100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

The thrilling lifestyle community where you can play the world's best golf courses

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Renowned chef takes on ownership at new Asian eatery

A former executive chef of one of the region’s most acclaimed restaurants has opened a new Asian street-food venue in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, More

Major clean-up launched to protect creek ecosystem

A large-scale environmental clean-up is underway in the Burgess Creek catchment, with almost three-and-a-half hectares of land to be cleared of invasive weeds over More

Local scientists confirm rare minke whale presence

Acoustic data captured by local scientists has confirmed the presence of an elusive marine mammal in waters north of the Sunshine Coast. Researchers from the More

Man in serious e-scooter crash

A man has been rushed to hospital after a serious e-scooter crash in the early hours of the morning. The man, in his 30s, was More

Online retail giant blocks rodent poison sale to save birds

A form of rodent poison that inadvertently kills possums, eagles and owls has been removed from a major e-commerce platform, amid calls to ban More

Ashley Robinson: Good memories help goodbyes

December is a significant month when you have a birthday and Christmas all within a few weeks. Then add work break-ups and kids on More

It’s a long way from Buderim to Pebble Beach in California, but home owners at a Buderim over-50s community are determined to get there, one swing at a time.

Avid golfers Sue and Gary Hadenham have been making use of a new state-of-the-art, 4K golf simulator, at lifestyle community B By Halcyon.

They have access to 74 of the world’s most famous courses.

“A lot of the time we go up there and practise for a game the next day,” Sue said.

“We just started, haven’t done Pebble Beach yet, but we’re going to start on the easier ones and work our way through.”

The golf simulator is a feature of B By Halcyon’s recently opened leisure facility, The Bunker, where homeowners can relax at the bar, enjoy a round of snooker and chill out in the ultimate games room.

Unable to travel internationally, the golf simulator is a passport for a virtual world tour.

It’s also a lot easier on the wallet – hitting the greens at the famed Pebble Beach, a regular host of the US Open, would set you back a cool US$600.

The Bunker at B by Halcyon. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography

Sue said it would take some time to get used to playing in the simulator, but she was keen to log as many hours as it took.

“You can do the drives and fairway shots very much the same, even your chipping, but it does take a little while because you’re in a room and your shot might go a little high,” she said.

Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/scnews2020/.

“The putting part takes some time as well. Once we get into it, I’m sure we’ll have a few competitions with other people or get a group going. Start on the easy courses and work our way up.”

Sue and Gary have been living at B By Halcyon for just over a year now.

“We had no intention of doing anything like this,” Sue said.

“We had a home on a big block with lots of gardens and swimming pools and we got fed up with looking after it all.”

B by Halcyon home owners Gary and Sue Hadenham. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography

Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our free daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email. See SUBSCRIBE at the top of this article.

Sue said any hesitations evaporated the moment she and Gary saw B By Halcyon for the first time, finding instant appeal in the community’s layout and generous street-scaping.

“We drove in, and I said, ‘this is me’, just like that,” she said.

“It’s all farming land, it’s surrounded by trees. It’s just really nice and we’re really glad we’ve done it.

“We’ve got little gardens but they’re big enough and the homes are beautiful. The streets are wider than some other over-50s communities, so you’re not feeling like you’re on top of each other.”

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
This field is hidden when viewing the form
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share