With the year 2015 coming to a close, I have managed to reach my target of 75 courses played from the Australian Top 100 Golf course list produced by Australian Golf Digest.
There were some great highlights to the year playing 15 courses in all. The majority of these were in Victoria and South Australia. Starting out the year was the completion of the Melbourne Sandbelt courses, playing at Royal Melbourne Golf Club East Course. I was extremely impressed with half of the course, however found it a bit lacking on the outer block. Can see why the composite course is so good now, which I hope to play one day in the future.
Elanora Country Club 18th Hole
Another standout course was Elanora Country Club. Having now moved away from NSW I had the opportunity of playing as an interstate guest. Located in the hills above the Northern Sydney beach area, this is one not to be missed.
Royal Adelaide Golf Club 11th Hole
October saw a trip to South Australia, to play their big five. Without doubt Royal Adelaide Golf Club was the highlight and certainly justifies its place in the Top 10. This has inspired me to set a little project to complete all the Royal clubs in Australia. Another standout on the trip was Kooyonga Golf Club. Some fantastic holes over this layout, although a slight routing change would make it even better.
The National Golf Club Ocean Course – Hole 1
To finish off the year I managed to catch-up with an old acquaintance Harry, at The National Golf Club Ocean Course. With likely changes down the track with Tom Doak being assigned to review the course, it was a great opportunity to see what the course was like in its current state. A few times I have come in after changes have been made at courses and having to rely on other persons explaining the previous layout. So hopefully this won’t be the case. I have heard The National are aiming to have all four of their courses reach Top 20 status in the future.
Waterford Valley Golf 13th hole
There were also a few visits to other courses through the year, which may not rate in the Top 100. These include Kingston Links Golf Club, Waterford Valley, Hidden Valley, Heidelberg Golf Club and my old home of North Ryde Golf Club. I had a great time catching up with my old group, but also seeing the changes implemented by James Wilcher the previous year. These have now fully grown in and make an exceptional change to the course. There was a lot of angst when this was put to the members, but most now fully enjoy the modifications.
I hope you have all had a great year, with some memorable times on the golf course and have a safe time during the holidays.
