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jonathan_becker

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Winter playing conditions in Australia.... New
« on: June 23, 2009, 12:50:17 PM »
Ok....here's the deal.  In 2010, I will be turning 30 years old and to celebrate (or mourn) this event in my life, I am leaning towards traveling down under to play all the Melbourne greats in July or August.  After searching through many old threads, I've found lots of info on summertime conditions in Oz, but nothing really about wintertime.  I know that the normal highs are in the 50s, which is fine by me as I live in NE Ohio, but I don't know how the turf normally plays during these months.

So, my question is does the turf in Melbourne still play on the firm side during the winter months, or am I looking towards an all-carry situation?  Do the greens slow down during this period or can I still look to be putting balls into the bunkers?  Finally, is it going to be too cold to go to Barnbougle or should I wait for a warmer trip?  

I'm calling for the Aussie contingent and any others with first-hand experience to help fill me in !  Thanks in advance for the input.

Edit - going to Bandon in 2010.  This trip will have to wait another year.






« Last Edit: January 16, 2010, 05:20:18 PM by jonathan becker »

Matthew Rose

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #1 on: June 23, 2009, 05:05:30 PM »

In Melbourne in June and July, you can expect daytime temperatures around 55* F, more or less. Once in awhile you'll get lucky and get a nice sunny day pushing 70. If the wind is out of the north, generally you may get a pleasant sunny day with cold nights, sort of like a desert climate. If the wind blows out of the south, you might get something resembling Scotland. I found that a 55 degree day there feels colder than a 55 degree day in the US, mainly due to the wind. It really had a bite to it.

You may want to go earlier rather than later... the 7 years I spent there, it seemed as if it rained more as you got later into the cold season. August and September seemed like the dreariest months to me.

I played Commonwealth in early July one year and I found it still to be rock hard. To this day they still might be the slickest greens I've ever seen.

There has been, and still is in most places, a rather bad drought which has been occurring for years (hence the fires) and pretty much everywhere you go there are stiff water usage restrictions in place. So most clubs will only water the bare minimum (tees, greens, approach areas, clubs with higher budgets may water fairways sparingly).

I've never been to Tasmania but everyone says it is absolutely freezing that time of year. Of course, the locals generally grab the gloves and scarves the moment the temperature drops under 60, so it's all relative.


American-Australian. Trackman Course Guy. Fatalistic sports fan. Drummer. Bass player. Father. Cat lover.

David_Elvins

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #2 on: June 23, 2009, 11:37:51 PM »
One problem with the Melbourne courses is that they have bermuda fairways that they don't oversow.  So the dormant fairways can look and play a bit average.  THe weather is variable all times of year so how playable they are comes down to luck.  THe wind also starts to get up at the end of August too which I think is more of a problem that Barnbougle than the cold mornings.  

March to May and November-December are the ideal times IMO but the others are definetly doable.  Whenenver you play, luck will come into it.  

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James Bennett

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2009, 04:37:50 AM »
Would you travel to Scotland in May to play golf?  The weather will probably be better in Melbourne in July and August.  There will be showers, cold winds and sunny times, all within an afternoon.  But, ideal for a game of golf.

Spring has been the wetter time for Melbourne (Winter does rain, but Spring more so).  Not New York-type downpours, but it does rain.

If it is a wet winter (10% to 20% chance) then it will be heavy going, otherwise it will be ok for firm and fastish golf.  With tight lies and greyish, dormant fairways.

Re Tasmania - note David Elvins comments.

If you want to check the typical weather, go to www.bom.gov.au and look up Melbourne.

James B
Bob; its impossible to explain some of the clutter that gets recalled from the attic between my ears. .  (SL Solow)

Matthew Delahunty

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2009, 08:57:59 AM »
Jonathan,

If the recent trend in Melbourne for below average rainfall continues, you're likely to get very good conditions on your trip.  Melbourne has been in the grip of a drought for 8-10 years.  The fairways do go dormant in the winter but we haven't had soft, muddy conditions for many years.

I would say June is usually the pick of the winter months, but if you come in late August you may get some nice days in the high teens (celsius). July and August usually bring the highest rainfall and coldest conditions.

jonathan_becker

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2009, 09:04:35 AM »
Thanks for the informative posts thus far.  Ideally, I would love to play there in the summer, but my travel companions can only go in July or August.  It sounds like the equivalent of playing golf in January in North Carolina....a complete roll of the dice.  My winter NC trips are have been either 45 and windy or 75 and sunny.

Mike_Clayton

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2009, 12:00:59 PM »
Barnbougle is the best conditioned course at that time of the year because it is all fescue.
The Melbourne courses still play well -  but they look their best in March.
The weather is fine - you can get bad days but nothing to stop you from playing - and it is no worse than it was Wales last week in the middle of summer!

Josh Stevens

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #7 on: June 24, 2009, 05:20:22 PM »
I saw a comment that melbourne fairways are bermuda, I cant be sure, but i suspect you may find that are various strains of cooch, with the greens being something like santa ana or poa.

Melbourne is a reasonably mediteranean climate, meaning cold wet winters and hot dry summers  in general, although it can be variable (Perth and Adelaide are more reliably mediteranean).  This means that in the depths of winter the grass is dormant and so the fairways can look rather scratchy as divots do not repair very quickly.  Playability however really depends on the rain - how much and how recent.  The sandbelt, as the name suggests, drains fairly well, so unless you have had recent torrential rain, the better courses should be reasonably firm, but are still not going to be as firm or fast as summer.

If you are lucky with the rain it should be ok, but the later you can leave it the nicer it gets, with Sept/OCt being the best as grass growth has kicked back in.  It will be ok, but July August is not ideal - Melbourne is a rather grey place that time of year, and Tassie is just plain cold.
The courses of Adelaide and Perth play better as they are sandier than Melborne and the weather is not so horrid

Mike_Clayton

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2009, 03:24:01 AM »
Josh,

Couch and Bermuda are basically the same thing.
Santa- ana is a couch (fairway) grass used at many courses including Kingston Heath,Victoria and Metropolitan.
Yarra Yarra has poa greens but almost all of the rest of the sandbelt courses have bent grass greens.
Given that Melbourne has been in drought since 1997 - it is hard to suggest visitors should worry about rain. We wish it would rain and get the water storages in the city above 29%.

Danny Goss

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Re: Winter playing conditions in Australia....
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2009, 06:30:02 AM »


Given that Melbourne has been in drought since 1997 - it is hard to suggest visitors should worry about rain. We wish it would rain and get the water storages in the city above 29%.


Agree with Mike here. It doesnt really rain much any more so dont worry too much about that. Winter temperatures during the day are ranging between 12 to 16 degrees or therabouts now so not too cold for golf at all.

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