Queensland may boast the enviable moniker of ‘Beautiful one day, perfect the next’, but earlier this year parts of the Sunshine State were anything but beautiful as heavy rains lashed the north courtesy of Cyclone Debbie.

While Debbie threatened to make landfall in North Queensland, the South East and Northern NSW felt the effects of the weather system with severe flooding throughout the regions.

Windaroo Lakes Golf Club, situated off the M1 between Brisbane and the Gold Coast was one of many courses in South East Queensland who copped a barrage of torrential rain in March of this year.

A great supporter of the Holden Scramble, Windaroo Lakes faced with structural damage and a massive clean-up to their usually pristine golf course, just like so many more of their peers in the industry.

Head Professional at the club Jared Love said while the water across the majority of the course, the mud left in its wake was the biggest factor in getting the club up and running again.

“We were flooded on Friday 30^th March, we had 15 of the 18 holes affected with 11 of those holes totally under water,” Love said.

“The water subsided quickly but left so much mud in its wake; we were able to get 7 holes back in play within a week and had 85 players in the Saturday comp.

“By around the 3 week mark we had all holes open, with two holes shortened, and had tee up on four or five of those holes.”

The clean up took majority of two months with Windaroo Lakes playing as usual in late July.

“The last week of July was the first time we had teed up off the local rules and the course is looking fantastic!” Love added.

Windaroo Lakes were quick to thank their committed members who were happy to pitch in to help get the course back on its feet, a scenario echoed by many clubs across the country.

Love said events like the Holden Scramble go a long way to building a community within golf clubs so when they are hit with hardships, help isn’t too far away.

“ The Holden Scramble is a great event and the members look forward to it every year. It builds comradery within the members and I personally look forward to the finals every year!”