Back in the ‘bad old days’ of the early 80’s, a few stalwarts and myself formed the Northern Territory Police Golf Club and started sending a team away to the Australian Police Golf Championships. [APGC] The hosting of the APGC’s rotates through the various States and Territories annually and the format is; a four ball ‘warm-up’ on the first day and three eighteen hole stroke rounds to complete the week. The host state generally provides the best courses available to them as the venues for the four days of competition. Some hundred or so years ago, or so it seems, I ventured off to my first national Championship in Perth and in doing so started something which has taken until now [Dec. 2001] to complete. The annual pilgrimage continues, Tassie again in 2002.
In 1986, back when I could play this game a bit, a group of ten guys from DGC started making a fortnightly deposit into a ‘slush fund’ to finance traveling to Melbourne for the Bicentennial Classic at Royal Melbourne and playing some ‘different’ golf courses for at the time we in the N.T. had two only full 18 hole championship courses, 1500 kilometres apart. The Darwin Golf Club, a Thompson Woolvridge designed course at Marrara. The other, Alice Springs Golf Club, a fabulous layout in the desert with the Macdonnell Ranges as a backdrop. [which, at the time of writing has been elevated to join the current top 100.] In this light, it was my custom that on each occasion I ventured ‘down south’ I wrote or phoned ahead and sought a hit on one or more of the better courses in the areas to which we traveled.
In 1988 it came to pass that eight of us eventually made the trip to the Bicentennial Classic. We were domiciled at Patterson River Golf Club [Vic.] which boasted ‘rustic’ accommodation in those days. My portfolio prior to departing was arranging a game on as many of the revered ‘sand belt’ courses as we could fit in during the period of our stay. We managed a hit on some of the best including; Commonwealth, Keysborough, Kingston Heath, Kingswood, Long Island, Patterson River, [where we stayed] Southern, Victoria and Woodlands. A round each morning and attendance at Royal each afternoon for the week as spectators at the Bicentennial Classic.
In 1989 my good wife bought me the excellent book by Tom Ramsay, Discover Australia’s Golf Courses. It included an index; a list of courses described as the ‘traveler’s guide’. In making this purchase, ’she who must be obeyed’ inadvertently created a Monster!. I found myself ticking off the courses I had been fortunate enough to play whenever I traveled interstate.
The March 1998 edition of the Australian Golf Digest included a list of the Top 100 Golf Courses in Australia. On receipt, I found that I had played no less than 57 from that list. Now, that aforementioned monster was really alive and well. Over the next 12 months or so I engineered two ‘business’ and one ‘pleasure’ trips south and was able to cross off a few more of the 100 in NSW and Victoria.
In 1999 I started on my retirement, after 27 years in the Northern Territory Police Force, intent on pursuing my other penchant, barramundi fishing. To this end we bought a caravan [ironically, a Golf Brand] hooked it behind the Toyota Wagon with the ‘tinnie’ on the roof and headed out of Darwin to address the serious end of my time here, golfin and fishin…. Well, two and a bit years and eighty thousand kilometers later we had experienced some fantastic fishin in every corner of Australia and ticked off another fifteen or twenty of the top 100. There was just one small hiccough during this trip; I had just hit a drive down the thirteenth [lucky for some] at the Gold Coast Country Club when I went ‘leg up’ with a heart attack. We got through this OK. Thank god. There remained eleven of the infamous 100 still to go.
The next trip ‘south’ was several months traveling down the east coast via the Gulf of Carpentaria for a spot of fishing, then south, where we participated in the 2001 Vets C’ships at Bribie Island, then on to Sydney. During this trip I ticked off the last course as per the 1998 AGD Top 100.
At time of writing I have played in total, 234 different courses, in every State and Territory. My tireless wife has played some and caddied on many of these and I would be remiss if I didn’t formally acknowledge her support. However, henceforth, she is banned from buying golf books. I never want to see the 2002 or subsequent editions of our top 100 courses. As can be imagined, the mind boggles at the distances traveled and cost of playing those fabulous courses.
Among many, one memorable ‘hit’ was at Killara GC in Sydney. Here I was made more than welcome. When it was learned that Killara was all but the last of the 100 I was slotted into a midweek members comp. with a great group including a ‘character’ who was an avid fisherman. He nattered virtually non stop about fishing for eighteen holes at the conclusion of which I signed his card for a 64 off the stick. God alone knows what it might have been if he’d been concentrating on his round.
The most frequently asked question; “Well, which do you consider the best?” – We are privileged to have such an array of fabulous courses, particularly along the revered sand belt in Melbourne, the strip of coastline just out of Sydney and the many, many others dispersed around the country. Nothing is far in front of the grand master, Royal Melbourne, however my preference, possibly because I had a great round there is the classic and revered Kingston Heath. For pure aesthetics; I consider that great links course at Barwon Heads in Victoria is as good as it gets.
Our sport forms one of the biggest ‘clubs’ on earth and the fraternity which is the golfer are, virtually without exception, ‘great people’. The esprit-de-corps, sportsmanship, friendships and plain good company encountered has been a particular highlight of the journey. To the many wonderful people I have encountered during this odyssey; many thanks for your friendship and hospitality.
There are numerous instances of playing some of the more exclusive courses. Suffice to say, I gained access to many of the better courses and must say that the hospitality of both members and or management at these clubs was excellent and greatly appreciated.
Possibly the second most asked question has been; “How did you manage to get on all those courses?” I found that to write or call ahead and make a formal request the preferable approach. And, to abide by the local protocols, dress and act appropriately and in virtually every instance, I have been invited back to play again.
I remain an avid reader of the Digest, however the biannual edition which contains the updated list of Australia’s top 100 courses is banned in our home. Completing the 98 list was indeed enough. Sincerely, it has been fantastic and I do commend this existence to any like-minded enthusiast.
Chris Croker
DARWIN, Dec. 2001.