Darius Oliver is a bright, personable and knowledgable young golf writer, whose passion for the game knows no bounds. He's played or visited all the worthwhile courses Down Under, and one suspects that Ellerston must be a cracker of a course to warrant so much attention. In the end-matter section of "Australia's Finest Golf Courses", Ellerston figures prominantly among Australian layouts in the ranking categories of various course features.
It will be fascinating to watch the marketing of this course evolve; right now in the honeymoon period, it suits to have people whisper in awe - one cannot drop a shot to par without hitting a ball. In five years, though, the owner and Greg Norman Golf Design may also share our frustration that a potential "all-world" course is not recognised as such, or worse, even known at all.
There is another issue that may ultimately influence access to Ellerston. Currently, the makeup of the Australian top-five is pretty well settled, albeit, few agree on the order. Somewhere in the mix lies Royal Melbourne (West), Kingston Heath, New South Wales, and Royal Adelaide. Variously, keen judges slip in Victoria, Metropolitan, and even RMGC (East) to round out the top-five. With a swag of new courses coming on stream, and a couple that may even threaten top-five positions, perhaps "keeping things under wraps" may not be in Ellerston's best interests, that is, if it wishes to be thought among the top-tier of Australian courses.