KristianJ

Location: 1220 Richmond Rd, Marsden Park (about halfway between Richmond and Blacktown)
Length: 1649m (Mens), 1494m (Ladies), par 30
Facilities: 250m driving range, practice green and bunker
Website: www.mpga.com.au



The Marsden Park Golf Academy 9 hole course is on a somewhat tight parcel of land, bounding 3 sides of a driving range. It consists of 6 par 3s of lengths between 105 and 151m, and 3 par 4s ranging from 250m to 365m. On the map above, holes 1 to 3 run from right to left on the southern boundary, 4 and 7 run parallel to the west boundary, 8 and 9 parallel to the northern boundary, and (from left to right) 5 and 6 are between the 7 and the back of the driving range.

Holes 1 and 2 are simple slightly uphill par 3s with greens sloping back to front. The 3rd is a 250m par 4, continuing uphill with OOB left which can either be attacked from the tee with driver or treated as a regular par 4 with a mid iron off the tee and a wedge in to a small green with sand front right and a small water hazard slightly further to the right. A safety fence behind the green stops long misses and protects those on the tee at the 5th.

After another straightforward, yet smaller than it looks, par 3, players are brought to the 365m 5th. An accurate hybrid/fairway wood off the tee will generally leave a mid iron shot into another smallish green protected on the right by a small bunker, front left with another bunker, and behind by a lake. Longer hitters will be able to find a more open landing area down the fairway and take a wedge or short iron in. 6 (151m) runs back the opposite way, and requires a mid iron to a green protected left and back with a water hazard.

7 is another short par 4, and in my opinion a quite decent hole. The tees are generally forward about 10 to 20 metres from the 284m length on the scorecard, and with a water hazard that requires around a 245m carry, the player needs to consider whether to play safe with a hybrid/long iron, then attack with wedge, or shape a fade with driver to bring the ball in over the fairway to the left of the hazard. Wayward hooks or draws can easily be lost left over the treeline and out of bounds. The 3 bunkers are rarely in play, even when the pin is towards the rear of the green.

The 8th (131m) requres a solid short iron to carry the lake and front greenside bunker (which has a reasonably high lip, making up and downs somewhat challenging depending on the pin position). The final hole is reachable with a solid wedge, and a back left pin position may bring the greenside bunker into play.

The course is reasonably well kept - fairways are kikuyu with a generally consistent fair length and the rough is pretty mild to say the least., with what appear to be couch greens. During a typical round, there are several unrepaired pitch marks to be found, which can lead to uneven areas if not properly treated. However the surfaces are generally quite nice to putt on, albeit more on the slow side than slick.

The course is quite quiet during weekdays and mid afternoon on weekends (probably as a result of its relative isolation in a semi-rural part of the metropolitan area), and a pair could get around without too much hassle and interruption in less than 90 minutes. Social groups tend to have the right of way during weekend mornings. $12 for 9 holes is fair value, with a Thursday special offer of a free range bucket of balls with each round purchased. The pro shop is well stocked with most brands of equipment, and the odd bargain can be found.

Overall, I find Marsden Park to be quite a straightforward layout that does reward daring stroke play, but can punish careless waywardness. A few more bunkers in various places would possibly provide some more challenge, but probably counteracts the perceived purpose of the facility as a whole (and it is quite a good all in one facility with the course, range and pro shop). It's a good place to learn the game and start to hone the basic skills, and then after that, take the occasional visit after work to keep the rust away.