Tournament director John McGregor said the competitors came from as far south as Tumut in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, up to Hervey Bay in central Queensland. 

On Tuesday, 225 competitors braved the bracing cold and patchy rain to take the course, with similar numbers Monday, Thursday and Friday. 

McGregor said the event was a great way to show off the course and give the local economy a shot in the arm.

“Most are caravaners who stay at local caravan parks, buy food and fuel locally and, of course, some of the ladies go in for a bit of retail therapy,” McGregor said. 

But it wasn’t just the ladies who were stocking up their caravans with Moree goods.

Peter O’Lachlan of Brisbane said he was particularly impressed with the local butcher’s wares.

“The meat was so bloody good I asked for a couple of bags to be cryovaced to take on the road!” he said.

O’Lachlan said he and his mates had been to a local tavern the night before for a well-earned meal and muscle relaxant or two. 

With temperatures dropping below 10 degrees this week many also sought relief of another kind. 

Laurelle Gordon-Smith of Nelson Bay said she and her friends – old hands at the Moree golf course – had been frequenting the baths at the end of the day’s play to soak sore muscles and escape the chill. 

“Tomorrow is a lay day so I’ll be heading to the Aboriginal gallery which I’ve been to before, and I know holds some just unbelievable works,” Gordon-Smith said. 

The Veterans’ Golf Association tours courses around the country with competitors having just come from Narrabri. 

The next stop on the tour is Inverell, followed by Tenterfield. 

McGregor has been organising the Moree leg since it joined the circuit in 2004. 

He said the event had flourished over recent years beyond initial expectations. 

“All profits we make go back into the golf course, but of course when we started we didn’t think we’d make any at all,” he said. 

“The profit we have made is due to the support of local businesses.”

That growth has been translated to improvements on the course, which haven’t gone unnoticed. 

Keith Gibbs of Taree described the course as magnificent. 

“It’s a wonderful course and a credit to the vets who put back into it every year,” Gibbs said.