My Adelaide holiday in February

[jimandr]

This appears to be the appropriate place to talk about this. Some planets have aligned in the correct direction, so I am going to spend a week in/near Adelaide between 11 Feb and 18 Feb. I'll send some PM's to the SA guys and see if I can arrange a game.

I'll also send PM's to Oz and Toolish.

After a coin-tossing decision, I have decided not to take advantage of cheap airfares (and then get ripped off blind by the car rental company), and to do a leisurely drive from Sydney to Adelaide, via a Murray River course, and then stop off again in the Murray on the way home.

I've already checked out the websites of the top courses. It appears most of them will let me on as a bona fide interstate visitor, so I'll obtain a letter of introduction from my home club, send a few emails and see how I go. Royal Adelaide is the number one preference, even though the published green fee of $150 is a bit steep.

Can any of the SA guys get me a better deal?

I'll play Links Lady Bay for sure (only $40) and see what the weather has in store. If it isn't 40 degrees each day I should be able to summon enough energy to play some more.

It's not quite the Dream Golfing Holiday, but it might be pretty good.

Who else has been there?

[BrisVegas]

havent been there for golf, but have been eyeing off the cheap airfares lately looking for an excuse.

[Courty]

Royal Adelaide is sweeeet! 8)

[marcel]

jim,

i should be able to organise RA for you for cheaper than that on Sun 15th if that suits

[Moe Norman]

Jim,

I wouldn't bother with Links Lady Bay. Play RA, Grange East & West, Kooyonga, & Blackwood ( :) ) and that should do you for the week unless you play every day and don't get into the wineries!

[Chris32]

Bugger, I finish holidays on the 11th. Could have a hit on the weekend if you want, let me know

[jimandr]

I shall respond to my Adelaide resident colleagues individually by PM, but thanks to all who have expressed an interest.

Its a bit early to outline an itinery, but I have a couple of restrictions on what I can do.

I am staying at Aldinga Beach.

I can't play golf on the weekend of 14 and 15 February. The relatives I am visiting, and therefore using as an excuse to go to SA, work during the week, so I feel obligated to spend time with them on that weekend.

But I can play any of the weekdays. However, my preference is not to play two days in a row. I still have a sore elbow, which gets quite tight after a game of golf, and usually takes a day to recover. If I get the chance to play one or more of the 'good' courses, I'd prefer to not be handicapped by injury (in addition to my lack of ability) so that I can enjoy the experience to the fullest.

I'll negotiate via PM's, but I'll post the result in this thread if I can get any games happening.

[Chris32]

PM replied to mate

As per PM, we should set a evening aside for tea at the Tap Inn. If anyone is keen on this let me know and I'll work it out.

I'll try and shuffle my holidays and see if I can take a few more days off and get a few rounds in around the place with you

[Greeny]

Get to the Tap Inn for sure!

If you're staying down at Aldinga play Lady Bay for sure. It's a top course.

Fleurieu Course used to be good be very hard but haven't played it for 7 years or so.

Of course Kooyonga, Royal Adelaide and Grange are all superb. Glenelg is worth a visit too. $150 for a Top 10 course in Australia is about the going rate without a member I think. Kingston Heath is about $165 through Golf Link and from outside Vic.

[oobsadd2]

Count me in for the Tap Inn,
Golf for me that week is a touch and go. I should be able to do something about playing at Grange.
Ill be staying in the McLaren Vale caravan park for the next week, when I get back no doubt your itinerary will have settled a bit.
I agree with AussieGolfer, Links Lady Bay is a top course and Fleurieu is good as well, although it was still incomplete when I was there last.

[Chris32]

Looks like I will be off on the 12th/13th if you want to have a hit.

If not, how about dinner at the Tapp Inn on the 12th, around 6/7pm?

I'll be away from email/net for a few days so either post it here or PM me if keen

[oobsadd2]

Not sure if I can make golf, but Tap Inn sounds cool. Bucket of balls after dinner perhaps?

[Chris32]

Yeah sounds good

[jimandr]

Looks like I will be off on the 12th/13th if you want to have a hit.

If not, how about dinner at the Tapp Inn on the 12th, around 6/7pm?

I'll be away from email/net for a few days so either post it here or PM me if keen

I've received a bit of interest today, so I can pencil in some proper scheduling.

Here's the story so far:

Leave Sydney Monday 9th February. Nothing arranged with Oz or Toolish on the way down, so I'm thinking about staying the night at Tocumwal, then a game on one of the courses in the morning of the 10th, then drive to wherever I feel like that day. Arrive in Adelaide Wednesday 11th.

Thursday 12th, early game with Marcel at Royal Adelaide. The Tap Inn sounds good for dinner and a simulated game at St Andrews.

Friday 13th (is this unlucky?), a game with Chris32 wherever he wants, if he is still free.

Sat 14 and Sun 15 - committed to other stuff with my relatives.

