Ranfurlie Golf Club

Magazine Ratings

Deciding to squeeze in one last course for 2010, I traveled to the Ranfurlie course, opened in 2002, which was close to a friend I had to visit. This was originally the second course for the Amstel club, located a couple of kilometres from their original parkland style course. The original however closed around 2015.

I made a couple of mistakes this New Years Eve. The first was to go and play Royal Melbourne’s West course in the morning before coming here. How could any course be compared on its own merit after having played one of Australia’s top courses on the same day. The other was to play a second course on a day which reached 40 degrees Celsius. Due to the amount of wind that was blowing on the day, the temperature could not really be felt. Unfortunately for me there were some consequences, but more on that later.

Entrance to the Ranfurlie Golf Club

The Ranfurlie course is a links style course. It is very open with little trees and runs away from the clubhouse which overlooks the whole site. From the clubhouse views of the city are also available. Being so open exposes the course to the elements. The day I played wind was howling through the whole site, which potentially moved the ball 15 meters at minimum if blowing across the fairway.

Scorecard for Ranfurlie Golf Club

Hole 2 – 485 meter par 5

Hole 2 is a 485 meter par 5, with a downhill tee shot. The fairway is fairly expansive but has a bunker which longer hitters may reach. With the wind blowing into your face this is a true par 5 requiring three shots to reach the uphill green, which slopes from back to front. A par into the wind will be well deserved.

Another of my favourites on the course was Hole 5. this 383 meter par 4 is the hardest hole on the course. There is plenty of landing area on the fairway but bunkers are left and right. The second shot is uphill to the large two tiered green, which slopes back to front. Hitting the right tier is essential otherwise two putts are not guaranteed.

8th Hole – Par 5 – approach to the green

View from the tee – the 9th Par 4 hole, 348 meters

Hole 9 was my pick of the course. At 348 meters this par 4 hole was quite scenic and challenging. The fairway has two large trees to play through or around, with a bunker not far behind the left hand tree. Playing right brings thick rough into play as well as some swampland. The approach shot is uphill towards the clubhouse, to a raised green angled at 45 degrees. A great finishing hole for the first 9.

Flag blowing in the howling wind – clubhouse in the background

So with heat now starting to take its toll on me, more cramps occurring when hitting the driver, I decided I would play the 16th as my last hole, which would make my finish close to the clubhouse. Having hit the ball off the tee I suffered a slight cramp to the stomach, something I had never experienced before. I was not sure if a muscle had been pulled, but knew that was the last shot of the day. Gingerly making my way to the clubhouse, the local professional suggested I had suffered a case of heat stroke. He had seen my wife come in after I was violently ill, suggesting to keep a close eye.

After returning to my friends house close by, severe cramping started in the stomach and legs, forcing me to lay flat for a while. Keeping the fluid intake going it was decided I should go to hospital. Unfortunately I could not stand due to cramps setting in, with the thought of trying to get into a car and suffering cramps where I could stretch, I was not moving anywhere. An ambulance was called, but due to not being an emergency, a six hour wait was incurred, along with many calls from the ambulance service to ensure everything was still OK.

Finally arriving to hospital at around 4am, I was put on to a drip to replenish fluids and pain killers administered to stop the pains from the cramping. I must thank the Victorian Ambulance service and the Berrick Hospital for their assistance, as they did a great job and also the Club Professional at Ranfurlie ensuring that I was ok. The lesson learnt was not to play two games in one day when it is 40 degrees. I will certainly be more aware in the future to ensure fluid intake is at a maximum.

Hole 13 from the tee – 397 meter par 4

Overall my thoughts on the course, it was in a pretty good condition. The fairways well looked after, the greens in good condition. My two biggest criticism would be of the bunkers, which was justified as the local pro had told me that rain had been consistently washing the sand away. Predominantly I found them to have quite hard compacted sand, so play out was not so consistent.

The other problem was that most of the holes seemed the same. Due to the layout being mostly flat it seemed like playing the same hole over an over, with the exception of a few which really stood out. If the wind had not been so strong, I feel the slogan ‘The True Challenge’, would not be that big a challenge at all.

13th Green – The clubhouse can be seen from all corners of the course

To gain access to play Ranfurlie:

1. Most days except Thursday and Saturday are available at restricted times (not sure if you need to be a member of a club
2. Interstate or Overseas visitors
3. Play with an Ranfurlie Club member