Sport
19 June, 2024
Birdsville kicks off Outback Masters, next stop Boulia
The Birdsville Dune Golf Club welcomed golfers from far and wide on the weekend.
Birdies for golfing nomads were challenged by crows at the Birdsville Dunes Golf Club during the official start of Australia’s most remote golf series, on the edge of the Simpson Desert.
Diamantina Shire mayor Francis Murray said the Outback Queensland Masters had become an iconic event, introducing a new cohort of visitors to their part of the world.
“Who wouldn’t want to play golf on rolling red dunes under big blue skies with the added challenge of beating the crows to the ball?” he said.
Winners of the event’s coveted orange jacket in Birdsville were Wendy Bodkin of the Quilpie Golf Club and Garry Meek of the North Rockhampton Golf Club.
“This is a very remote course, throwing up a lot of challenges,” said Birdsville Dunes Golf Club president Stephan Pursell.
“It’s not only the style of the course, the sand greens and desert fairways but the local wildlife.
“This weekend crows were out in numbers and must have known the Outback Masters was on.
“The crows for some reason love golf balls. We’ve tried all different things to stop them including different coloured balls to stop them coming in and taking them.
“One player reported they had lost over 20 balls in one afternoon alone!
“We don’t know where they take them, but there’s sure a lot of them somewhere!”
Golf Australia events general manager Therese Magdulski said the regional event was growing every year.
“Amateur golfers are willing to go the extra mile, not only to play for Australia’s largest amateur golfing prize pool but to experience Queensland’s most western frontier,” she said.
“This event showcases how different the game of golf can be.
“The sand green courses of Outback Queensland provide a unique experience and challenge for players of all levels and ages.
“It’s all about having fun on and off the golf course. It’s about the Outback experience, discovering new places and meeting new people, and we can’t wait to share that with those joining over the coming weeks of the competition.
“We started the weekend with a friendly warm-up before the official tee off for golfers and the community to have a crack at our Big Red Hole-In-One Challenge, teeing off from the top of the iconic 40-metre-high Big Red Sand Dune, to support the Birdsville Dunes Golf Club.”
Cr Murray added: “When I was growing up in Birdsville the most popular sport was tennis because you only needed two people to play.
“Any sport that can be played at the drop of the hat with just two people is the kind of sport we need out here, and we are lucky that our dedicated and passionate locals did the work to bring golf to the Diamantina Shire, with the Outback Queensland Masters in Birdsville bringing a new level of engagement, motivating locals to get involved and kids to learn new skills with the free junior clinics.”
The Outback Queensland Masters moved to Boulia this weekend.