Council has a mutually-beneficial agreement with Chinderah Golf Course for the supply of recycled water from Kingscliff Wastewater Treatment Plant to irrigate the 18-hole course and driving range.

“This plant is one of the most advanced in Australia in terms of nutrient removal, which means the recycled water is odourless and of a very high quality,” the council said.

“Chinderah Golf Course has been operating for 15 years as a golf course and driving range facility.

“Over this period the golf course has relied on the Cudgen ground water aquifer for its water supply.

“The recycled water, which has been treated to a very high standard for reuse, is being used on trees and grassed areas all year round, overcoming problems in low rainfall periods.

“Artificial wetting agents are no longer necessary to keep the course green and lush all year round.

“The environment benefits as the recycled water is not released into the waterways. Nutrients in the waterways are not desirable but the same nutrients on the grass are beneficial for plant growth.”

Director Community and Natural Resources David Oxenham said the council had been working with Chinderah Golf for the last four years to complete a detailed design of the recycled water transport system and negotiate an agreement to supply recycled water to the golf course for the purpose of irrigation.

“It’s great news for the environment as we estimate that this scheme could reuse up to 100 million litres of recycled water each year which would otherwise be discharged to the estuary,” Mr Oxenham said.

“With recent droughts still fresh in the memory and considerable uncertainty about the impact of global warming on our traditional surface water supplies, there is an increasing focus on alternative water sources as a substitute for traditional potable sources, particularly drought-proof sources such as recycled water.

“Tweed Shire Council has been recycling small quantities of water since the 1980s, and over the last decade has attempted to increase the amount of water recycled throughout the Shire.

“This process is ongoing and has already delivered a number of recycled water projects which have increased the usage of recycled water from three per cent to nine per cent in 12 months.”

Chinderah Golf Course Operations Manager Jeff Holloway said it was an arrangement of mutual benefit.

“It’s been such a good project and so well-managed – council has been great and helped me through it,” Mr Holloway said.

“We’ve been doing it for about six to eight weeks and you can see the great results when we’re only at 50 per cent capacity because we’re waiting for an upgrade of power.

“We did extensive consultation and all the feedback has been positive – there really are no negatives.

“We’ve improved the course so much we’re hoping to hold a PGA pro-am here this time next year.”

Action 13 of the revised Tweed Shire Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy identifies the need to assess opportunities for recycled water use within the shire.

The council undertook a Recycled Water Options Report in 2006 which proposed the investigation of several practical water reuse options for the Tweed.

Another recycled water project on the Les Burger Field at Bogangar is scheduled to be operating next year. This project has the potential to recycle up to 55 kilolitres a day.

Chinderah Golf Course constructed and funded the transport and storage system from the supply point to the golf course irrigation network.

The club obtained funding from the Federal Government’s Community Water Grants for the internal transport system. The golf course will pay operation and maintenance charges to council.

Fact sheets and further information is available on the council’s recycled water use and the Integrated Water Cycle Management Strategy on Council’s website www.tweed.nsw.gov.au

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Ratcliffe finished the 54-hole tournament at four under-par.

Strong westerly winds on Sunday made for tricky conditions on the final day.

Ratcliff’s even-par 72 was the equal best of the day

Ratcliffe had rounds of 70, 70 and 72 to be the only player in the field to finish under par.

Defending Champion David Merriman equalled Ratcliff’s final round 72 to finish tied second with John Clifford (78), Terry Gale (75) and Stuart Reese (75).

Ratcliffe won $14,400 of the $80,000 purse.

Scores:

