High on the range in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Maleny Golf Club has become one of Australia’s most talked-about community-built courses – an 18-hole, par 69 layout known for its superb greens, revetted bunkers and sweeping hinterland views. In this chapter of the Tru-Turf Super Series, host Nick Thornton joins Mick McCombe, Manager of Course & Infrastructure at Maleny, for a walking roundtable on how a volunteer-driven, minimalist design has grown into an award-winning destination.Mick traces his journey from early days in turf – and an almost obsessive relationship with rollers – to becoming the club’s first employee and leading a team that has transformed an old dairy farm into a Scottish-inspired, links-style experience. Along the way, he shares how Maleny’s philosophy of “working with what’s already here” shaped everything from the routing and wetlands to recycled course furniture and pathways made from old local tennis courts.Rolling sits at the centre of that approach. Mick explains how Maleny rolls three to four times a week, often swapping a mow for a roll to protect plant health, smooth the surfaces and keep the course true for members and visitors. He also talks through their renovation cycle, light-touch topdressing and how regular data from a visiting consultant helps fine-tune green speeds ahead of monthly medal days. It’s an insight into why Maleny was recognised with the 2025 ASTMA Claude Crockford Sustainability & Environmental Award – and how an RE50 lithium roller and a band of volunteers fit into a bigger story about long-term, community-led sustainability.Whether you’re a turf manager, committee member or golfer who loves the idea of “golf as it began”, this episode is a tour of what’s possible when rolling, design and community all pull in the same direction.

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