RJ,
I enjoyed reading about your trip. I don't know what it is about our brethren Down Under, but somehow the golf becomes less important than the human element.
My favorite memory of my trip was standing on a tee at Barnbougle with David Kelly and mentioning how the course wasn't so out of the way. David looked at me like I was nuts and said, "you're in Tasmania"!!!!
Ace,
You have to make the trip down once. You just have to trust all of us on this one. Fly to LA, hang with you buddy for a few days and then fly down. You arrive in the morning and keep moving and as others have said you won't miss a beat. Leave 3 days when you come home to recover. It is SO worth it!!