Golfing in Cairns Regional Council
Tropical parkland golf is the Cairns speciality, with rainforest ranges on one side and the Coral Sea on the other. The city's golfing story starts with Cairns Golf Club at Woree, a public 18-hole course whose club was formed after meetings at the Pacific Hotel in the early 1920s and went on to help found the Far North Queensland Golf Association in 1927. Today it plays as a modern championship parkland that suits all levels, with strong par 3s, including a carry over water, and wallabies for company. On the northern beaches, Half Moon Bay at Yorkeys Knob is a par-70 coastal members' club that welcomes visitors; it is not long, but tight fairways and well-guarded greens put a premium on accuracy. Further south, Babinda keeps things simple with a volunteer-run public nine, free of bunkers but crossed by creeks.