Maleny Golf Club’s growing membership is about to celebrate the first anniversary since all 18 holes were opened for play last year with the extension of the Par 4 Ninth into a Par 5 and construction of a spacious new practice green as added bonuses.

All members are invited to attend a free BBQ on the deck to celebrate following the competition at 12:30pm on Tuesday 13 April, which also marks the recommencement of monthly Tuesday Shotgun starts.

Anyone interested in viewing a pictorial record tracking development of the club’s magnificent new infinity practice green can do so by clicking on THIS LINK.

The club has also maintained its innovative posture by ditching Red, White and Blue as tee colours to eliminate traditional gender-centric sterotypes.

Club professional Wayne Perske said Farm (Green), Obi (Stone) and Mountain (Black)  had replaced old Ladies, Men’s and Championship tees – the aim being to enhance flexibility and further encourage enjoyment of the course by all players, regardless of their gender or ability.

“Our course ratings reflect the difficulty for both men and women and in future golfers will be able to play competition golf in mixed competitions from the tee block of their choice,” Wayne explained.

Some men, he said, preferred not to play from the red markers because they had been designated as ladies’ tees for so long.

“We are changing it up so there’s no stigma attached to a certain colour. By playing from a more appropriate tee-box, more golfers will potentially be hitting approach shots with short or mid-irons instead of hybrids and long irons,” he said.

“This could result in a more enjoyable round, with better scores and maybe even fewer lost balls.”