Nullarbor Links

World's Longest Golf Course, Australia

About the concept

Nullarbor Links - The World's Longest Golf Course

The Nullarbor Links concept is unique. The 18-hole par 72 golf course spans 1,365 kilometres with one hole in each participating town or roadhouse along the Eyre Highway, from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. Each hole includes a green and tee and somewhat rugged outback-style natural terrain fairway. The course provides a quintessential Australian experience and a much-needed activity/attraction for travellers along the renowned desolate highway.

Project background

The Eyre Highway Operators Association (EHOA) is a retail-based community organisation, established to raise the profile of the Nullarbor and to form a networking organisation to support businesses along the Eyre Highway.

The Nullarbor Links concept was developed to complement and enhance the tourism industry along the Highway, by providing travelers with an additional attraction and hence a reason to spend more time and money in the region. The project marries tourism, the world's largest industry, with golf, one of the world's most popular sports. The course provides a much needed attraction/activity along the Highway. It slows traffic down and encourage visitors to stay longer, and hence spend more time and money in the region. The course has the potential to place the region in the travel spotlight, and attract increased traffic flow. Golfing tourists spend more money, and stay longer than an average tourist, making golf tourism a lucrative market.

The Nullarbor Links has a "flow-on" effect to the communities of Dundas, Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, by providing employment to attract people and new businesses to the region.

The Eyre Highway Operators Association has identified the Nullarbor Links as an immediate opportunity for a cross-State tourism product. This project also possesses the potential for the following opportunities to enhance the tourism industry along the Eyre Highway:

The project also has relevance as an alternative source of income for smaller communities along the highway.

How the project was undertaken

The Nullarbor Links project is an ambitious undertaking, with its geographic spread and large number of participating organisations requiring a high degree of collaboration. It needs to be professionally managed with carefully developed operating procedures and corporate governance regimes. All stakeholders need to agree to the policies and practices.

Since completion of the Feasibility Study in September 2006, the following key steps have been taken:

Further, the Eyre Highway Operators Association has contracted a Project Manager to move the project forward. All required planning has been undertaken, steps have been followed to achieve required approvals, and letters of support have been received. The project is poised for implementation. A number of important project components were worked on simultaneously to prepare the project for launch in mid-2009. Therefore, construction of the golf holes progressed concurrently with development of the signage and the marketing program.

Who is involved

The Nullarbor Links is a project which involves collaboration between:

In addition, the project maintains close contact and co-operation with: