Sport
23 December, 2024
New short course unveiled
THE Atherton Golf Course recently unveiled its new short course with a women’s tournament and was teed-off by their eldest member at 97 years old.
The implementation of the new course aims to boost the participation rates of senior, junior, beginner and social players by allowing them to play a course that they can score well on.
“Golf Australia’s aim for the last few years has been ‘more people playing more golf, more often’, so it’s all about participation,” club president David Hazlett said.
The new course, marked by yellow tees, is 1,984m shorter than the full course and is made up of par 3s and 4s.
“The FNQ ladies have lost 200 members in the last 12-18 months, so there’s a big push to get more people playing more golf, especially women,” David said.
“And as people get older, they can’t hit the ball as far and they get a bit disillusioned with the game.
“The idea of the yellow course is to allow for people who score high to be able to shoot lower and feel better when they play.
“It gives them a chance to get on the green in regulation and maybe even have a putt at birdie,” he said.
The club’s eldest member, Muriel Lowrey, got the women’s Stableford underway as she teed the first ball off on the new course.
“I play once a week with the ladies and I work here at the clubhouse some days,” she said.
“I’ve been playing golf consistently since about 1980. What keeps me going is enthusiasm, and I suppose for my age, I’ve got good health.”
The competition was held as a break-up day for 2024 for the ladies and was well-attended with 30 participants.
The winner was Mel Pensini with 38 points and runner-up was Deb Peressini with 36 points.
