As one of Melbourne’s prestigious sandbelt courses, Yarra Yarra Golf Club is known for immaculate playing conditions and careful water stewardship. Maintaining that standard requires more than just reliable irrigation. It requires an efficient, responsive water management strategy that keeps operating costs under control.
With electricity prices trending upwards, the club faced increasing pressure to re-evaluate the way its bore pump systems consumed power. Like many irrigation-reliant facilities across Australia, Yarra Yarra’s challenge wasn’t the amount of water being pumped, but the rising cost of pumping it.
Bore Down Drilling, a trusted driller and pump installer in Victoria, had already been supporting the club with water infrastructure maintenance. The team recognised an opportunity to modernise Yarra Yarra’s system using high-efficiency technology developed by Franklin Electric.
From proven performance to upgraded precision
Yarra Yarra Golf Club had previously installed Franklin Electric’s bore pumps with strong results. That familiarity made the board more receptive to a proposal from Bore Down Drilling to further enhance the system’s performance. The recommendation was to upgrade to the Franklin Electric High Efficiency System motor: a technology designed to deliver maximum hydraulic output with lower energy consumption. It’s also known as an HES motor.
This wasn’t just a speculative solution. The HES motor had already proven itself in other applications, combining a permanent magnet motor with an intelligent variable frequency drive to optimise performance based on demand. For a site like Yarra Yarra, where irrigation requirements fluctuate across seasons, that adaptability offered a compelling case.
But as with many capital upgrades, board approval was needed. The initial investment was higher than a standard replacement, which meant Bore Down Drilling and Franklin Electric had to present a clear business case. That included detailed performance projections, potential ROI modelling and a full quotation outlining installation timeframes and expected outcomes.
A structured path to implementation
The process began with a full site inspection to understand the performance of the existing bore pump system. From there, Franklin Electric and Bore Down Drilling collaborated on a tailored proposal that addressed Yarra Yarra’s unique priorities: water flow, reliability, long-term cost management and control visibility.
Approval came swiftly. The value proposition was strong: retain existing flow levels, reduce energy expenditure and enhance system oversight. Installation was completed within six weeks of the order being placed, minimising downtime and allowing the club to benefit from the system before peak summer demand.
Immediate savings, rapid payback
Once operational, the system delivered immediate savings. Annual electricity costs dropped from $35,239 to $27,586, saving the club $7,652 in the first year. This meant that the initial investment was fully recouped within under 12 months.
But the benefits didn’t stop there. The club also invested in remote access and bore level monitoring tools. These upgrades provided the grounds team with unprecedented oversight of their water infrastructure, enabling better scheduling, system alerts, and long-term planning.
These capabilities support more than just efficiency; they improve reliability. By identifying issues early and responding to conditions in real time, the club can avoid unexpected outages or overuse.
Scaling success across the course
Encouraged by the performance of the first installation, Yarra Yarra Golf Club expanded the project. Two additional bores were upgraded with the HES package, each contributing to a broader strategy of energy and water optimisation.
Together, these upgrades now deliver approximately $17,000 in annual energy savings. That figure is particularly significant in the context of sport and recreation budgets, where capital improvement funding is often competitive and closely scrutinised.
For Yarra Yarra, those savings represent a reinvestment opportunity, whether in maintenance, turf care, or broader sustainability initiatives.
Collaboration from ground to green
The project’s success hinged on strong collaboration across stakeholders. Bore Down Drilling brought site knowledge, drilling expertise and long-term client relationships. Franklin Electric contributed the high-performance technology and technical support. Yarra Yarra Golf Club’s board and ground staff provided strategic input and on-the-ground feedback.
This kind of partnership model is increasingly vital in infrastructure-heavy sectors, such as golf, agriculture, and municipal water. As energy markets shift and expectations around sustainability grow, pump systems are no longer viewed in isolation. They’re part of a broader operational ecosystem.
A model for efficient irrigation
Golf courses across Australia face similar pressures, including ageing infrastructure, climate variability, and tightening energy budgets. The Yarra Yarra case study showcases what’s possible when site-specific knowledge and energy-saving technology are combined.
The High Efficiency System motor didn’t just meet performance targets. It exceeded expectations, provided data visibility and paid itself off faster than traditional systems. Importantly, it also supported Yarra Yarra Golf Club’s commitment to maintaining world-class playing conditions while advancing its operational sustainability.
In a sector where reliability, flow control, and cost certainty matter, high-efficiency pump systems are becoming essential, not optional. As this project demonstrates, the right investment today can yield measurable value tomorrow.
For more information, visit franklin-electric.com.
