizing its public benefit. Beyond saving the club money, it reduces operational costs for NorthConnex and relieves immense pressure on the town water grid, providing a massive environmental dividend to the Hornsby community.

Pennant Hills General Manager Barnaby Sumner said the accolade was the culmination of years of meticulous planning.

“We are thrilled that we will no longer need to use town water for the course,” Sumner said. “This is a landmark project that will benefit the Club and the community for many decades to come.”

Club Taree Honored for Heroic Flood Emergency Response

Further up the coast, Club Taree took home the top prize in the Emergency Response category, honoring the heroic actions of its team during the devastating flood event of May 2025.

When the floodwaters rose last year, heavily impacting and submerging sections of the Taree golf course, club management pivoted instantly from sports to survival. The club rapidly stockpiled essential supplies and transformed its clubhouse facilities into a fully operational evacuation hub for displaced locals.

Presenting the award, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon APM praised the club’s quick thinking. In its official address, ClubsNSW lauded Club Taree’s leadership for “turning a crisis into a testament of community courage and unwavering care.”

The win caps off an extraordinary year for Club Taree, which was named a finalist in a staggering five categories, including Health, Mental Health, and two separate nods for the Heart of the Community award (celebrating the Club Taree Community Challenge and the standout leadership of CEO Paul Allan).

Accepting the trophy, an emotional Paul Allan deflected the praise back to the community. He dedicated the award to his tireless staff and praised the sheer grit and resilience of the broader Taree region during the disaster.

More Than Just a Game

The dual victories drew high praise from the state’s governing body, Golf NSW, which extended its congratulations to the management, staff, and members of both facilities.

In a statement, Golf NSW noted that both achievements serve as a powerful blueprint for the modern sports club, reminding the public that golf courses are no longer just places to play a round, but are vital, indispensable anchors for local communities in times of environmental and social need.

Source: www.golfnsw.org.au