Holiday At Home: Go Troppo!

Tropical North Queensland is a special part of the world.

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Townsville Golf Club was the first golf club in Queensland, having been established in 1893 making it the fourth oldest in Australia. The club has been on its present site since 1924.

It is situated in a tranquil setting along the banks of the Ross River, just a short drive from the CBD, and features large undulating greens, well-grassed fairways and spectacular century old rain trees on many holes.

Seven-time major winner and North Queenslander Karrie Webb has teamed up with acclaimed course designer Bob Harrison to oversee the upgrade of all 18 holes, a redevelopment that began in 2018.

Townsville Golf Club. PHOTO: Brendan James.

Easily the most daunting of the new holes are either side of the halfway turn. The par-4 9th is only short at 304-metres from the tips, which tempts most to take a driver from the tee and get as close to the green as possible. The risk, particularly for right-handers, is slicing a ball into the lake that lines the second half of the fairway.

The same slice might work in your favour at the next, especially if you start your tee shot well left of the water that lies between the tee and green on the 160-metre par-3. The green is angled to be receptive to the left-to-right shot shape, as long as you have enough club in your hand to clear the lake.

It’s an easy 20-minute drive north to reach Rowes Bay Golf Club – a 27-hole complex, complete with a Par-3 Course alongside and 18-hole layout, that lies within Townsville’s conservation parklands. It’s also just a short iron from the waters in the bay of the same name.

A round here is a walk with nature as the fairways are lined with palm trees, melaleuca and the odd flame tree, while hawks, goannas, kangaroos and pelicans call the layout home.

Rowes Bay is an easy-walking course with only slight elevation changes across the 18 holes. Bunkers and water hazards (several only come into play during the wettest times of the year) provide the defences of what is an enjoyable course, especially if you are hitting your irons well.

Rowes Bay Golf Club. PHOTO: Brendan James.

I particularly liked the par-3 offerings at Rowes Bay. The variety of clubs and shots required on the one-shotters made each hole stand alone as a good hole. There are three par-3s on the front side, with the 138-metre 9th being the pick of them as the tee shot needs to carry a water hazard to reach the large green protected by bunkers left and right. Don’t overclub or you might be retrieving your ball from the club’s car park.

There’s only one par-3 on the inward nine – the 171-metre 13th – and it is the most difficult of the four one-shotters at Rowes Bay simply because it requires good club selection as well as accuracy to make par. A mis-hit tee shot short here will leave a testing chip onto the slightly raised putting surface, while finishing long of the green will require a bunker escape for the second shot, onto a green that is sloping away from you.

The golf at Rowes Bay is challenging without being brutal and when you’ve finished on the championship course, you can test your short game on the adjoining Par-3 course.

Tropics Golf Club. PHOTO: Brendan James.

My last stop before heading home was Tropics Golf Club, which is about 20 minutes’ drive west of the CBD and right next door to Queensland Country Bank Stadium, where the North Queensland Cowboys NRL team call home.

Tropics travelled a rocky road for most of its first three decades, but since the current owners took over in 2017 the course has improved dramatically year-on-year with more than $2 million being invested in the quality of the course’s presentation and
its waterways.

The greens and fairways looked healthy and the renovated bunkering is very good, while dozens of birdlife varieties – including pelicans and red-tailed black cockatoos – now call the layout home.

With the exception of the four par-3s, Tropics does not have any straight holes, which makes it a challenge for the longer hitter who is forced into thinking strategically instead of blindly bombing away with the driver. Doglegs left and right feature throughout, with water and bunkers tightening the driving lines on several holes and offer tremendous variety to players of all abilities. No round here is ever boring.

But for mine, the best holes at Tropics close out the round with the 187-metre par-3 17th being the best of them. The one-shotter demands your tee shot carries water all the way to the huge, deep putting surface that lies on the edge of the lake. Bunkers short, right and left complicate matters but are relatively easy to escape from. The area short and right of the green is large enough to find even with a slight mis-hit.

Tropics Golf Club. PHOTO: Brendan James.

The 502-metre par-5 18th hole is a very good finishing hole and has proven to be a dramatic closer for tournaments. Long hitters can reach the water flanked green in two blows, but it is still no guarantee of making a birdie. If you can make a four here, it will be a great way to end your time in the tropical north.

PACKAGE DEALS

PORT DOUGLAS GOLF TOURS

Owned and operated by local golfers Paul and Maya Bridges, Port Douglas Golf Tours can organise your golfing holiday to Queensland’s tropical north.

The company, with access to all the courses in the region, are the local golf tour specialists.

All tours are personally tailored to your individual requirements and packages include airport and daily transfers, accommodation to suit your needs and all green fees, with motorised carts as required. They can also arrange golf only packages if required.

For any non-golfers, there are any number of alternative day tours to the Great Barrier Reef, or a day in the Rainforest, to choose from.

Palmer Sea Reef. PHOTO: Brendan James.

Port Douglas Golf Tour offer a choice of several high-quality accommodation options in Port Douglas. There are hotel style properties, fully serviced apartments with their own cooking facilities as well as quality private homes catering for between six and eight people.

The most popular golf package is the three-course special – with rounds at Mirage CC, Palmer Sea Reef and Mossman GC –starting from $380 per person and includes green fees, carts and transfers.

To book, or for more information, visit the website www.portdouglasgolftours.com.au

WHERE TO PLAY

MIRAGE CC

Green fees: $95 (18 holes, with cart); $85 (Mirage resort guest).

www.miragecountryclub.com.au

PALMER SEA REEF

Green fees: $160 (18 holes, with cart); Early bird ($125) and twilight ($115)
rates available.

www.palmergolf.com.au

MOSSMAN GC

Green fees: $40 (18 holes).

www.mossmangolfclub.com.au

HALF MOON BAY GC