Canungra gets back on the green

Over the years the Gold Coast club has endured fires, floods and a pandemic, but despite the hardship, Canungra managed to reopen its doors last month much to the delight of the local community.

The first roll ups took place with all bowlers observing social distancing and hygiene measures. Despite the additional formalities, the club’s greens director, Brian Laurence, said bowlers had all been excited to get back into the swing of things.

“They’ve been really chomping at the bit to have a game, they’ve been sitting at home doing nothing most of the time,” he said.

“They’ve all been sitting at home wondering what to do with themselves but now as you can see they’re having a ball.”

Luckily for the club, they have been able to weather a lot of the financial storm brought on by COVID-19, as Laurence says the club owns most of its assets and has solar panels to offset the electricity costs.

The not-for-profit club has one paid employee, greenkeeper Brian Marshall.

“The club is going well financially,” Laurence said. “Which is good because it means everything to its members, they love the camaraderie of the club.

Laurence, who has been a member of the club for more than 14 years, says he’s glad the club’s small membership base of 65 bowlers can finally get back out on the green even if it is done at a limited capacity for the time being.