Tripping Australia

[MAZA68]

Forbes GC Par 72 6100m Slope 123 Scratch 73 (Blue)
Green Fee $39

Forbes is an 18 hole layout established in 1909!
The course is very flat, well tree lined, with a water course running through the middle that comes into play on a several holes.
The front nine runs around the perimeter of the course, and then the back nine is set inside the middle.
The fairway widths change around the course with some quite generous and others tight into the landing areas. A few dogleg holes, where having the tee shot in position will give a good look at the green.
The course was in good condition, the fairways provided a fair run and the greens played well.

The front nine had three Par 5's and three Par 3's and starts with a Par 3 5 3 combination, with the first at 190m, good starter!
The 1st hole demands a solid hit, through some large trees to the green that slopes front to back and falls off on all sides. The 4th a Par 4 at 367m, needs a tee shot around the corner, then has a carry over a water hazard that sits 70m or so short of the green. A couple of the Par 5's on the back nine show the contrast in the holes, the 6th at 419m a dogleg right to left with a generous fairway and then the 7th follows at 473m with a narrow tree lined fairway and OB all down the right.
The back nine has a good mix of Par 4's and finishes on a narrow 180m Par 3. The 11th and 14th are long dogleg Par 4's that need solid tee shots to have a look at the greens. The Par 5 15th has a water carry into the green after a reasonable tee shot. It narrows up by the green with large trees leaning out into the fairway.
Overall a good quality course to play, with plenty of length and variety of holes.

[markTHEblake]

Looks like a perfect hole to start with a shank.

[MAZA68]

Looks like a perfect hole to start with a shank.

Yea to put it in the clubhouse

[WBennett]

Where to next Maza? Dubbo and the 27 holer is meant to be worth a hit. I tried to get there when we went a few years ago, but the zoo appealed to the kids more

[MAZA68]

Where to next Maza? Dubbo and the 27 holer is meant to be worth a hit. I tried to get there when we went a few years ago, but the zoo appealed to the kids more

Did a turnaround and now in Mildura, heading into SA this week.Was going to play Hay, but playing in 38C didnt appeal.

[Hatchman]

Did a turnaround and now in Mildura, heading into SA this week.Was going to play Hay, but playing in 38C didnt appeal.

Depending on how long your in that area the best imho are:
Coomealla (involves crossing boarder in NSW)
Riverside Mildura
Red Cliffs
and lastly if you've got time for a 4th, Mildura Country Club
Don't worry about Merbein

[MAZA68]

Depending on how long your in that area the best imho are:
Coomealla (involves crossing boarder in NSW)
Riverside Mildura
Red Cliffs
and lastly if you've got time for a 4th, Mildura Country Club
Don't worry about Merbein

Thanks, played Riverside today, drove into Mildura yesterday and it didn't have a great feel about (horrible looking motel units and the dump beside it... its called a "Resort" now.
Only have time for the one round here, as doing tourist stuff tomorrow and into SA Wednesday, first stop Waikerie.

[MAZA68]

First stop in Victoria at Mildura and had a round at Riverside GC.
The course is a few kms out of Mildura on the banks of the Murray, although there are only small views of the river from the course.
The fairways were in great condition and are lined with huge gum trees on the majority of the holes. Very few bunkers on the course and a couple of water hazards to cross on a couple of holes. The bent greens were in pretty good nick as well, with only the odd little bare spot and the usual pitch marks! The pro said a couple are due to be ripped up, I think 16 green was looking a bit rough on one side.
Tough starter in a Par 4 @ 345m, that is quite narrow and has the green tucked around the corner and a grandstand finishing hole, Par 3 @ 146m to an elevated green hitting between the two large gums make for a challenging round.
Placement off the tee would be the key to playing Riverside, as the number of dogleg holes dictate the next shot.

Riverside GC Par 72 Slope 116 Scratch 71 (Blue)
Green Fee $30

[Hatchman]

Thanks, played Riverside today, drove into Mildura yesterday and it didn't have a great feel about (horrible looking motel units and the dump beside it... its called a "Resort" now.
Only have time for the one round here, as doing tourist stuff tomorrow and into SA Wednesday, first stop Waikerie.

That's a very fine choice you've you made there.
This course is a well hidden gem that sadly not many in our own state have played.
I'm sure you've mapped your route already but if you haven't the course is a long way out of the town itself in a fruit growing area called Sundlands.
Interested in what you think.
It's my second favorite of the 5 Riverland courses with Loxton being number 1.

