| Round The Traps - 23rd July 2020 |
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| G'day Members,
While life appears to be getting close to normal for us here in FNQ and at the Club, we still need to remember to be extra vigilant with the Covid-19 restrictions. Everybody must sign in (via QR Code or paper sheet). This is a government requirement that simply must be adhered to and failure to do so puts the Club in a risky position. There is still no touching of the pins/flags, no bunker rakes and no handshakes post game and social distancing is a must. I know this sounds ridiculous as people can play full contact football etc. but we are governed by the Industry Covid Safe Plans and this is the rules we have to play by. Again, if we don’t make a concerted effort to stick to these guidelines, it puts our Club at a greater risk.
The Men’s FNQ Open went off very well with 200 of the best players in the region involved. A huge thank you to our volunteers for helping out for the weekend. Feedback from players and the FNQGA was all very positive even though we did have some “Millaa Millaa Mist” impact on play on the Sunday. Almost all Clubs in the region were represented with the field being the largest for the event in many years. The finals holes were broadcast on the Clubs Facebook page with over 1500 views of the video. Interestingly over 1000 people have viewed the presentations that were filmed in the Clubhouse postgame which is something we will keep in mind going forward.
Last weekends’ 4BBB Stroke Champs had a couple of glitches that we will endeavour to fix for next year. There was 130 players involved in the 2 day event which we might look at moving off the Cairns Show Public Holiday long weekend to entice more players to play.
We have made a few changes to the Clubhouse operating hours with the Clubhouse now open from Wednesday to Sunday only. Players are still able to purchase drinks etc. from the Golf Shop on Mondays & Tuesdays. We will continue to monitor it and if the demand increases we’ll reassess the Clubhouse opening times. The Locker Rooms & toilets are open every day of the week.
Ben Gear, our new PGA Super coach extraordinaire has hit the ground running this week straight into MyGolf Programs and getting to know some people in the Shop. He’s very knowledgeable and has already commenced private lessons for those looking for some tips ahead of our upcoming major events. We’ll also be looking to schedule some recently rebranded Get into Golf Women’s programs shortly too. Make sure you say G’day when you him in the Golf Shop next.
Mercedes-Benz City of Cairns starts this weekend with the Womens 36 Hole Stroke event. It’s the first time the 2 Day event has been played on a weekend and player numbers are slightly up on last year. Next week sees the Mens and Womens Teams events on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, followed by the Mens 54 Hole Stroke Comp starting on Friday 31st of July.
Of late we have had a couple of “undesirables” out on course snooping around golf carts (while players are away) looking for any loose items such as wallets and mobile phones. If you see anybody that doesn’t look like they belong on the course, call the Golf Shop on 4037 6777 immediately to notify us.
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We are now right in the midst of an incredibly busy golfing calendar. The first big one for this year, The FNQ Open, has been and gone and the course turned out well for the event. We were blessed with a dry week in the leadup to the event, which really lifted the standard of the course. I felt we were a little unlucky to receive 16mm of rain the Thursday night before the event, but the place dried out relatively quickly and things were in pretty good shape. All the feedback I had from the event was positive and it seemed everyone really enjoyed their golf over the weekend.
This weekend we have the ladies City of Cairns event, which has moved from midweek to the weekend this year. This will be followed next weekend with the 3-day men’s event. From here we have a couple of weeks off from events, before heading into the club championships over the last two weekends in August. Our current focus is on course maintenance rather than projects, so that we can maintain the standard of the course through this time period. We are focusing on many of the detailed jobs that often take a back seat while we focus on larger on-course improvements.
I feel like I have mentioned the weather in just about every RTT I have produced this year, and this one is no exception. As I checked our rainfall chart for 2020 this morning, I noticed just how many rain days we have had this year. Year to date, we have recorded rainfall on 97 days (out of about 200), with a total to date of 1670mm. While the actual rainfall is not a huge number for us, the most interesting fact is that the longest stretch we have had without rain has been only 8 days. This is pretty incredible given we are in the middle of the apparent dry season. While you have to be careful what you wish for, I’m sure most people would be happy to see a run a little longer than that. I know our greens in particular would really appreciate some time to dry out the profile a little more than what we have been able to so far.