Mon 16, Tues 17 - free at this stage, but golf at either Lady Bay or Mccracken (or both) is definitely going to happen. I've got to get some entries for the Top 100 courses bingo.

Wed 18 - Drive from Adelaide to Mildura, game with Toolish in the afternoon (in pencil so far).

Thur 19 - Drive to Albury (if Oz is still free and available) for a late game (also in pencil).

Fri 20 - home at last.

So far, it looks as though my famous holiday weather curse is actually going to work in my favour this time. Adelaide has had a fortnight of 40 degree days, but there is a proper change forecast for Saturday the 7th. I'll take full credit for the cooler weather if if stays like that while i'm there.

[adlo]

However, my preference is not to play two days in a row.
That plan went well :mrgreen::mrgreen:

[JMT]

Hi Jimandr,

Fleurieu golf course is a great course to play on, give it a go if you can squeeze it in, that and Links Lady Bay are my favourite courses down south. Brilliant wineries down that way too!

Not sure if I can fit a game in outside the (14th, 15th) weekend as work is flat out at the moment. A game at Fleurieu is very tempting though!

[oobsadd2]

Yes if you are into wine and have a spare hour :) Id recommend Wirra Wirra and Hugh Hamilton they are within a couple of minutes of each other and have excellent wine and cellar doors.
PS for a special lunch try the platter at Coriole, sample the wine at the cellar door then they will serve it for lunch. It doesnt get any better :)

[jimandr]

I'm not a wine-lover, so I won't be taking up any of the recommendations in that regard.

Fortunately for me, the weather seems to have changed for the better, just as I hoped it would.

Tomorrow morning the big adventure starts. I've got a couple of things locked in, but there is also some free time to do whatever I feel like doing, which is what I prefer.

I emailed Tocumwal to see if I could get a 1 day play and stay discount deal, but they didn't reply, so I might call some of the courses while having lunch, and see what happens. So Monday arvo is still to be determined.

Tuesday I've decided to go to Horsham and see if that course is as good as its reputation.

Thursday is with Marcel, then the Tap Inn with Chris32. Friday should also be with Chris (I'll give him a call on Wednesday to confirm). Saturday and Sunday are allocated, but I then have two free days in and around Adelaide.

Wednesday arvo with Toolish at Mildura is still in pencil, but Thursday arvo is now confirmed with Oz at Albury Commercial.

I'm looking forward to bringing some of our more distant Ozgolfers into the family. See you when I see you.

[marcel]

Tuesday I've decided to go to Horsham and see if that course is as good as its reputation.



Devestated by the fires I'm afraid

[Grunt]

Horsham might be out now Jim. It was in the Bushfires

[Fishman Dan]

Do them a favour. Donate your green fees anyway.

[Chris32]

Shame about Horsham

My work schedule has been shuffled around a bit, I was going to play at RA on Thurs, but now I have to work Thurs and Fri.

Tapp Inn for tea tomorrow night should be good, I work about 10 mins from there so I'll look to get there at about 6-6.15

I'll have access to internet until about 11am this morning, otherwise back at work Thurs so I can check then.

[oobsadd2]

Sorry, its looking worse for me re the Tap Inn,
I played in the state amateur on the weekend and had the bad sense to qualify for the match play.
The last time I played in a state amateur all play was on the weekend, not now though. My first match is on Thurday morning.

I took last Friday off to visit my Dad in Melbourne for his 70 th, back Sat night for the first 36 on Sunday.
Monday off to play the last 36 of the medal rounds,
tomorrow off for the first round of match play and possibly friday if I get through thursday.
My wife was un impressed when I mentioned dinner at the Tap Inn. Spose Ive had a pretty good run. I am disappointed at not meeting the rest of you.

[Chris32]

Tapp Inn now changed to Fri night, 6 onwards.
Dinner, maybe bash a few balls on the range and a round on the sim

So far me and Jim

[jimandr]

The adventure is over. This post is the short version. I'll provide more detail later.

Firstly, sincere apologies to Toolish. My energy reserves were a bit low by the time I was due to visit him, and I just couldn't do it. So I didn't go to Mildura, and didn't get to meet him.

Secondly, many, many thanks to Marcel for looking after me on two occasions at Royal Adelaide. I'll post a bit more in the Royal Adelaide review thread later on, but the short version is that RA is the second best course I've ever played, only behind NSW.

Thirdly, thanks to Marcel and Chris32 for Friday evening at the Tap Inn. I had thought Chris may have posted the story of that evening already, but he has obviously left it for me. The short version of this event is that the simulator didn't work properly. The first time around I hit a 270m putt (backwards!) on the 1st at St Andrews. The second time I stiffed a 9 iron from 115m for a tap in birdie. But the putting wasn't working at all. so it was a fizzer.

