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Dear Members,
I’m excited to introduce myself as the new General Manager of the Cairns Golf Club, and I’m genuinely looking forward to becoming part of this wonderful regional community.
For those who don’t know me yet, my background spans more than 20 years in the sports, venue, and events industry, in both metropolitan and regional based organisations across multiple sports. Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to lead teams, manage large-scale facilities, and work closely with members, boards, and community partners to deliver strong results and lasting improvements.
I hail from Bendigo, the regional goldfields city in Central Victoria, with my wife, Lauren and our three boys, Cooper 9, Charlie 7, Coby 5, where community has played an important role and value within our everyday lives.
Most recently, I served as General Manager at Bendigo Golf Club, where I helped guide the Club through a significant period of growth and development. During that time, we achieved positive improvements in all key revenue areas (f&b sales, memberships, green fees and sponsorship), whilst I was particularly proud to help shape and deliver the Club’s first-ever Strategic Plan, introduce several member-led sub-committees, and oversee key infrastructure projects such as a 72-bay cart storage facility and a 15-bay driving range, both designed to strengthen the Club’s long-term sustainability.
My leadership style is best described as collaborative. I enjoy working with passionate people, asking questions, and constantly looking for ways to improve. I believe the best results come when members, staff, and volunteers all share in the vision and direction of their Club. I’m a big believer in communication, innovation, progress, and creating an environment where everyone feels proud to belong.
In the weeks and months ahead, I’ll be taking the time to meet as many members as possible, listen to your thoughts and ideas, and learn what makes Cairns Golf Club such a special place. Together, I’m confident we can continue to build on the Club’s strong traditions while introducing new initiatives that enhance the member experience and attract more people to our great game and facilities.
I’m genuinely thrilled to be joining the team and look forward to working with the Board, staff, and members to ensure Cairns Golf Club continues to thrive for many years to come.
The family and I cannot wait to integrate into your beautiful community, where we hope to be hands-on and positive contributors to your amazing city.
See you around the Club soon!
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Warm Regards,
Brock Rogers
General Manager
Cairns Golf Club
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From the Course Superintendent
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The curtain has officially closed on our major events for the season, with the Cairns Open rounding out a busy and successful recovery year on course. Our team put in a massive effort to make this marquee event shine, and while we’re proud of what we produced, the exciting part is that we know there’s still so much more potential waiting to be unlocked in 2026.
As tradition seems to dictate, the lead-up week to the Cairns Open served up a downpour; around 70mm of rain recorded through the Friday. This meant the usual last-minute scramble to pump and repair bunkers, chewing up an additional 25 labour hours we’d rather have spent elsewhere. Despite the setback, the course held up well. The silver lining? It’s reaffirmed our commitment to continue the bunker reconstruction program in 2026. Fewer bunker washouts = less stress for the course crew, better bunkers for our members and less bunker closures (some may debate if the last one is a good thing).
It’s felt like we’ve been playing out of the rough for most of this year, but I feel like now we are starting to hit a few fairways. We’ve worked hard to deliver the best playing conditions possible, while carefully managing the turf’s health, particularly in the face of our ongoing battles with weeds and the legacy of previous turf stress. Early November marks six months since I returned to the helm, and what a six month’s it’s been! Challenging; absolutely - but equally rewarding. The difference in the course’s overall condition has been night and day. Our focus through the remainder of this year will be on greens improvements, with supplementary attention on tees and surrounds.
We’re planning green surrounds renovations in mid-November or early December (weather permitting). This will breathe new life into these areas, smoothing out blemishes and restoring a more consistent playing surface. Our tees have bounced back spectacularly after their much-needed renovations. They’re flatter, healthier, and sporting far more uniform growth, although they’re still a work in progress. We’ll continue targeted topdressing and selective repairs on lagging tees to keep them improving. An enhanced nutrition program is also in place to support recovery and handle the ever-growing number of players taking to the course.
In the coming weeks, we’ll resume herbicide spraying across tees and surrounds, with isolated treatments on fairways. This is part of our ongoing plan to reclaim and strengthen our Green Couch coverage. We’re miles ahead of where we were last year, so much of this work should fly under the radar, though you may spot some temporary discolouration. We’re also targeting persistent Carpet Grass patches (particularly around the 4th green surrounds). Some areas may need returfing post-spray. We’ve accounted for that, and will act promptly once it is clear which areas need to be turfed.
Other Recent Works
► Continued plugging and encroachment removal on the 19th green
► Ongoing spot spraying for Crows Foot.
► Minor drainage improvements on the 7th and 11th holes, including pit replacements for better water movement.
► Targeted spraying of Blue Couch and Carpet Grass around collars.
► Gypsum has been applied to all greens to boost calcium and disperse sodium.
► A light granular fertiliser has been completed across all greens to aid post-renovation recovery.
Renovations – The necessary evil
Ah yes, the word golfers dread: renovations. But as always, I’ll remind everyone that this is an essential part of delivering the ongoing improvements to the putting surfaces. The good news is that thanks to consistent verticutting, grooming, and dusting completed over the past six months, this round of renovations will be less intensive than initially planned.
Here’s what’s in store:
► Verticut all greens to -2mm (at least two passes, possibly more for the needy ones). This will be on the back of some lighter verticutting completed the week prior.
► Scarify selected greens (notably 9,15 and 16) with higher thatch build-up.
►Heavy topdressing across all greens.
► Deep spiking to 150mm using 12mm solid tines.