[thecollective]

First stop in Victoria at Mildura and had a round at Riverside GC.
The course is a few kms out of Mildura on the banks of the Murray, although there are only small views of the river from the course.
The fairways were in great condition and are lined with huge gum trees on the majority of the holes. Very few bunkers on the course and a couple of water hazards to cross on a couple of holes. The bent greens were in pretty good nick as well, with only the odd little bare spot and the usual pitch marks! The pro said a couple are due to be ripped up, I think 16 green was looking a bit rough on one side.
Tough starter in a Par 4 @ 345m, that is quite narrow and has the green tucked around the corner and a grandstand finishing hole, Par 3 @ 146m to an elevated green hitting between the two large gums make for a challenging round.
Placement off the tee would be the key to playing Riverside, as the number of dogleg holes dictate the next shot.

Riverside GC Par 72 Slope 116 Scratch 71 (Blue)
Green Fee $30

Thanks for sharing Mazda, Riverside is a solid course. The highlight for me is the great set of Par 3's but my only criticism is the number of tucked away tee shots that become a little too one dimensional with so many dogleg fairways.

Next time you're in Mildura head over the border to Coomealla, this is a fantastic country track operated by a successful community funded sports club.

Looking forward to meeting you at Champs, are you in for the Friday round at Blackwood?

[MAZA68]

Thanks for sharing Mazda, Riverside is a solid course. The highlight for me is the great set of Par 3's but my only criticism is the number of tucked away tee shots that become a little too one dimensional with so many dogleg fairways.Next time you're in Mildura head over the border to Coomealla, this is a fantastic country track operated by a successful community funded sports club. Looking forward to meeting you at Champs, are you in for the Friday round at Blackwood?

Agree, first time round it is tricky to workout some of the dog legs, par 5 5th is a good example.Not sure on the friday round, still to plan our journey through SA.

[thecollective]

Agree, first time round it is tricky to workout some of the dog legs, par 5 5th is a good example.Not sure on the friday round, still to plan our journey through SA.

Is that the one with the huge left hand turn with the large arrow on a pine tree. That was a wacky tee shot

[Hatchman]

Agree, first time round it is tricky to workout some of the dog legs, par 5 5th is a good example.Not sure on the friday round, still to plan our journey through SA.

If your near Port Hughes on Thursday March 4th your welcome to join me for a game at The Dunes Port Hughes that day. No time is locked in yet but I'm defiantly playing that day while staying down there for a couple days.

[MAZA68]

Is that the one with the huge left hand turn with the large arrow on a pine tree. That was a wacky tee shot

The 5th is the one where you hit drive and then try to work out where the second needs to be to see the green. Maybe the 14th your thinking of or the 3rd the Par 4 that if you hit straight there is still 200m+ in to the green.

[MAZA68]

Moving onto our South Australia leg of the journey, with our first stop at Waikerie (allegedly has more sunshine hours than the Gold Coast) a small township in the Riverland region. The course sits 10 minutes or so outside of the township in an area called Sunlands on undulating countryside. The course has a very mod looking clubhouse and equally mod on-site accommodation.
The course itself boasts some decent length at 6064m, with several tee shots off elevated tee blocks and fairways that give up very little run.
Several doglegs feature on the course with a few (for the first time) a little tricky to see where you need to hit to.
The greens were in good condition, just a little on the slow side as they had been watered heaps to help with the repairs from the bird damaged on the greens - bloody cockatoos and galah's.
No bunkers or water hazards to speak of, but if you go too wide off the fairway, you'll find the natural bunkers of the red sand.
Interesting Par 3's, with the 6th having a semi blind tee shot over the trees, to a green that drops away steeply on both sides. I found the Par 3 13th @ 121m, an odd hole as it sat between two par 4's, where it also shared the same teeing ground as the 14th.
Good strong Par 4's with a 402m and 387m to start the front nine and a couple of 390m+ 4's in the middle. The nine finishes on a gentle dogleg 477m Par 5 in front of the clubhouse.
A short walk around the clubhouse finds the 10th, a short dogleg Par 4 that has a blind landing area, to a green tucked up in the corner. The back nine has some shorter Par 4's that have gentle doglegs and a couple of good Par 5's. The 11th off an elevated tee block curves around left to right with a semi blind shot for the second and the 18th that stretches out to 481m, has a dogleg to curve around on the second shot, to a two tiered green.
Most of the greens have a bit of slope to them and certainly have places were putts will be very slick with the greens up to speed.
A good quality course, certainly worth a round.
Not sure how they make ends meet, as I was the only one on the course from late morning to early arvo.