1 Noel Ratcliffe NSW -4 70 70 72 212 $14,400.00
T 2 David G Merriman NSW +2 76 70 72 218 $5,368.00
T 2 John T Clifford NSW +2 72 68 78 218 $5,368.00
T 2 Stuart F Reese NZ +2 70 73 75 218 $5,368.00
T 2 Terry Gale WA +2 67 76 75 218 $5,368.00
T 6 Garry Merrick SA +4 69 75 76 220 $2,896.00
T 6 Rodger Davis QLD +4 70 73 77 220 $2,896.00
T 8 Brian Jones QLD +7 72 72 79 223 $2,272.00
T 8 Garth Domigan NZ +7 68 72 83 223 $2,272.00
T 10 Hiroshi Fujita JPN +8 74 72 78 224 $1,760.00
T 10 Neil D Wall QLD +8 73 75 76 224 $1,760.00
T 12 David J Good VIC +10 71 74 81 226 $1,312.00
T 12 David Saunders NSW +10 74 77 75 226 $1,312.00
T 12 Gregory C Hohnen NSW +10 74 72 80 226 $1,312.00
T 15 Richard Ellis NZ +12 75 74 79 228 $1,088.00
T 15 Roger Jf Stephens SA +12 72 73 83 228 $1,088.00
T 17 David L Galloway SA +13 71 78 80 229 $940.00
T 17 Jim Lapsley  +13 71 77 81 229 $940.00
T 17 John J Downs QLD +13 75 74 80 229 $940.00
T 17 Phillip Dolby NSW +13 77 74 78 229 $940.00
T 21 Gary S Wright QLD +14 73 75 82 230 $832.00
T 21 Hugh F Dolan QLD +14 76 73 81 230 $832.00
T 23 John N Williamson NZ +15 77 75 79 231 $736.00
T 23 John R Tolhurst QLD +15 74 74 83 231 $736.00
T 23 Paul J Connell NSW +15 75 76 80 231 $736.00
T 23 Richard Coombes NZ +15 76 76 79 231 $736.00
27 Randall C Vines QLD +16 78 76 78 232 $656.00
T 28 David S Hutchison QLD +17 77 74 82 233 $580.00
T 28 Kyle R Francis NSW +17 76 76 81 233 $580.00
T 28 Michael A Ferguson QLD +17 74 73 86 233 $580.00
T 28 Peter Criss NSW +17 77 78 78 233 $580.00
T 32 Charles V Henderson NSW +18 76 78 80 234 $504.00
T 32 Danny J Spencer QLD +18 75 77 82 234 $504.00
T 32 Jeffrey E Woodland QLD +18 78 80 76 234 $504.00
T 32 Leonard Sorensen NSW +18 74 79 81 234 $504.00
T 36 Allan J Cooper QLD +19 75 79 81 235 $448.00
T 36 Elliott Booth TAS +19 74 79 82 235 $448.00
T 36 Gerry R Getty QLD +19 78 79 78 235 $448.00
T 39 David Hartshorne NZ +21 80 78 79 237 $400.00
T 39 Glen Moss Q +21 79 77 81 237 $400.00
T 39 Michael Paterson VIC +21 85 73 79 237 $400.00
T 42 Kennedy Tutisai WA +22 76 82 80 238 $336.00
T 42 Kenneth C Oung WA +22 78 79 81 238 $336.00
T 42 Les Allen NSW +22 80 77 81 238 $336.00
T 42 Richard K Beer NSW +22 75 79 84 238 $336.00
T 42 Shaun O’toole NSW +22 76 74 88 238 $336.00
47 Craig Owen NZ +23 76 78 85 239 $288.00
T 48 Glenn R Cogill QLD +24 77 79 84 240 $256.00
T 48 Malcolm H Wilson QLD +24 77 81 82 240 $256.00
T 48 Paul Bosa QLD +24 79 78 83 240 $256.00
T 51 Mark Wilson NSW +25 83 80 78 241 $208.00
T 51 Paul A Smith QLD +25 78 81 82 241 $208.00
T 51 Wayne M Pickering QLD +25 78 79 84 241 $208.00
54 Phil Fahey QLD +26 83 78 81 242 $176.00
55 Stephen E Boswell NSW +27 79 82 82 243 $160.00
56 Greg Ashton QLD +28 83 76 85 244 $144.00
T 57 Peter J Headland NSW +29 81 84 80 245 $112.00
T 57 Ross G Strachan NSW +29 79 82 84 245 $112.00
T 57 Warren D Gray NSW +29 78 76 91 245 $112.00
T 60 Gregory A Hunter NSW +30 75 83 88 246 $40.00
T 60 Guy C Ferguson QLD +30 82 81 83 246 $40.00
T 62 Frank Mcloughlin WA +31 87 76 84 247 $0.00
T 62 Garry J Campbell QLD +31 82 83 82 247 $0.00
64 Peter Nardella VIC +32 82 85 81 248 $0.00
65 Frank Conallin NSW +33 81 84 84 249 $0.00
66 Robert L Mcconnell QLD +36 82 84 86 252 $0.00
67 Timothy Van Tongeren QLD +37 83 86 84 253 $0.00
68 Wayne Rogers VIC +38 79 84 91 254 $0.00
69 Denis V Brosnan QLD +42 90 81 87 258 $0.00
70 Brent Johnson QLD +44 87 85 88 260 $0.00
71 John R Barrett QLD +45 89 85 87 261 $0.00
72 Paul Mahoney NZ +54 100 85 85 270 $0.00
 Stephen Bishop NSW +24 84 84 WITH 168 $0.00

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Merriman, who won last year’s event, heads the merit list, winning more than $56,000.