The light dusting, I spoke about doing in my previous newsletter worked out very well. Most people were unable to notice the sand as it settled nicely into the canopy. This is something that we will incorporate more regularly in the future, which will continue to improve the firmness and smoothness of our greens. The two greatest things about this sand are that there is little to no disruption to play, as well as the fact that the sand is not picked up by our mowers. Long term, this practice will have a significant positive effect on the quality of the greens.
The areas that we sprayed to eliminate the Carpet Grass and Paspalum earlier this year have almost fully recovered. As mentioned previously, we have put this project on hold during the tournament season to ensure the course is presented in the best possible condition. We will reconvene in late October and will really target weed control hard. I am very excited about this project and that the warmer weather later in the year will also help these areas recover quicker once the weeds have died. I have included a photo below of the 7th fairway which clearly shows where I turned the spray boom on (and the area that was not sprayed), as well as the Blue Couch covering over nicely.
Other tasks we have been working on this month have been to edge the cart paths, continue to focus on weed management in our aquatic areas and some detailed snipping around lakes and trees. We have also applied a growth regulator and fertiliser to fairways and tees, as well as finished off the installation of the remaining 3 sand bins and bin enclosures. The tee furniture is another project we will look to continue later in the year once the tournament season is behind us.
This month I have included a few course photos taken over the past few weeks. I hope you enjoy these and good luck to all those competing in the upcoming events.
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It is with great pleasure that we introduce our new PGA Professional, Ben Gear! Ben has moved to Cairns from ‘outback’ NSW and is filling the Teaching Professional role that we have been missing since Anton’s departure. You will see Ben around the club a fair bit from now on, so as long as he isn’t with a client, make sure you say g’day and make him feel welcome, and book in for a lesson if your game is needing some attention!
Please remember to check online bookings if you are looking at playing a social game of golf at any day of the week. It is imperative that we are able to keep a track of who is at the course and who is expected for adhering to the COVID regulations of social distancing etc., we do understand that sometimes it is just a spur of the minute decision to play late in the afternoon if the weather is nice etc. but if you could please just give us a call on your way to the course it would be greatly appreciated.
We do ask that even though you are marking your own scorecard, that you mark down another player in the group’s scores and cross check them at the end, this has been approved by R&A and USGA under Rule 3.3b.
With rakes still out of the bunkers, please remember to be respectful to the players behind you and ‘snake rake’ the bunkers, this means sweeping your foot from side to side as you leave the bunker to smooth out uneven patches of sand. The players behind you will certainly appreciate the smoothed lie as they take their preferred lie of 1 card length.
As much as it may be a habit for you, don’t touch the flags! We are constantly out sanitising, but cannot sanitise between each group, your assistance is greatly appreciated.
The FNQ Open has now been and gone, with a thrilling 2-hole sudden death play-off between Lachie Coleborn and Cairns’ own Max Ford. Ultimately, Lachie won the playoff and the FNQ Championship, with Max being declared the Closed FNQ Winner and being able to claim the title of ‘the best player in FNQ’ for a year!
The livestreaming of this was something that we’ve seen great feedback from and we are looking forward to continuing it into the future! It’s a little detail that greatly assists with keeping everyone at home and in the clubhouse up to speed with the happenings on course! You can check this out by jumping onto our Facebook page (even if you don’t have Facebook you can still see & watch it) and cheer on your favourite players from the comfort of your own home, or head into the club and watch the livestream whilst enjoying a beer and the great atmosphere.
With the 4BBB Championships being held over the weekend, it is probably right to assume that the friendship between our gross winners Dan Ardley & Matt Jacques (72 & 67 for 139c/b) and Erina Williams & Nikki Bruce (78 & 76 for 154) remain strong, as they lifted the Cairns Golf Club 4BBB Gross Championship trophies. The nett was won by some very consistent scoring from David Forrest & Michael Ryan (60 & 62 for 122) and Belle Gillan & Lyn Small (63 & 66 for 129).
