Ian, Neil, Min & myself headed out to St Andrews Beach on a day that didn’t look too promising at all. Although we were looking forward to playing a course ranked in the top 10 in Australia, the weather wasn’t playing fair

The day was windy & wet, at one point during the round we were pummled by hail stones, nearly blown off our feet, drowned in a down pour & bathed in sunshine. We had the lot. It wasn’t the worst conditions that I have ever played in but it came close.

The course was surprising right from the carpark. Maybe I built it up a little too much in mind before we got there, but compared to other courses around the same area it is understated to say the least. The clubhouse is just a small shop with a marque style balcony out the front for the 19th hole. Nothing wrong with it, it does the job, but I was expecting along the same lines as Cape Shanck or Eagle Ridge.

The course was along the same lines as the clubhouse. Maybe I was expecting too much. The course was challanging & to quote the Club Pro “Not for beginners”. It is a wide open Links style course where you get punished from vering off the fairways. The greens were fantastic, a consistant speed on all of the them & they run true. From a distance (i.e. the tee) they look a lot bigger than the actually are. The bunkers are placed in perfect positions to catch your ball. Min found himself in a number of bunker, it was out of the ordinary when he went a hole without landing in one The quality of the bunkers was great, the sand was great, this made even more impressive considering the amout of rain the we had prior to our round.

There wasn’t a stand out a hole, one that you would consider a signature hole. Most were nothing special to look at but there were a couple that looked brilliant. The 18th was a great way to finish the round.

Ian had a new set of clubs that he was trying out for the first time so he was a little wayward. Neil was up & down but he was the first to get a par & the only one to grab a birdie. This was Min first hit since Werribie but he hit some wonderful drives. My game was like Neils, up & down but I did have a purple patch in the middle with 4 straight pars. This was offset but the 9, the 8 & the 7

All up the day was a little dissapointing, mostly caused by the weather. It’s not a course I would rush back to play

I’ve add some photos that we took. You can check them out here

Ian Neil & myself all have next Monday (16th of August) off work & are planning on heading out to St Andrews Beach (website here). We are booked in for 3 but there is a spare spot for one person or you can book a group around the same time as ours. The tee time is 11:06 & the cost is $69 each, which includes the cost of a ride on cart.

Leave a comment or send me an email if you are interested in joining us.

Cheers

Cary

We headed up to Broadford on Sunday for a hit with the RSL. We were supposed to play at Mt Durmit but they put their prices up & it was a little too much for the RSL. 

We played a different format this time, one is wasn’t familiar with. American Foursomes. The way it works is you both tee off, your partner plays your second shot & you play his. Then you choose a ball to play & alternate until the ball is in the hole. Puts a little bit more pressure on your shots knowing someone else will have a play the results of each of your shot As it happens I dragged Bob down to my level of play & we proceeded to 3 putt (& a 4 putt) our way around the course. Neil & Jimmy on the other hand blitz’s the comp, coming in with a net 59 to win by about 7 shots

 It was a cool start to the day, 2 degrees on the first tee, but the day turned pretty nice. The sun even came out a couple of time

Haven’t had a hit in a couple of weeks, it’s been too cold. I’m hoping the weather will clear up just a little over the next couple of weekends because I’m hanging to get back out again.

The morning didn’t start well. Sitting in the RSL carpark at 6:15 in the morning, it’s raining & it’s freezing, & I’m thinking to myslef “What the hell are we doing????. We must be out of our minds”. When we got to Heathcote it was all good. The sun was out & there wasn’t a breath of wind, still cold but a lot more bearable than Epping. The course was in pretty good nick. The greens were surprisling fast. I though with the amount of dew & frost in same cases that they would be slow, but no. I had a couple of shocking holes, I finsihed with a 9 on one hole after putting my tee shot out of bounds & then following that up with one under a shrub. I had 3 3 putts on the front but some how managered to come in with 18 putts for the front 37 in total. The best putts for the day was an amazing 25. It was a good day out at a nice country course

Just got back from a 3 week holiday in Thailand. Had a ball seeing the sights, shopping & spending the day at the swim up pool bar drinking Chang’s In amongst all of this we found time for a round of golf. I would have liked to play more courses but at 200 bucks a pop each we left it one. The course we played was Loch Palm just out side of Phuket. You can check out their website here. A beautiful course with a heap of water holes on the front 9. The back 9 was closer to the mountain but still challenging. For your $200 you get a set of Taylor Made hire clubs, separate buggies & a caddie. My caddie didn’t like me to much, it might have had something to do with the red shirt I was wearing Were Neils caddie would drive him down the fairway & let him drop his ball where he crossed into the water, my caddie made me play from the drop zone, a good 100-150 metres behind Neil Neil’s caddie also helped him out on the greens, telling him where to putt the ball, mine just stood off to the side . 

Raelene played her first 18 holes & we might have a new convert  All up it was a gorgeous course, but boy was it hot. We tee’d off at 8 in the morning & it was all ready sweltering. Even in carts we were dripping in sweat. A couple of ice cold towels at the drink stops that are set up at a lot of the tee’s came in handy. 

Neil took some great photo’s, except for one see if you can pick which one  You can check them out here

Headed out to Craigiburn on Sunday with the RSL. Yet again it was blowing a gale. I don’t think I have ever played here without wind & I’m not sure if I will be heading back

My mood wasn’t helped by my first hole which I finished with a 9 with 5 putts. 5 FRIGGIN PITTS I had another 9 on the par 5 4th on was thinking about chucking it in at the turn.  Thankfully I didn’t sooking like a little girl & mangered to pull myself together. I finshed the day with a few pars & a birdie on the 18th with a net round of 76.

Popped out to Bundoora after work on Friday & played the 9. I haven’t been out here for a couple of years & I was pleasantly surprised. The fairways are fantastic, the last time I was out here the were awful which is why it has been so long since a visit.

Aftyer playing the front 9 I’m keen to get back out there & see if the back is just as good

Neil, Stan, Min & myself went out & had a hit a Werribee on the weekend. The weather didn’t look too crash hot early on but I’m glad we didn’t pull the pin Min took a wrong turn & got to the course a little late, thankfully he managered to catch up to us. A bit of luck that the 2 tees (the one we were playing & the one Min was playing) were so close together. It’s been a while since I have played Werribee & it was Neil & Min’s first time. Neil was impressed & is talking about going back out again. I have added more photos to the original lot here. There are some nice holes at the course, there is a river that runs along a couple of holes. One of the best looking views is the 14th green. The fairways & the greens were in great condition. A couple of things to keep in mind. We couldn’t get on course until after 2 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, it is members only until then, this isn’t an issue during daylight savings but in winter you will have buckleys of finishing 18 holes before it gets dark. They also charge you $2 for the use of a sand bucket, this is a first for me. It’s not an option, they just charge you the 2 bucks when you pay your green fees & hand you a bucket. I’m not sure if you get your $2 back if you give them the bucket back at the end of the round because the pro shop was closed when we finished up.

All up we had a good day, nice course & great company. I hope Min enjoyed his first hit with us & will be back soon.

We are heading out to Werribee on Saturday the 27th of Feb. We have booked in for 2 groups but it’s a late start. We couldn’t get a tee time before 2 in the afternoon. There are still a couple of spaces left so left me know by email or leave a comment here if you want to join us

Cheers

Cary