Waikerie Golf & Country Club
Par 72 6064m
Slope 118 Scratch 72 (Blue)
Green Fee $40

[MAZA68]

A trip into the city today to play the North Adelaide GC - South Course. The course sits pretty much in the heart of Adelaide, amongst all the city greenery and across the road from the Adelaide Oval.
There are three course to choose from a Par 3 layout, the short North course and the full 18 hole south course layout.
The south course has elevation changes throughout, is heavily tree lined and has a good mix of long and short holes. Fairway bunkers feature on several holes that narrow up the holes. Elevated tee blocks and hitting into blind greens are a feature on several holes. The course also has a flatter section mixed in with the elevation changes.
The condition of the course was pretty good, with nice lush fairways, greens quite receptive although a little bumpy from recent renovations.
A few sneaky dogleg holes in the Par 5 2nd and the Par 4 4th require good placement on the tee shot to have a good look at the greens.
A good sequence of holes in the finish, with the Par 5 15th needing an accurate tee shot to avoid the fairway bunkers and trees, will give a good look at the elevated green. The 16th a long downhill Par 3, with an undulating green. The 17th Par 4 at 381m, requires a solid drive to the corner of the dogleg to have a look at the green that sits well below the fairway and then the 18th Par 4, not overly long but hits up to a blind putting surface well above the fairway.
For a course in the middle of the city it offers a quality course, that will provide a good challenge.

North Adelaide GC South Course
Par 71 Slope 123 Scratch 71 5805m - Blue Tees
Green Fee - $31.50 Weekdays $39 Weekends

.

[MAZA68]

A venture down to the peninsular and took in the Victor Harbour Golf Course. The course is set at the back of the township and has a spectacular view out over the ocean and Victor Harbour.
The daunting 1st hole tees off 30m or so above the tree lined fairway and plays at 400m. The rest of the course is generally flat with the last few holes bringing in a bit of slope.
The course is heavily tree lined and tight in places, especially on a lot of the dogleg holes. Condition of the course was excellent, with some of the best greens I've played on for sometime. Tricky slopes and fast greens will make for some challenging putting - managed to twice chip through the green. Good bunkering around the greens will catch the short and wide shots.
A good selection of par 3's, the 3rd at 150m and the 10th at 192m, the stand outs for me. The 3rd has trouble everywhere, bunkers and bush both wide and long and a big dip in the front. The 10th shoots across the 1st fairway with the famous "stobie pole" attracting balls (apparently) on many occasions and has a slippery green from back to front.
The dogleg par 4's mostly swing from left to right, with well placed tee shots giving a look at the greens. The 9th and 17th both have slippery greens, the 17th has three tiers and getting on the pin level is a must. The 18th has a blind tee shot, but hit on the right line can get the shot very close to the green.
Some good Par 5's, with probably the best two on the back nine, 12 and 13. The 12th is long and straight off the tee, than has the green tucked around the corner at the 100m mark. Thirteen has driving options with bunkers to carry/layup at the 210-220m.
An enjoyable course to play, with a good variety in the holes and kept in excellent condition.

Victor Harbour Golf Club
Par 72 Scratch 72 Slope 129 5964m (Blue)
Green Fee $35


Next Stop --- Robe

[Hatchman]

I await your review of Robe as it's quirky in that each set of 6 holes is very different from each other.
Originally it was a 12 hole course up until a few years ago.
1-6 is nice
7-12 is spectacular
13-18 is very boring and you can't believe it's part of the same course after playing 1-12.

[MAZA68]

For the long weekend in SA we took a trip down to Robe, apart from a few crazy drivers and an icey wind on arrival it was a great spot with plenty of walks, lots of historic buildings and local shops to check out.
The Robe Golf Course is a unique layout, in that it is split into three lots of six holes - Ocean, Dunes, and Clubhouse.
The first six, the Ocean holes are a natural links layout, with small greens, that weaves its way around a series of sand dunes and give lots of up hill and down hill shots.
The Dunes Holes 6 -12, is by far the best of the six's and is professionally designed. It has large greens with lots of contours in and around the greens and rolls around some huge sandhills with each hole separate from other.
The Clubhouse six is the original layout built in 1924 and needs a renovation. The time I got to the last six (Clubhouse) the wind had got up more which gave some of the holes a bit of a bite.
Although the layouts are all different in structure, the green surfaces were pretty consistent throughout but the Dunes greens are a lot more challenging. A missed green on the Dunes layout, presented a tricky pitch/chip into the green. The changes between the six's is quite dramatic, and playing the Clubhouse six last leaves you a bit underwhelmed as the Oceans and in particular the Dunes holes are so much better.
A course certainly worth playing if in the area.

