Narrabri Golf Club to welcome back NSW’s best up and coming female golfers this weekend

NSW Golf’s highly-anticipated Ford Women’s NSW Open Golf Regional Qualifying Series will return to Narrabri Golf Club for a third year this Sunday, and Club Narrabri officials are excited to host the three-day event.

Narrabri is the fourth stop on the six-event tour, which kicked off at Mollymook Golf Club in October and then continued at Wagga Wagga Country Club.

It resumed at Dubbo yesterday following an extended break, and the players and officials will face a quick turnaround after the third event wraps up in Dubbo on Friday before they arrive in Narrabri on Sunday.

The Narrabri event will include a four-person ambrose on Sunday, in which three local players will team up with one of the pros for 18 holes of golf. That is sponsored by Nutrien Harcourts and Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Club Narrabri will host a welcome ‘Sips and Dips’ event that evening, sponsored by SierraTek Global and Carlton United Breweries, and the ladies will then play for one of two qualifying spots in the 2026 Ford Women’s NSW Open across two rounds on Monday and Tuesday.

Each event in the series will feature a $50,000 prize pool, and the Narrabri event is always one that the golfers look forward to, given the extra prizemoney on offer. This year includes a $1000 putt for cash, sponsored by Clipjoint, a $1000 shootout, sponsored by Nolan Building and Ken Nolan Plumbing, and two $10,000 hole-in-one prizes, sponsored by Outlook Ag on the eighth hole and Ford Finance on the 16th.

Club Narrabri chief executive Paul Gordon told The Courier that he, his team and the local entire golfing community looked forward to hosting the event.

“It’s really exciting to have this tournament here. It has been really successful in the past, and I’m really looking forward to this one,” Mr Gordon said.

“We signed on for this for three years, and this is our last at this stage. I’d hope some events like this come back to Narrabri.

“The response from the players and officials has been excellent at the past two events we’ve held.

“They enjoyed the welcome they got from the local people and the warmth of the Narrabri community.

“This year, we have 11 families opening their homes to billet the girls, which we’ve done at the last two as well.

“The course looks a treat at the moment and the place should present really well. Our course superintendent Mark Campbell and his offsiders Tony Nott and Scott Lamb have done a great job.”

Club Narrabri’s operations manager Geoff Artis also said he was looking forward to hosting the event.

Mr Artis has experienced professional women’s golf first-hand, having caddied for his wife Bec Artis on the pro tour. Bec was a pro golfer for 12 years and was at one stage ranked second in Australia and 100th across the entire world.

Mr Artis, who made headlines himself back in 2021 when he produced an albatross on the seventh hole at the Narrabri Golf Club after holing a four-iron from 221 metres out, told The Courier that this event had the potential to launch someone’s career to new heights.

“From a club perspective, we’re excited to showcase how women’s golf should be played right here on our golf course,” Mr Artis said.

“All our volunteers have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure the course looks fantastic and the club presents itself well.

“It’s nice and green, and the fairways are just fantastic after a bit of rain. We couldn’t be prouder of what Mark Campbell and his team have done.

“Our venue manager Wade Foster and his team have put in a lot of hours to get the event up and going to make sure it’s successful. It will be good for him to showcase what this club is all about.

“It’s another good event for our community. It’s free entry, so people can come in and have a look around and watch some of Australia’s next rising golf stars playing here in Narrabri.

“People don’t realise that one shot can either make it or break it for golfers. Coming out here, the golfers at this event might only need one good hole or one good round to kick-start their campaign or kick-start their life.

“From getting billeted to free food, those costs add up, so we’re doing little things that we can to help these golfers to make sure that they are supported and they have a good time here.”

Narrabri’s first two Ford Women’s NSW Open Golf Regional Qualifying Series winners were Slovenian Katja Pogacar in March last year and South Australian Caitlin Peirce in December last year.

A new golfer will earn the right to write their name in the history books come Tuesday.