By Peter Owen
IT was back in 1893 – when club founder James McIntosh was leading a push for North Queensland to become a separate state – that golfers first took to the fairways at Townsville Golf Club.
Back then it was known as the North Queensland Golf Club and its first home was at Kissing Point, where a two-gun battery served as part of the Army’s coastal defence scheme.
Later the club moved briefly to a site at suburban Aitkenvale, and from 1924 the club has been based at its Rosslea site, on the banks of the Ross River, southwest of the Townsville CBD.
It is the oldest golf club in Queensland and the fourth oldest in the country. But despite its formidable history, the Townsville Golf Club is as modern as tomorrow – courtesy of an ambitious program to renovate the course, clubhouse and all of its facilities.
Earlier this year a brand-new clubhouse, including a members’ lounge and bar with seating for 120, was opened. The building includes a pro shop, merchandise and administration areas and leads onto a new driving range, with 20 bays.
Soon it will also have catering and conferencing facilities, and club rooms for members. A mini golf course will be built, a new practice putting green laid down, and a new fleet of golf carts purchased.
At the same time international golf star Karrie Webb and course architect Bob Harrison have been redesigning and rebuilding the course, with five holes still to be renovated.
Once a 27-hole course, the new $10 million 18-hole facility will be one of the best in North Queensland.
In 2007 the club made the bold decision to use some of its excess land to construct a unique residential estate that it hoped would generate enough revenue to fund future improvements, including the course renovation.
In partnership with the Ingenta Property Group, the club has developed the Fairways Estate, a community of 226 home sites with golf course outlooks. Last month the ninth and final stage, comprising 15 blocks, was launched.
Karrie Webb has already pledged to become a resident.
The opening of the clubhouse coincided with this year’s Townsville Pro-Am, won in a playoff by Brett Rankin. Club general manager Mitch Bligh is determined to make the three-day 54-hole pro-am one of the highlights of the national circuit.
A week-long festival of golf, which also coincided with the club’s 130th anniversary, was celebrated, with plans to make it, too, an annual event.
“It’s an exciting time for the club,” Bligh said. “When it’s complete the golf course and the facilities will be the equal of any regional golf club in Queensland, and it will be a great place to play golf.”
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