Davis, the golfer well-known for wearing plus-fours, is next on $40,000.

The 54-hole event offers $80,000 in prizemoney.

It is the second year Byron Bay has hosted the event.

Four of the pros — Terry Gale, Mike Ferguson, Davis and Bob Shearer — will play a nine-hole Bank of Queensland exhibition teams competition next Thursday at 3.30pm, with $4000 up for grabs.

Golf fans are invited to follow the foursome around the course and have a drink and a meal in the clubhouse afterwards.

On the first two days of the championships, the pros will be joined by 124 amateurs.

Tournament Details:

• Monday 8th December, Practice Day.
• Tuesday 9th December, Practice Day.
• Wednesday 10th December, Members Competion Day, optional for professionals.
• Thursday 11th December, Ladies Day/Pro-Am, optional for professionals. 6.30pm “eet the Professionals Cocktail Party Drinks and Nibbles.
• Friday 12th December, 1st Round – 2 Professionals & 2 Amateurs.
• Saturday 13th December, 2nd Round – 2 Professionals & 2 Amateurs.
• Sunday 14th December, 3rd & Final Round – Draw based on score order/position. PGA Seniors Awards Dinner following the conclusion of the 3rd round.

2008 Polygiene Australian PGA Seniors Championship likely Player Entry List (in alphabetical order):

1 Les Allen NSW
2 Greg Ashton QLD
3 John R Barrett QLD
4 Richard K Beer NSW
5 George S Bell QLD
6 Stephen Bishop NSW
7 Elliott Booth TAS
8 Paul Bosa QLD
9 Stephen E Boswell NSW
10 Denis V Brosnan QLD
11 Garry J Campbell QLD
12 John T Clifford NSW
13 Glenn R Cogill QLD
14 Frank Conallin NSW
15 Paul J Connell NSW
16 Richard Coombes NZ
17 Allan J Cooper QLD
18 Peter Criss NSW
19 Rodger Davis QLD
20 Hugh F Dolan QLD
21 Phillip Dolby NSW
22 Garth Domigan NZ
23 John J Downs QLD
24 Richard Ellis NZ
25 Phil Fahey QLD
26 Michael A Ferguson QLD
27 Guy C Ferguson QLD
28 Kyle R Francis NSW
29 Hiroshi Fujita JPN
30 Terry Gale WA
31 David L Galloway SA
32 David J Good VIC
33 Warren D Gray NSW
34 David Hartshorne NZ
35 Peter J Headland NSW
36 Charles V Henderson NSW
37 Gregory C Hohnen NSW
38 Gregory A Hunter NSW
39 David S Hutchison QLD
40 Brent Johnson QLD
41 Brian Jones QLD
42 Jim Lapsley
43 Paul Mahoney NZ
44 Robert L Mcconnell QLD
45 Frank Mcloughlin WA
46 Garry Merrick SA
47 David G Merriman NSW
48 Glen Moss Q
49 Peter Nardella VIC
50 Peter C Ormsby SA
51 Kenneth C Oung WA
52 Craig Owen NZ
53 Michael Paterson VIC
54 Ray Picker NSW
55 Wayne M Pickering QLD
56 Noel Ratcliffe NSW
57 Stuart F Reese NZ
58 Wayne Rogers VIC
59 David Saunders NSW
60 Robert A Shearer VIC
61 Paul A Smith QLD
62 Leonard Sorensen NSW
63 Danny J Spencer QLD
64 Roger Jf Stephens SA
65 Ross G Strachan NSW
66 John R Tolhurst QLD
67 Kennedy Tutisai WA
68 Timothy Van Tongeren QLD
69 Randall C Vines QLD
70 Neil D Wall QLD
71 John N Williamson NZ
72 Mark Wilson NSW
73 Malcolm H Wilson QLD
74 Jeffrey E Woodland QLD
75 Gary S Wright QLD

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Barr shot a scintillating 6-under par 66 in Friday’s first round and backed it up with a three-under 69 today to finish on nine-under 135.

He won by a shot from Queenslander Stuart Bouvier.

Next came Jason Ashcroft (137) and Bradley Andrews (139).

Barr, aged 36, picked up $3150 out of a total prizemoney purse of $17,500.

Barr first picked up a golf club in County Down in Northern Ireland as a 14-year-old after previously playing Gaelic football and soccer.

He turned professional just before he arrived in Australia in 1996.