With the Women’s City of Cairns being held this weekend, there are a few tee times around the first tee that will become available for men to be able to book themselves into as of Friday at 12pm. There will be a waitlist made available after this, so please ensure that you are arriving for booked tee times or cancelling with enough time for another player to be able to take advantage of the space.
We are still waiting on a few of our manufacturers to confirm their availability and regulations, but this year’s Gala Fitting Day is going ahead for Friday the 7th of August. Due to COVID, all fittings must be booked and even if there is free time, you will not be able to ‘just demo’ clubs with our fitters. Get in early to make sure you can see your brand of choice as it’s sure to pack out as per usual! Please see the Golf Shop staff or give us a call to make your booking today!
Upcoming Events
The City of Cairns Golf week is about to kick off with the Ladies Stroke event teeing it up this weekend over 36 holes Sat 25th and Sun 26th. The Men’s 54-stroke play is set to start on Friday the 31st of July, and run through to the 2nd of August. All other events will remain as last year, as we received confirmation that shotgun starts are now allowed, which is great news for this year’s team events. We have seen a lot more early entries compared to previous years so please understand that you may not be able to get your preferred tee time. This is another great opportunity to test yourself against FNQ’s best and hopefully earn yourself some great graded prizes! We are really starting to pack out the field and it is great to see so many Cairns Golf Club members getting in on this major tournament for the region.
If you aren’t playing, but would like to come and support our Cairns Golf Club hopefuls, the easing of regulations does allow for spectators and it would be great to see some friendly faces cheering everyone on. If you do need a golf cart for this, please be understanding that players will have first preference.
The Queensland State Schools Championship will be held at the Cairns Golf Club on the 6-9th of September, the course will be closed for social play during this time, but further direction regarding this will be put out closer to the date. This is a major event for Far North Queensland to be holding, this is usually held somewhere around South East Queensland, and as such we will have juniors from all over the state flying in to compete. The kids will probably not be flying with their buggies, so if you do have one that you won’t be using over those dates & are happy for some up and coming guns to borrow it, it would be greatly appreciated!
If you would like to assist and volunteer your time with any of the upcoming events, please let Brie, Shannon or Siobhan know so that we may allocate you a suitable role.
 ROUND 3: Sunday 16th AugustCost: $20 Members Fee
Cost: $25 Visitor Fee (no green fee)
Open to all players from all clubs
Best 3 scores out of 5 rounds
Rolling tee times from 6:30am-1:30pm
Fantastic daily Men’s & Women’s Prizes plus overall prizes @ the last round.
Bookings can be made online or call the golf shop on 4037 6777
Brie Webb & Shannon Coad
PGA Professionals
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 Thank you to all of our members and guests who have been supporting the CGC Junior Golf Containers for Change Program. Please don’t forget to drop your recyclable containers in to the bins provided around the Golf Shop.
Money raised so far: $3,481.20 |
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Pending Government regulations, these are the planned dates for our key events.
25th – 26th July
Mercedes-Benz City of Cairns Womens 2 day Event
29th July
Mercedes-Benz City of Cairns Mens Individual Stableford
30th July
Mercedes-Benz City of Cairns Womens Individual Stableford
31st July – 2nd August
Mercedes-Benz City of Cairns Mens 3 day Event
7th August
Gala Fitting Day
8th August
Calanna Wholehealth Monthly Medal
16th August
Sunday Stableford Superleague Round 3
22nd – 23rd August
Kahler Lawyers Club Championships
29th – 30th August
Kahler Lawyers Club Championships
6th – 9th September
2020 Qld School Sport Golf State Championships
19th – 20th September
Womens FNQ Championships
3rd – 4th October
Piccone’s Cairns Open
DOWNLOAD NOMINATION FORM HERE |
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