Members play final putts in paradise as closure looms
GOLF PARADISE Palms Golf & Country Club member Shane Rennie and his buddies will be making the most of the Palm Cove course during its final weeks of operation.
The 18-hole premier golf course on Cairns’ northern beaches is due to close on March 31, with its owners keen to transform the venue into a residential estate.
“I think we’re pretty much locked in for every weekend until then,” said Rennie.
“We’re just trying to get as many hits in before it goes.”
Going on his fourth year as a member, Rennie said golf had taught him many things, but, above all else, it taught him to be patient.
“I think it’s a game where, if you want to be really good, you’ve got to play a few times a week and also do a bit of training,” he said. “Whereas I rock up once a week or once a fortnight and it’s not really enough golf to see that improvement.”
A keen advocate for the sport’s social qualities, Rennie took part in the St Augustine’s Dad’s Golf Day last weekend.
“The course was beautiful and we had a really good bunch of dads there,” he said.
“It was an opportunity for the students’ dads to get together and have a bit of a hit – all of our sons are in the same grade at St Augustine’s.” CAIRNS Hockey Members will be asked to embrace change in 2019 with significant alterations happening on and off the field.
The $2.7 million improvements program is due to be completed by late March and the new viewing/bar/canteen is centrally located between the Rainforest and Reef Hockey Pitches which means viewing hockey from a whole different perspective.
The wet weather in Jan/Feb has delayed the project slightly so members might have to be patient for the first few weeks of the season until the project is completed.
The community hill and terraces create a new perspective for the old “hill area” and a fantastic additional space for our hockey membership while the Reef Amenities Block allows clubs/teams and members access to high quality facilities to increase your enjoyment.
The changes don’t stop there, Cairns Hockey will have a new entrance from the North Cairns Sporting Precinct Carpark, and this will take some adjusting.
On the field, the rules of hockey have changed and Hockey Australia and Hockey Queensland have directed that the game now be played in quarters rather than halves and this will change not just game strategy but also the timings of our competition.
Cairns Hockey competitions committee and clubs have been asked to comment on the national directive and how we implement the changes.
This Friday Cairns Hockey has its gala sign-on, which starts at 4.30pm, followed by pre-season matches.
Competition starts at 6pm with Cairns v All Stars on Rainforest, and 7.20pm sees the Cairns Academy Under 18 v Tomahawks and the women’s match, Cairns Singapore Academy v Tomahawks.