► Soil amendments to boost health, balance pH, and replenish nutrients.
► Apply a balanced, slow release fertiliser to aid recovery.
Following this, we’ll certainly see a bit of Crows Foot resurgence (yes, it’s persistent), so a follow-up herbicide application will be scheduled to nip that in the bud.
Looking Ahead
In short, we’ve come a long way, the course is trending in the right direction, and the team’s hard work continues to pay off. There’s still plenty to do, but the results are speaking for themselves. Thanks to everyone for their ongoing support and patience as we keep improving the course. It’s sometimes hard to remember how far you have come until you look back at some old photos. Below is an assortment of before and afters, showcasing the crew’s dedication to continued improvement.
Kind regards,
Tim Hoskinson
Course Superintendent
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With our major events for the year completed, 2025 saw increased attendance at all major events. The change back to MiClub scoring proved popular for both members and visitors. I’m hopeful that over time, the MiTournament booking portal continues to improve, together with member’s familiarity of the system.
The Coral Coast Financial Services Cairns Open was again a success.
Congratulations to the following winners:
► A Grade Gross: Chloe Pratley & Matt Spilsbury
► A Grade Nett: Suki Jung & Chris Adams
► B Grade Gross: Jessie Walker & Liam Calvert
► B Grade Nett: Kay Cleland & Shaun McGoldrick
► C Grade Stableford: Robi Jamsaidee & Traye Hodge
► Senior Champions: Katrina Harper & Pieter Prinsloo
► Junior Champions: Chloe Pratley & Liam Calvert
A huge thankyou to Ian Lane from Coral Coast Financial services for sponsorship of this year’s event.
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759 players competed for the Cairns Total Physio Superleague title this year. Congratulations to Suki Jung & Pete Ward, both winning fitted Srixon iron sets valued at around $1995 each. Big thanks to Tom Maher from Cairns Total Physio for his ongoing sponsorship of this popular event.
Round 3 of FNQ Pennants was played last Sunday. A Grade had a great 5-0. B Grade won 3-2. C Grade lost 1-4. A Grade will compete the Semi-Final at Innisfail on Sunday 9th November. Best of luck to the A Grade team.
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Congratulations to the following Cairns Junior Golfers who were recognised at the recent FNQ Junior Golfer of the Year awards.
13 Holers:
► Girls Golfer of the Year - Renee Ward
► Girls Gross - Jiwoo Choi
► Girls Nett - Kylie Fixter
9 Hole Modified:
► Boys Gross - Elijah Jordan
► Girls Golfer of the Year - Imogen Ward
► Girls Gross - Isabella Brand
► Girls Nett - Olivia Trevenen
6 Hole Modified:
► Boys Nett - Kade Forrester
With the change to the handicapping system, back to back Queensland Country Bank Monthly Medals are to be played. The October Medals were won by Alison Nealon, Peter Lowth, Ron Baldwin, Ross Elliott-Darlow.
For this Saturdays Monthly Medal Brad and the team from QLD Country Bank will be cooking a BBQ between 11am & 1pm for players, to help raise funds for Movember. Steakburgers can be purchased at the bar.
Our Annual Charity Day last Thursday was a success! Raising $2,885 for COUCH Cairns.
Thank you to all players who came and supported the event and thank you to our hole sponsors for their generosity.
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Just a reminder that Round 1 of the Matchplay Championship is due by 1st November. Please see the noticeboard in the Clubhouse.
It has been noticeable that Speed of Play is once again becoming a problem. Play will be closely monitored over the coming months with penalties enforced for repeat offenders. Please familiarise yourself with the policy at https://www.cairnsgolfclub.com.au/golf/pace-of-play Reminder that the course will be closed on Monday the 10th & Tuesday the 11th of November 2025. Greens Renovations will take place over these days.
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Rule of the Month: Definition - Line of Play
The line where the player intends their ball to go after a stroke, including the area on that line that is a reasonable distance up above the ground and on either side of that line.
The line of play is not necessarily a straight line between two points (for example, it may be a curved line based on where the player intends the ball to go).
If you’re searching for an upgrade to your equipment, please drop into the shop, with expert advice & the guaranteed best price, support your club. If a particular product is not instore, we are happy to place an order. With 4 PGA Professionals onsite, book a club fitting or lesson today.
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100’s Board
19/10/2025
#82 – Downsy, Darky, Darren & Rick
COUCH Charity Day 100s Board
23/10/2025
Board 1
1st – Sharyn Andrews
2nd – Helen McLellan
Board 2
1st – Maxine Woods
2nd – Matt Carter (donated back)
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Friday 31st October
Astute Finance Charity Golf Day
12pm shotgun start
Please see Golf Shop for availability Saturday 1st November
Monthly Medal
Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd November
Palmer Sea Reef Open
Sunday 9th November
Mens Pennants Semi Final @ Innisfail 9th – 11th November
FNQ Womens Golf
GA QLD District Championship Click here for more information Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th November
Greens Renovations
Sunday 16th November
Mens Pennants Grand Final @ Innisfail
Friday 21st November
Private Function in Clubhouse
9am – 3pm
Monday 24th November
Annual General Meeting
Tuesday 25th November
FNQVGA Christmas Luncheon
Thursday 27th November
Womens Presentation Night & Christmas Party
Saturday 29th November
Junior Cup
Saturday 6th December
Members Christmas Party
7am & 12:30pm shotgun starts
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Links Drive, Woree QLD | PO Box 40E, Earlville QLD 4870  
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