W IN
AN ESCAPE PACKAGE FOR TWO PEOPLE TO THE INTERCONTINENTAL SANCTUARY COVE RESORT
AUGUST 2014 ISSUE #306
SHANE WARNE MY GOLFING LIFE
LIVERPOOL KISS ALL THE HEROICS OF HOYLAKE
WHAT AUSTRALIA’S GREENKEEPERS REALLY THINK OF YOU
40 HIT EVERY FAIRWAY! EXCLUSIVE INSTRUCTION
AUSTRALIA’S
BEST GOLF GETAWAYS
THE JUSTIN ROSE WAY
The sun sets over the Great Dividing Range, which is a backdrop to Cairns’ par-3 17th hole.
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IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO PLAY SOME MID-YEAR GOLF IN SHORT SLEEVES, WITHOUT GETTING YOUR PASSPORT STAMPED, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN tropical NORTH QUEENSLAND FOR A THREE-DAY GOLFING GETAWAY.
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Words & PHOTOGRAPHY: BRENDAN JAMES
laying golf in the winter months in the southern states can certainly test your love of the game. Frosty early morning tee-times, two or three layers of clothing, biting winds and then, of course, there is the rain. With the warmer weather a few months away it can be very tempting to store the clubs for a while. But it doesn’t have to be as Tropical North Queensland during winter offers perfect golf weather – average temperatures in the mid- to high-20s, and it’s drier than you will find it back home. Cairns is the gateway to the region and the first thing you have to do when you walk out of the airport terminal is take your jumper off. Pack it away because you won’t need it until you head home. The tropical sun on your face will have you, as it did me, enthused for a hit and after an easy 20-minute drive south of the airport you will find Cairns Golf Club. Established on its present site in 1930, Cairns began as a humble
nine-hole course that was ideally located next to a railway siding. After World War II, the layout was extended to 18 holes and remained relatively unchanged until 1992 when acclaimed course architect Ross Watson was commissioned to redesign the layout. From the back tees, the course measures 6,159 metres, which is not overly long but there are enough testing shots to push the best players to make par. With the tees back and the pins set in tricky spots, the Cairns layout can really bares its teeth. Watson’s changes dramatically improved the variety of holes on the course, which is laid out amid tropical and native landscaping against an ever-present Great Dividing Range backdrop. Watson created fairways, for the most part, with plenty of width, which plays into the hands of the player who likes to give his driver a rip whenever possible. But the key to good scoring here is to find the correct side of the fairway to leave the best approach into the angled greens, most of which feature bunkers and mounds around their surrounds – another aspect of Watson’s redesign. In more recent times, course superintendent Brendan Clark and
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Paradise Palms’ 9th green blends easily into its surrounds.
Tropical wonder: the lake beside Cairns’ 7th green is beautiful and hazardous to stray shots.
his team have overseen the conversion of 12 of Cairns’ greens from Bermuda to Novotek, which was first developed a 40-minute drive up the road at Palm Cove. The grass has grown in popularity, here and overseas, during the past decade as courses in hot, humid climes look for putting surface alternatives to Tifdwarf and Tifgreen, which can be prone to disease. The fine-leaf Novotek grass also co-exists quite well with couch, which had become a problem at Cairns Golf Club with couch encroachment reducing the size of the previously Bermuda 328 surfaced greens – some by up to 20 percent. The Novotek surfaces at Cairns are first-class. The size of the greens are now as the designer intended and better incorporate the mounds and bunkers. The plan is to complete the resurfacing over the next few years. There are some quite memorable holes on this par-72, but, for mine, one of the impressive features of the layout is the quality of the par-3s. The 210-metre 5th hole is the hardest of the one-shotters and for good reason. Most players will be using a long iron or wood here and the entrance into the huge putting surface is relatively narrow, between two bunkers, for those running their approach onto the green. Water comes into play between tee and green on the 145-metre 8th hole, but it’s nowhere near as intimidating as the sight confronting you
on the 11th tee. From the back pegs, the 158-metre par-3 demands a water carry all the way to the green, which is about 35 metres wide. There is a narrow bail out area near the right edge of the putting surface, but tee shots must fly all or part of the lake depending on the location of the flag. The club’s signature pandanus palms form a typically tropical backdrop to a memorable hole that will either intimidate or inspire your game. The changes at Cairns haven’t been confined just to the course. The clubhouse has undergone a major refurbishment and a new pro shop, driving range and car park have been added. No golfing excursion to Tropical North Queensland would be complete without teeing up at Paradise Palms Resort and Country Club, which is a 30-minute drive north of Cairns Golf Club and ten minutes from the airport. There are few more beautiful settings in Queensland for golf than what you will find at Paradise Palms. Heading to the 1st tee, the rainforest-covered Great Dividing Range towers above the course to the right and, on most days, there will be a hint of breeze in your face and off the left as it blows in from the Coral Sea. The majestic mountain range provides a stunning backdrop to most holes on the layout, which features rolling fairways, lined predominantly by stands of eucalypts and dense outcrops of tropical vegetation. Six The long par-3 5th at Cairns Golf Club features a huge green surrounded by sand.