Robe Golf Club
Par 70 Scratch 69 Slope 121 5334m
Green Fee $40

A few more days in Adelaide and then off to explore the Yorke and Eyre Peninsula's.

[thecollective]

From what I know on the grapevine the club is planning to sell the land on the last 6 and build another set of dune holes to replace it. If they do that the course will probably land in the oz top 100 just in front of Lady Bay

[thecollective]

A good selection of par 3's, the 3rd at 150m and the 10th at 192m, the stand outs for me. The 3rd has trouble everywhere, bunkers and bush both wide and long and a big dip in the front. The 10th shoots across the 1st fairway with the famous "stobie pole" attracting balls (apparently) on many occasions and has a slippery green from back to front.
The dogleg par 4's mostly swing from left to right, with well placed tee shots giving a look at the greens. The 9th and 17th both have slippery greens, the 17th has three tiers and getting on the pin level is a must. The 18th has a blind tee shot, but hit on the right line can get the shot very close to the green.
Some good Par 5's, with probably the best two on the back nine, 12 and 13. The 12th is long and straight off the tee, than has the green tucked around the corner at the 100m mark. Thirteen has driving options with bunkers to carry/layup at the 210-220m.
An enjoyable course to play, with a good variety in the holes and kept in excellent condition.

Surprised that you rate #10 and #12 so highly. IMO 10 is a connecting filler hole and #12 is very one dimensional due to the amount of trees that block any possibility of a risk reward. #6 is a better Par 5 and gives the player more options from tee to green.

[Hatchman]

For the long weekend in SA we took a trip down to Robe, apart from a few crazy drivers and an icey wind on arrival it was a great spot with plenty of walks, lots of historic buildings and local shops to check out.
The Robe Golf Course is a unique layout, in that it is split into three lots of six holes - Ocean, Dunes, and Clubhouse.
The first six, the Ocean holes are a natural links layout, with small greens, that weaves its way around a series of sand dunes and give lots of up hill and down hill shots.
The Dunes Holes 6 -12, is by far the best of the six's and is professionally designed. It has large greens with lots of contours in and around the greens and rolls around some huge sandhills with each hole separate from other.
The Clubhouse six is the original layout built in 1924 and needs a renovation. The time I got to the last six (Clubhouse) the wind had got up more which gave some of the holes a bit of a bite.
Although the layouts are all different in structure, the green surfaces were pretty consistent throughout but the Dunes greens are a lot more challenging. A missed green on the Dunes layout, presented a tricky pitch/chip into the green. The changes between the six's is quite dramatic, and playing the Clubhouse six last leaves you a bit underwhelmed as the Oceans and in particular the Dunes holes are so much better.
A course certainly worth playing if in the area.

Robe Golf Club
Par 70 Scratch 69 Slope 121 5334m
Green Fee $40

A few more days in Adelaide and then off to explore the Yorke and Eyre Peninsula's.

You have any particular Courses in mind on that trek?
There's not a whole lot that have Greens in that direction.
The Dunes Port Hughes
Port Augusta
Whyalla
Port Lincoln
These are the only ones. I wont count Port Pirie's synthetics and its basically dirt from Tee to those synthetics until the winter rains.

[MAZA68]

You have any particular Courses in mind on that trek?There's not a whole lot that have Greens in that direction.The Dunes Port HughesPort AugustaWhyallaPort Lincoln These are the only ones. I wont count Port Pirie's synthetics and its basically dirt from Tee to those synthetics until the winter rains.

Cheers, nothing really set in stone yet. The experience of a few sand green courses is on the agenda.

[MAZA68]

From what I know on the grapevine the club is planning to sell the land on the last 6 and build another set of dune holes to replace it. If they do that the course will probably land in the oz top 100 just in front of Lady Bay

That would be a great decision.
If I knew what the last six were like currently, I would have gone and played 7-12 again.

[MAZA68]

Surprised that you rate #10 and #12 so highly. IMO 10 is a connecting filler hole and #12 is very one dimensional due to the amount of trees that block any possibility of a risk reward. #6 is a better Par 5 and gives the player more options from tee to green.

I thought six was quite open, the biggest risk was the big arse roo in the left rough, kept well away from there!