Address: 350 K Road , Werribee, Victoria, 3030
http://www.werribeeparkgolf.com.au/
Number of holes: 18
19th Hole: Yes (from the clubhouse)
Motorised Carts: Limited availability
Cost:
9 — $16 / 18 — $24 (weekday)
9 — $16 / 18 — $28 (weekend)
On Sunday, Cary, Michael and I ventured down to Werribee Park to play 18 holes. Whilst the course was in fantastic condition for this time of year with lush fairways and perfect greens, conditions were very tough. Once again, Melbourne’s weather had a big influence on our round, with tropical and humid conditions. By the 8th hole, we were all struggling to keep going. Thankfully, the small kiosk on the 10th tee was open and we were able to get some respite from the heat and put some much needed fluids back into the body. It also saved us from walking back to the clubhouse, which is a decent walk up a steep track from the 9th green.
I haven’t got any notes from the round, and Cary still has the score card, so my memory of the course layout and some of the better holes is a little sketchy. We’ll probably need to play here again to do a more comprehensive review. Overall, I liked the course. It’s quite a long course and is situated on a bluff down by the river bed, and as a result the there is some interesting landscape — mostly a mixture of river flats, steep rises and undulating fairways. The course is located not too far from the Pt Cook RAAF base and we witnessed a couple of fly-buys from a squadron of jets, and a couple of bi-planes. A bit distracting, but nevertheless, a pretty awesome sight. Despite being alongside the river, there is no real danger of going into the water unless you go really wayward. There is however, plenty of sand traps, some of them as sheer as the surrounding cliffs.
One particular hole that sticks in my mind is the Par 5 16th. Coming off the back of a short Par 3 at the 15th, the 16th is a lonnnnnnng hole, and for someone who does not hit the ball all that far (like me), this type of hole are always a bit of a struggle. In the middle of a really wide fairway is the hollow trunk of an old gum tree. What are the odds of hitting it? Fairly low one would think, but — you guessed it — I managed to smack my second shot straight into it, sending my ball not that far from where it started! I jagged a 10ft putt, which fortunately made my score for the hole respectable.
At the end of the day, none of us really set the world on fire with our scores, but it was neck and neck for most of the day, with Cary ending up a couple of shots clear in the end on 99. Michael and I both finished with a 102 — a couple of shots shy of where I really wanted to be, but I’ve been pretty consistent around the 100-105 mark for the last couple of rounds, which I’m really pleased with. Now to get them sub 100!
[Note to self]: Need to figure out a better method for capturing course information/notes. Perhaps a phone with camera/voice recorder capability? Could perhaps use the voice recording to create podcasts?
[Update]: Cary has just posted our photos from the round.
I was really struggling. I didn’t think I would make it through 18 holes. It was worth it though. It was a really nice course, you just need to ignore the smell that wafts accross the fairways occasionally ; )