“I came to Australia to travel with some mates who had relatives here,” he said.

“In my first year here (2000) I lived in Sydney and played only four games in that year.”

But he then moved to Brisbane and has worked on his game to such an extent that he now has passed the first qualifying stage for the European Tour.

Only last week he was in France in his bid to qualify.

He also has played recently in Asia and Korea.

Friday’s six-under was a flawless round, with six birdies and no bogeys.

Today he had his only bogey of the weekend. “It was a dumb-arse bogey on a par five,” he said.

He was full of praise for the Ballina course.

“The course is phenomenal,” he said.

“It’s a good test of golf. You have to be able to shape the ball left and right, and the greens are a tough test.

“And the guys I played with were so encouraging. The hospitality has been wonderful.”

If he does qualify for the European Tour, Barr has no inclination to return to the northern hemisphere to live.

“I will remain based in Australia. Australia is my home now,” he said.

PICTURE: Eddie Barr (left) is congratulated by Ballina professional Brad Saunders after his pro-am win.

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“He may have been only 21, but he was 35 up here,” says John, tapping his temple.

The 21-year-old Queensland pro carded a par round of 73 (the par at Ballina now is 72) to win the $1000 tournament.

It was only his second pro tournament win, but his performance that day was all class and, as John Kuhn points out, he showed maturity beyond his years.

“It was a cow of a day,” John, of Ballina, said.

The wind was a howling northerly; it was so strong that the Queenslander hit an eight-iron second shot into the long par-five 13th hole at Ballina.

The young pro’s name?

It was Greg Norman, a fresh new face on the pro ranks, but a man about to make the biggest impression on the Australian golf scene since Peter Thomson, winner of five British Open titles from 1954 until 1965.

The Shark’s heroics on that day are just one of many stories which have surfaced as Ballina Golf Club prepares to celebrate its centenary, starting on June 30.

As part of the centenary, a group of long-serving club members have researched the club’s history and a commemorative book has been published. It will be launched during the celebrations.

The club had its beginnings on June 6, 1908, when a meeting was held with a view to forming the club.

The first course was at what now is Kingsford Smith Park, in the area bounded by Owen and Bentinck streets.

There was a lapse in club activities after World War II, but in the 1950s, efforts were again made to get the club operating again, instigated by John Hajjar and Ken Sharpe.

A new site for the course was chosen, in East Ballina in an area bounded by Cronulla Street and Manly Street. That course was opened on April 6, 1957.

The second course was nine holes and it served its purpose well, but by the late 1960s, extra land was needed if the course was to become 18 holes.

The present site was chosen and work carried out in varying stages until, in February 1975, the current clubhouse was officially opened.

The club’s centenary celebrations will include plenty of golf, culminating in a gala dinner on July 5 when the centenary book will be launched.

No doubt there will be many stories told on the night!

PICTURE: Greg Norman tees off in the 1976 Ballina Pro-Am, watched by, from left, Ian Hood, John Kuhn and Graeme Coe.

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The new agreement follows the successful staging of last year’s event at the northern New South Wales club at which European Seniors Tour regular David Merriman prevailed to take the biggest share of the $65,000 in prizemoney on offer.

Further adding to the significance, the agreement will see the 2008 championship prize pool increase to a total of $80,000, with subsequent annual increments of $10,000 to see a total of $100,000 on offer for the 2010 championship.

“The unique hospitality offered by Byron Bay last year was an endearing feature of the 2007 championship and with the ongoing club and community support the next three years promises to be memorable for all involved,” said Max Garske, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of Australia. 

With the 2008 Australian PGA Seniors Championship to be staged from 11-14 December, initial planning is already under way for this year’s event, with Byron Bay Golf Club President Jim Black confirming 2007 naming rights sponsor MEDIDRAIN would continue their association with the tournament.

Mr Black said the club was confident the level of additional sponsorship provided by local and regional business would increase significantly for both this year and those ahead due to the overwhelming success of the initial 2007 championship.

“The staging of the 2007 Australian PGA Seniors Championship event at Byron Bay Golf Club was seen as a major promotional boost for Byron Bay and the region and the club is delighted to have reached an agreement with the PGA of Australia to host the championship until 2010,” said Mr Black.

The Byron Bay golf course has undergone impressive improvements over recent years and presents a true championship test for amateurs and professionals alike.

When notified of the new agreement, reigning champion Merriman said he was thrilled the Australian PGA Seniors Championship would return to Byron Bay Golf Club and confirmed he would return from the European Tour circuit to defend his title.

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