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man-made lakes and several creeks that dissect the layout add to the challenge and beauty of a round here. One round here and it would be difficult to imagine the site was once covered by acres of sugar cane. In fact, when the former design team of Graham Marsh and Ross Watson were shown the site by developers back in the early 1990s, sugar cane was all they saw. Their brief from Japanese owners Daikyo was to create Australia’s most challenging tournament venue. They successfully fulfilled the commissioning brief and when the layout opened in 1990 it was rated one of the hardest in the country. To celebrate the opening a Skins match was organised between Japan’s Isao Aoki, Germany’s Bernhard Langer, reigning US Open champion Curtis Strange and then world No.1 Greg Norman, who collected most of the cash. On the back of the nationally televised Skins Game and a decade of high rankings, Paradise Palms became a hugely popular layout for visiting golfers. A Cairns-based resort developer, H & S Vision, bought the property in 2005 and quickly set about adding to Paradise Palms with a hotel offering resort and apartment accommodation, two swimming pools, as well as a $1.5 million kid’s adventure playground and mini-golf course. H & S Vision was placed in receivership in August last year, but this has not had a detrimental effect on the course. In fact, given the high
rainfall of the past wet season, Paradise Palms is arguably in the best condition it has been in for several years, although couch encroachment remains an issue on some greens. As mentioned, lakes and creeks come into play on many holes. One creek that really comes into play is on the 394-metre par-4 6th hole, where a well judged drive is needed to finish short, but close, to a creek about 215 metres from the middle tees. The closer you get the more chance you are of reaching the green in two shots. From the edge of the creek it is about 132 metres to the centre of the slightly elevated green. Water is also a major concern on the next hole, a downhill par-3 of 182 metres where, from the tips, you can catch a glimpse of the sea off in the distance. This is one of the prettiest holes in the region. The green is narrow and long, with the depth of the green providing a three-club difference between the front and back edges, thus providing a club selection dilemma from the elevated tee. A miss here could find one of four bunkers or the small lake to the right of the putting surface. The views from the back tee at the 7th hole, are nearly as good as those you will find on the drive north out of Cairns to Port Douglas. The one-hour drive offers plenty of postcard ocean views from the Captain Cook Highway as it snakes its way along the coastline to Port Douglas, and the highest-ranked course in the region – the Palmer Sea Reef course. Bunkers cut into the edge of the driving zone on Paradise Palms’ par-4 2nd hole; a creek cuts the long par-4 6th (right) in two and comes into play off the tee.
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The rolling links of Sea Reef as seen on the par-5 8th hole and the par-4 1st hole (below).
A new owner, in the form of businessman and parliamentarian Clive Palmer, has taken over what was known as Sea Temple Country Club and, before that, The Links Port Douglas. The mining magnate added to his portfolio of golf course purchases 18 months ago and promptly changed its name, again, to Palmer Sea Reef. While the course has had more name changes than the musician formerly known as Prince, one thing that has not changed is the high quality of the layout. The Sea Reef layout, which was ranked the No.44 Public Access Course in Australia in 2013, is like no other links course in the world. Covering 73 hectares of land once covered by cane fields, it has all the elements of a links course – large greens, pot bunkering, devilish mounding, humps and hollows. What sets this place apart is the rainforest that cuts through the middle of the property, not to mention the signs warning of estuarine crocodiles near several of the course’s water hazards. The course, also designed by Thomson/Wolveridge and Ross Perrett, opens with an imposing par-4 that stretches to 380 metres from the back markers. The prevailing breeze is into your face standing on the tee where you can see the fairway winding right around a bunker, a pond and a clump of rainforest. The rolling multi-levelled green is typical for many of the putting surfaces at Sea Reef – protected on most sides by hillocks and at least one bunker. However, being true to all links courses, there is a huge opening at the front of the green to play a bump
WHERE TO PLAY 1. CAIRNS GOLF CLUB Location: Links Drive, Woree. Green fees: $45. Contact: (07) 4037 6777 www.cairnsgolfclub.com.au
2. PARADISE PALMS RESORT & COUNTRY CLUB Location: Paradise Palms Drive, off Captain Cook Hwy, Kewarra Beach.
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Green fees: $120 (inc. cart). Contact: (07) 4059 9901 www.paradisepalms.com.au
3. PALMER SEA REEF Location: Old Port Rd, Port Douglas. Green fees: $120 (inc. cart). Contact: (07) 4087 2222 www.palmergolf.com.au/seareef
shot in underneath the wind. In recent years, the greens were resurfaced with Novotek, like the aforementioned Cairns Golf Club, and the putting surfaces are simply outstanding. Another unmistakeable feature of the layout is the bunkering. There are lots of small ones and more than enough big sandy hazards scattered along each of the fairways. Sea Reef’s beautiful Queenslander-style clubhouse provides a welcoming end to a memorable round. Take the time to stop for a meal or drink and soak in the links and wonderful tropical setting, all the while wondering how the boss will react if you extend your stay in paradise for a couple more sun-soaked days.
WHERE TO stay PARADISE PALMS RESORT
Golf Australia stay and play package available with two nights’ accommodation in a resort room, four rounds of golf including a cart, for $549.To book on this rate call 1800 666 614 or e-mail reservations@ paradisepalms.com.au and quote Golf Australia stay and play package.