Fourthly, thanks to Oz for being an excellent host and great company at Albury Commercial. I almost didn't stop off in Albury because my energy reserves were running out, but I'm glad I did.

I played Tocumwal (nine holes on each course), Murray Downs at Swan Hill (great course), Royal Adelaide twice with Marcel, Links Lady Bay and Albury Commercial.

[Chris32]

Yeah shame about the sim, at least you can lay claim to a 270 putt :) Was great to meet you Jim and put another face to a name

[AndyP]

Looking forward to a more detailed course review, Jim.

[oz]

Great to meet you Jim. I thoroughly enjoyed the golf and your company. I must make an effort to come up and have a round with you and the other Sydney-siders.

[Toolish]

Firstly, sincere apologies to Toolish. My energy reserves were a bit low by the time I was due to visit him, and I just couldn't do it. So I didn't go to Mildura, and didn't get to meet him.


No worries mate, sorry I missed your call.

[jimandr]

Looking forward to a more detailed course review, Jim.

I'll post my thoughts on the courses in a separate thread, in the Courses Section.

Here goes with a few other more detailed observations:

The Tap Inn was very good, despite the disappointment of the simulator not working properly. The dinner menu looked fairly expensive, at $16 for a schnitzel, but my goodness! My beef schnitzel absolutely covered the plate, and it was a big plate. Marcel and Chris32 both successfully completed their meals, and declared they wouldn't eat again for the weekend. Not even a teensy, weensy after dinner mint, waffer thin. I couldn't quite complete mine.

As compensation for the simulator not working, we got our money back, plus a free hundred balls on the range, plus a free beer. This was a textbook example of good customer service.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Tap Inn experience was that we learned that Chris32 has never been east of Murray Bridge (about 50k's from Adelaide). You should get out more!!

A lesson for interstate visitors: a schooner is equal to a NSW middy, and a pint is apparently a metric pint, which looked similar to a NSW schooner. Most would already know about Victorian pots, which are a NSW middy. I mainly drank Hahn Light, so I can't make any judgement on SA beer.

The beaches in Adelaide are like the beaches in Botany Bay in Sydney. Not true ocean beaches as such. Still nice though, and I suspect Adelaide people don't really appreciate them. The prices for absolute beachfront houses in Aldinga were the equivalent of my house in Sydney's deep south-west. I'd do a swap in a heartbeat. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually wake up and beachfront home prices skyrocket.

There were more people on the oceanfront beaches at Victor Harbour, which were very ordinary in comparison to NSW. Victor Harbour was a very nice town though, a bit similar to Kiama for those familiar with that town.

Adelaide traffic is not much better than Sydney traffic. I was surprised at how many cars were on the road. It is also quite difficult to get your directions right. I got lost on the way to Royal Adelaide, partly because I thought I was going west, when I was actually going north.

Adelaide appears to be the home of the shopping mall. They seemed to be everywhere, considering the relatively low population and population density.

All in all though, I liked Adelaide. It appeared to be a much more liveable place than Sydney is.

The drought is really bad across Southern NSW and Victoria. I'd never been there before, so maybe it always looks like that, but there was hardly any pasture for the animals. I saw some golf courses from the road where it looked like the greenkeepers have given up trying to grow fairways, at Gundagai, Jerilderie, Nyah, Lameroo and Tailem Bend. Castlemaine was the only course I saw from the road that looked like it was going OK.

Country driving can be really boring though. The stretch between Wagga and Narrandera, and then from Narrandera to Tocumwal is almost dead flat, and there are hardly any bends in the road. I measured one straight stretch at 14k's. The drive in Victoria between Tocumwal and Swan Hill, following the Murray, isn't much better, but at least there are a few more towns to look at in Victoria.

One strange thing was that there was a quarantine station checking for fruit at Pinnaroo on the Vic/SA border on the Mallee Highway from Ouyen, but there wasn't one at the other border, near Bordertown (naturally) on the road to Horsham. I had to open my boot, revealing my clubs, but the lady didn't pass comment on whether I should prefer the Hibore driver over the Mizuno.

Perhaps my last observation in this long post is that there are wineries just about everywhere. Pity I'm not a wine buff. About the only place there wasn't one was in the Mallee region.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

[AndyP]

I read it all, Jim. Thanks.
I have only been to Adelaide the one time, and I was under 8 then. However, the missus and I were very close to moving there at one stage (her work).

My parents have lived at Swan Hill for several years now, but I've only visited once. Can you see why? Booooring!
I did get to play Murray Downs though, but can't remember too much of it (except weird sand in some of the bunkers).

[Toolish]

You were unlucky to run into the Pinaroo station at a time it was manned! Country driving can be boring, but you get used to it growing up in a rural area, if you don't travel you can't do anything!

[Greeny]

You're making me homesick Jimandr!
Ah yes, a funny ol' place Adelaide. I love going back. Much more relaxed and not short of good golf courses.
A pissant town though apparently.