Will see player numbers drop and tourism hurt

shame if we lost them to the game.

“When you take one golf course out of a market, everyone else should see growth in social play.”

Bolton believes all clubs in the north will miss out on interstate golfers, with Paradise Palms previously a big national advertiser, with golfers coming to the Far North to play the Kewarra Beach-course and visiting others also while in the region.

The closure will also see a team permanently exit from the FNQ Golf Association pennants competition in 2019, as Paradise Palms tentatively stepped away last year, while events such as the Ladbrokes PGA Legends Tour MercedesBenz Cairns Classic will be no more. “It would be sad to see it go because it is a prestigious golf course,” Gordonvale golf club president John Hudson said.

“It has events that bring publicity to Cairns and golf in general.”

Paradise Palms is a championship 18-hole golf course, ranked in the top 50 public access courses in Australia by

and FNQ Golf Association president Danny Bradley says the closure will be a blow to the entire region.

“It is a great course and I think it was even rated much lower than 50 at one stage,” Bradley said.

“It will have a big impact on the local market and the attractiveness of the region.”

The FNQ Golf Association has around 3000 registered members but Bradley could not reveal how many were registered at Paradise Palms.

Being the closest to Paradise Palms, Half Moon Bay figures to collect the most members but Ferry has not seen a big influx, just yet.

“Most people are holding off looking at another club, hoping something may change, but we have had a few inquiries about people maybe coming to our club,” Ferry said.

“Until it finally happens, I do not think there will be much action for other golf clubs in the region.

“We could pick up a few members but that will come out in time.”

PPNQ Developments spokesman Darren Halpin is working with both Cairns Golf Club and Half Moon Bay Golf Club to identify what assets at the club can help improve their operations – including, greens, fairways and equipment. In 2015, the profiled 18 of the best holes that the Far North had to offer – calling them FNQ’s dream 18.

Paradise Palms contributed two of the holes to the final list: the 516m par-5 1st and the 174m par-3 7th.

The first was described as one that would test the best off the tee.

With bunkers on the left and dense bush on either side, a pinpoint drive is required to hit the fairway and then repeat the process on your second shot to leave about 100m to the green.

On the 7th tee, players were often presented with a prevailing breeze and needed to focus on hitting a long iron over a hazard to a long, narrow green.