Here we are in Cooktown, named after Captain James Cook who beached his ship “HMS Endeavour” here on the Endeavour River on the north coast of Australia 250 years ago, after holing the hull on the Great Barrier Reef. Of course we know these names now but back then it was a reef and a safe haven to repair his ship.

More about Cooktown in the next couple of days but today it was Saturday and that means “Golf”. Andrew and I played in the competition at the Cooktown Golf Club, which was the monthly medal. The Cooktown Golf Links is a 9 fairway, 18 tee golf course and it was enjoyable to play, especially after our last game at Karumba.

The Cooktown Golf Club has about 40 members and therefore is a volunteer organisation. We had a great time and I would like to weight the ratings in my CRAPP report but as I have said in the past, my assessment is based on what I encounter on the day, therefore the ratings are as follows:

Design 14 out of 20 (they have maximised the land available)

Condition 11 out of 20 (the course was very dry, it was the dry season)

Cost. 15 out of 20 (very reasonable cost of $20 for 18 holes)

Visual Appeal 15 out of 20 (great views of the surrounding hills)

Facilities 3 out of 10 (very ordinary clubhouse and amenities)

Ambience/Appeal 8 out of 10 (felt very comfortable with the locals)

So the final rating was 66 out of 100, a pretty good rating considering how dry it has been. Both Andrew and I enjoyed our day at Cooktown and the locals were very hospitable too.

The facilities let the overall rating down but it was still very comfortable in the conditions. I’m sure the course would be different in the “wet” but it was still very enjoyable to play now. The club is playing their Open next weekend and we can only hope it goes well.

Thank you Cooktown for an enjoyable round of GOLF!