MIRAGE TO SHIMMER AGAIN

Mirage Country Club’s original designer – Mike Wolveridge – has come out of retirement to provide his expertise in the course recapturing its past glory, writes Brendan James.

The mid-1980s in Australia were a time of great prosperity and investment. Corporate high-flyers like Alan Bond, Christopher Skase and Mike Gore became household names as the money and champagne flowed.

Skase, in particular, was quickly expanding his empire buying the Seven Network, the Brisbane Bears AFL club and a handful of luxury resorts. The jewel in his resort crown was the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort.

The centrepiece of the five-star resort development was the Mirage Country Club golf course, designed by Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge. Skase poured his money into the construction of the layout and introduced it to the world by presenting golf’s richest ever 18-hole Skins game in 1988. The moment Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Isao Aoki and Curtis Strange arrived to play for $2.2 million, Port Douglas and the Skase’s Mirage were thrust onto the golf tourist’s map.

“Peter and I were asked to design that golf course in the mid-80s by Christopher Skase, a marvellous and entrepreneurial fellow, but he was intent on putting himself and Port Douglas … in no particular order … on the world map. And, indeed, the resort was the No.1 destination resort in Australia,” Wolveridge told Golf Australia magazine.

“And so was the golf course, up on restricted ground, where the hotel is … it is lovely and sandy and everything going for it and other areas it was mangrove swamp and had nothing going for it. We fixed all that up.

“The golf course went along very nicely for a while but, after a few years, Christopher fell on bad times, and so did Australia with the recession and the pilot‘s strike and everything that went

with it, which all worked against a destination resort in the far north of this huge country. It crippled it frankly.”

Without Skase, Mirage entered an era of uncertainty including multiple changes of ownership.

“Skase was o to Majorca as we know and the Japanese owners who took it over did a very poor job of looking after it,” Wolveridge said.

“There were a succession of owners with good intentions but few dollars. In the wet tropics things can fall into disrepair very quickly.

“So much so that a little group of us had become so disillusioned with it that in the late 1990s we went o and built the Links at Port Douglas (now known as Palmer Sea Reef ) down the road.

“This gave Port Douglas the first class course it deserved because Mirage was going downhill at 100 miles an hour.”

The revolving door of owners continued through the early 2000s as the resort and course continued to fall deeper into disrepair until it was purchased by the China-based Fullshare Group in 2015, which then announced a $40 million upgrade of the 294-room resort.

The financial investment in the resort was extended to the golf course, which saw Wolveridge come out of retirement four years ago to consult on changes and improvements to the layout, alongside course superintendent Alec Ross.

“Mirage was gradually brought back to a respectably maintained layout,” Wolveridge said.

“Some five or six years ago, Alec came across from the Links course to ‘rescue’ Mirage. He took over a poorly maintained course and with his great skills and encouraging help with good machinery from the new Fullshare owners, he gradually brought the course into a sensible and promising maintenance regime.

“Fairways and greens were improved and waterways cleared of years and years of growth. Invasive vegetation, some of which had taken Championship tees out of play, was removed to help open up the course and regain some of the spectacular views of the adjacent Four Mile Beach.

“About four years ago, I was called in to advise on improving the general site drainage to permit

WE’RE SEEING THE COURSE IMPROVE WEEK AFTER WEEK. THERE’S A RENAISSANCE OCCURRING ...

– MICHAEL WOLVERIDGE

the course to be more playable year round. It was a major undertaking with the happy result of our scheme producing the hoped for result and things began to look up at Mirage.”

Ross and his team, along with Wolveridge, is 12 months into a possible four-year improvement plan, which will ultimately see the replacement of all 18 putting surfaces.

“We started with the ambition to completely renovate each green and tee, and introduce new Zoysia grasses for the surrounds and tee surfaces,” Wolveridge said.

“The owners insisted the course be open for play with 18 holes operable at all times so we created two extra holes. I took a par-5 hole from each nine and split each into two holes, a par-3 and a par-4. We chose the 7th and 10th holes for this exercise.

“When the change was e†ected and in play, Alec chose to renovate the 1st hole in its entirety … removing and reshaping some bunkers, as well as creating swales and run-o† areas. This was done in record time - not too daunting in this climate where you can ‘add water and jump back’!

“We then picked out the 18th green and tee, producing a remarkable new finishing hole – one of the most exciting I have designed, which is quite something having produced over 200 courses in 22 countries these past 50 years.

“We are hoping the owners will continue the program with several new holes per year, starting with a fine new practice putting green facility in

front of the clubhouse.”

Wolveridge “o cially” retired as a course designer nearly 15 years ago is enjoying getting his “hands dirty” again.

“The work is a lot of fun, while I’m fulfilling my dream of living in the wet tropics,” Wolveridge laughed. “I’m enjoying the work immensely. It’s about 15 years since I did something in anger and I’m enjoying it like mad.

“They’re giving me a good hand to create, which I think will help. As the course continues to improve, the more people will want to come and play, the more members will want to join and the more tourists will want to come and stay in the resort.

“It’s all boots in and we’re seeing the course improve week after week. There’s a renaissance occurring up here.

“I’m sure Mirage will eventually reenter the rare air of being one of the best courses in Australia – a beautiful allyear round course next door to a brilliant and stunning resort every golfer will want to visit.”

With such a passion driving the likes of Wolveridge, Ross and the management team at Mirage, it’s di cult to imagine the course not significantly improving its standing in the Australian golfing landscape.