Chris Durrington started his tenure as General Manager of Iluka Golf Club this month after more than two decades working for Yamba Golf and Country Club and he already is implementing changes as part of his dynamic vision for the growing club.

After 25 years at Yamba, where Mr Durrington served as relieving General Manager, Assistant Manager, Bar Manager, Captain, Board Member, and Golf Operations Manager, he said he was ready for a fresh challenge.

“I wanted a new challenge, and I could see the potential of Iluka Golf Club,” he said.

“They wanted someone who could help them become compliant and grow the business, because it’s been run by volunteers and a handful of staff for so long.

“They wanted some direction, and I said I’d love to give you a hand and help you grow to the next stage.”

Mr Durrington said with four new estates filling up with houses in Iluka, they want to improve on the club and its facilities for the town’s growing population.

“They’re right next to the golf club and we’re going to have people living near the course within a couple of years, so we’ve got to get the club ready for that,” he said.

Mr Durrington said after all the recent rain, as Iluka Golf Club is built on a sandy base, it was the only course fully open for play last weekend.

“You wouldn’t even know that it had rained, I was out there on Friday morning and it was dry, there were no puddles or anything anywhere,” he said.

Currently Iluka Golf club has a 10-hole course, but Mr Durrington said the club has land to expand to 18 holes in the future, plus develop accommodation, if the board and members wanted to go that way.

“There is land for an over 55’s village for about 50 units, plus they have all of the Crown Land that can be developed into more holes,” he said.

“It’s all up to the members and board on which direction to take the club.

“Hopefully as soon as the estates get sold out and all the roads get tarred, when there’s no more accommodation in Iluka, we will look at getting a developer in and see if we can do something with the land that we actually own.

“There’s plenty of opportunities to grow in every way.”

Mr Durrington started in the role as full time General Manager on August 11 and said he is enjoying the club and its members.

“It’s been good, everyone has been very welcoming which has been good, everyone is very friendly,” he said.

“The club has lots of volunteers and they are always coming up to me and saying hello and giving me their ideas, which is great, I welcome them with open arms.”

Changes are happening and more are on the horizon for Iluka Golf Club.

“I want to do some more renovations and upgrades eventually, I just want to get the club compliant to start with and financially sustainable,” he said.

“I encourage people to come over and see us at the friendly Iluka Golf Club.”

Iluka Golf Club is open on Monday to Wednesday from 8.30am to 6pm, from 8.30am to 9pm from Thursday to Saturday, and from 8.30am to 6pm on Sunday.

For more information visit https://www.ilukagolf.com.au/.

This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 27 August 2025.