Winton in fit form for tournament

Organizer of Outback festival, local personality and long-standing club champion Robyn Stephens is ready to play some golf with you.

Recent drought-breaking rain in Winton was a blessing for the city and district, and the Winton Golf Club course should have a picture for the Outback Masters on July 13-14.

But the rain that fell in February and March and yielded the neighborhood more than the annual rainfall, helped the race more than by giving it a & # 39; much greener shade & # 39; to give. As a result, the Pond of Wogga Thompson – which is located between the tee and the green on the par-four fifth hole – is now full and it can be of little use to the unsuspecting.

Robyn Stephens, the exuberant local ladies club champion for & # 39; probably 15 to 20 times & # 39 ;, says the hole is considered the most challenging of the job.

"It is only 288 meters long, but the water hole and the large gum trees around it can make the T-shot difficult," she said.

"The water transfer is only about 60 meters, but as long as necessary, the drive must be almost perfect in direction and height. I am sure that some players in the Outback Masters will come loose on the fifth."

The two-day event at Winton, with nine holes played every day, is part of Queensland & # 39; s inaugural Outback Masters kicking off in Roma on 17 and 18 June. Events will also be challenged in Charleville (June 22-23), Longreach (June 29-30) and Boulia (July 22-23), before ending in Mount Isa on July 26-28. The final of the six-location event offers a $ 1 million hole-in-one challenge in Mt Isa.

Robyn Stephens said that while the recent rain was the & # 39; world of the good & # 39; before the neighborhood and the course had helped enormously, visitors should not expect lush fairways and grass greens.

"Due to the nature of our climate and the harsh, dry weather conditions that generally prevail here, we have sand greens," she said.

"And although the six-year drought has cost us dearly – we have lost about 50 native trees – the green shade that should still be on the fairways in July would be much better than the bare soil we've had for so long The course is now in the best condition in which I have seen it for at least seven years. "

While Robyn is a Winton ladies champion, she is also involved in many community activities, including the Winton Outback festival which, like the Outback Masters, celebrates the Queensland Year of the Outback. Held from September 24-28, the festival is best known for staging the Quilton, the Australian Dunny Derby.

And while the 300 sleeping places in the city are getting full with the Outback Festival, Robyn calls on golfers who are planning to play in the Outback Masters to book their accommodation quickly.

"July is right in the middle of our tourist season, and accommodation here is always a premium," she said.

And restaurants and cafes, mentioned by association with the countless tourist attractions, are in abundance. Robyn, Tuckerbox Café, Musical Fence Café, Spun Yarn Café, Balamara Bakery and Boulder Opal Restaurant are on the list.

She adds that all the pubs in the city – Tatts Hotel, North Gregory Hotel, Australian Hotel and Winton Hotel – serve a selection of first-class local beef (and other meals) at & # 39; very affordable prices & # 39 ;.

Tourist attractions in the city and district include the Australian era of the dinosaur museum, the Waltzing Matilda Center, the Winton Heritage Truck and Machinery Museum, the Corfield and Fitzmaurice art and museum building and the Lark Quarry Conservation Park, which is considered the site of the & # 39; the world's only known record of a dinosaur rush

Local men expected to challenge golfers to the title of Winton & # 39; s Outback Masters champion, reigning A Grade club champion Carlin Ellis, and brothers Brendan and Adrian Lenton. All three play a handicap of four.

NOTE : Thompson's Pound was named in honor of the late Warren & # 39; Wogga & # 39; Thompson, who had long been a member of the Winton Golf Club committee when the new course – in the city – was developed in the late 1970s. He protested fiercely against building the water carrier because he claimed that he made the hole too difficult.