HUNDREDS of golfers from across the country have arrived in the region ready to take part in the 30th instalment of the Murray Downs Reciprocal Golf Tournament.
A bumper field of more than 220 competitors have registered for the event, starting early this afternoon.
Just before the holiday period, it was announced that Murray Downs Golf & Country Club had broken into the top 50 Australian courses in The Golf Course Guide, moving to No.41.
Golf committee member and former golf president Mick Kiley said the opportunity to play a round at the only top-50 course on the Murray River drew many to town.
“As far as I know, this is the lowest it has been on the list,” he said.
“It’s been in the top 100 for quite some years, but I think No.41 has been its peak so far.
“It’s a credit to all the ground staff and everybody involved in keeping the course the way it is. From members of the board, everybody on the committees, and everyone at the club.
“I think there’s 12 full-time employees at the grounds staff and there’s three or four different casuals from time to time.
“It’s a real team effort to get the course to this point.”
Kiley said other than the NSW Open, occurring later this year in November, the reciprocal tournament was one of the course’s biggest draws.
“They come from everywhere,” he said.
“We get people from Buninyong, Bellarine Peninsula, Warrnambool, Portland, West Lakes, Tea Tree Gully over in Adelaide.
“These folks can come in big groups, and we get a lot of support from people right along the Murray River too, as long as they are local members.”
Spanning the weekend, the event tees off with teams of four taking on an individual Stableford event, where the team’s three best scores will count.
But Kiley said the real drawcard was the 36-hole reciprocal competition, “the big prize people are looking for”.
“It’s a separate prize for the reciprocal for the cups and it’s a separate prize for the local members as well,” he said.
“This isn’t just a men’s event either, we have men and women starting teams, we’ve had some mixed teams in there as well.
“Whoever finishes as the best team out there across the 36 holes, will get a fantastic trip to Tocumwal.
“The winning teams from last year are all coming back, so it’s all on the line.”
The temperature was set to soar this weekend and Kiley had some strong advice for those hitting the course.
“It will get very hot out there on Sunday,” he said.
“Saturday is going to be warm enough, but I think Sunday might be pretty hot.
“I’d advise that people are prepared with sunscreen, plenty of water, plenty of fluids.”
