Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Spring / Summer 2011 | Page 21

by American Fred Bolton (Palms Course)
and Arnold Palmer (Pines Course).
Nestled within century old Cabbage
Palms, The Palms course is reminiscent
of the links style courses of Great
Britain. Designed to challenge players
of all abilities, The Palms features deep
greenside bunkers and boldly contoured
greens. Great news as this course is now
available to the public to come and play.
The feature holes on the newly designed
Palms layout are the revamped par three
5th which plays down hill from the tee to
a green guarded by water then bunkers.
The green is shallow but very wide and it
is one of those holes that just challenge
you to take it on.
The par four 7th is another delightful golf
hole again a rehash of what went before
but a considerable improvement. The
fairway is guarded to the right by water
along its full length and a central bunker
creating options from the tee. It is not an
overly long hole but it is full of danger and
opportunity.
The old 18th which has now become the
10th is not to be missed. A par five which
is straight forward enough from the tee

becomes a thinking man’s golf hole from
that point. The green is guarded by water
to its front and left and bunkers beyond
and angles across the line of play.
The bunkering on the Palms golf course
has a rugged appearance, which is exactly
what designer Watson wanted. “That’s
part of my design to create a character
that is unique to the Gold Coast and I
think it complements the Palms and the
tropical nature of the course,” he said.
“The bunkering will be low maintenance
because the grass around it (Plateau
couch) is a very slow growing grass. “And
because I wanted a rustic appearance, we
hardly ever cut it and I wanted it to look
rugged.”
The adjoining Pines course gained its
reputation as the home to several Skins
and professional tournaments soon after
its opening. While the Palms course has
at times some radical design elements,
which may polarise some players, you
will still have a very unique Aussie golf
experience not to be missed.
The Palms asks $150 for a round of golf,
including golf buggy and Visage GPS.
Some great deals are now available on
www.iseekgolf.com.

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JUNIOR GOLF
QUEENSLAND

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Q Golf Online Spring / Summer 2011 21