Golfers tee off in support of St John WA volunteers

It’s about as far from St Andrews as a golfer can get, but what Three Springs Golf Club lacks in prestige, it more than makes up for in community spirit and support for its nearest St John WA sub centre.

Since 1998, the golf club has hosted an annual fundraising day for the North Midlands Sub Centre (NMSC).

Inspired by local police officers who wanted to give back to the communities served by the NMSC – Three Springs, Carnamah, Coorow, and Eneabba – the event attracts players from all over Western Australia and has raised close to $200,000 so far.

This year’s golf day brought in a record field of 125 golfers and about $30,000 for NMSC.

Money raised from this event has funded upgrades and maintenance to the ambulance fleet, the purchase of life-saving equipment, upgrades to the local airstrip, and defibrillators for local police.

Since 2017, the funding has also been used to provide free first aid training to more than 860 North Midlands residents.

NMSC chair Vern Muller, who is a local farmer and SJWA volunteer of more than a decade, said the event was about more than the fundraising aspect.

“This is always a great day for the whole community to come together” he said.

“Living out here, sometimes your nearest neighbour is kilometres away, so it’s good to be able to get together and catch up and see how everyone’s going.”

Vern, along with other SJWA volunteers, kept the golfers’ energy levels up on the day with a sausage sizzle and morning tea.

St John was also called on to provide the “shotgun start”, with veteran vollie Merle Isbister sounding the siren to indicate tee-off time.

“This is such a wonderful day,” Merle said.

“This community is like a family, and it means so much to us to receive the support from everyone here.”

As a volunteer for more than 40 years, it is Merle who organises much of the training for the area.

“It’s all about giving back to the community who do so much for us,” she said.

Three Springs Golf Club president David Mutter said he was proud to support the local volunteers and thanked Merle and her “troops” for caring for the community.

To join the North Midlands Sub Centre as a volunteer, or to find out more about volunteering anywhere in WA, click here.