Mudgeeraba did such a good job, the club got the honour of IGFR host once again

It’s a great feeling to win a trophy at the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians Tournament. The Rotary Club of Mudgeeraba, Qld., has hosted the tournament for a second time.

The 25-member Rotary Club of Mudgeeraba, Qld., has hosted the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians Tournament for a second time.
IGFR 2005 was held at the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast. The Rotary Club of Mudgeeraba was invited to host this event once again, having previously hosted IGFR 96.
The club’s organising committee engaged Tour Pacific Australia as tournament organiser.
The event was launched with a flag-raising ceremony and a rifle volley salute by the local Albert Battery, a group of enthusiasts in the uniform and weaponry of pre-federation military units from the region.
At a cocktail function to welcome those taking part the tournament was dedicated to the late David Keene who, during his presidency of the Rotary Club of Mudgeeraba, had been instrumental in encouraging the club to host the event.
Lexus was 2005’s major tournament sponsor. The hotel and course were adorned with Lexus advertising which looked spectacular, especially at the morning assembly point for despatch to the shotgun starts.

The displays featured player country and Lexus flags. A fleet of Lexus vehicles was positioned on the lawn in front of the convention facility.

Royal Pines is a 27-hole composite course of three x nine holes layouts. These were varied each day covering the three combination 18 holes successively.

Early buffet breakfasts were followed by 7.30a.m. shotgun starts. Lunchtime buffets were popular in the House of Friendship, as was the Fellowship Bar.

The Australian sense of humour gave rise to the "Down Under Trophies" awarded for exceptionally talented play of the worst kind – for example, Mulligans (which are not allowed in Australia), not hitting past the ladies tees, multiple shots into the water, etc.
These were similar to the conventional daily prizes of Lexus golf balls mounted on polished timber paperweight bases, with inscribed plaques, except they had the plaques upside down.

The IGFR tournament will be held in Turkey in 2006 and a presentation by Turkish visitors was well received, especially as it included the awarding of three prizes of accommodation for a week for two persons, plus three rounds of golf in Antayla.
They proved to be excellent spokesmen for their event. The 43rd IGFR will be held in Antayla, Turkey, in May, 2006.
Pat and Mel from IGFR 2007 Philippines gave a presentation as did Mudgeeraba President Ted Shepherd, wearing his promotional hat for Gold Coast City Council.

Wednesday’s makeup dinner was an opportunity for Mudgeeraba to present club banners to all. Reciprocal presentations were made by many visitors, including the presentation of a Nepalese hat to President Ted. It suited him, as though he was born to wear it.

Another occasion to enjoy fellowship came when club members, along with those from Parkwood, Ashmore, Broadbeach and Burleigh Heads Rotary clubs, home-hosted Thursday dinners.

The Lexus Gala Dinner included an excellent presentation by Lexus Australia Divisional Manager, Scott Grant. IGFR President John Bambury awarded the trophies of mounted boomerangs plus medallions to the winners, culminating with the Carl Miller World Championship trophy being presented to Don Forbes. Mudgeeraba Organising Committee chairman Gary Knuckey presented the IGFR flag to the Turkish delegation.