[ed_getka]

   I plan on making my first trip down to Australia and environs a little over a year from now. I plan to see 7 courses in approx. 10 days, so I am making a survey of what you guys would recommend. Please prioritize your recommendations?
   Also, are there many courses that allow more than 18 holes for your green fee?
   Another GCA'er would like to join me on this trip. Is two golfers going to be a problem to arrange for golf? Would I be better off traveling as a single?
    Any and all suggestions will be most welcome.
   

[Jason Topp]

Ed:

Have a great trip.  Mine was special.  Matt Cohn's In My Opinion Piece is the place to start.

How to plan:

I booked it myself with advice from people on the site.  I decided first an itinerary for cities and then filled in the golf. Getting access to the private courses was pretty easy as long as you are a member of a private club.  If you are not, I would either book through a tour operator or ask the Australians on the site for advice.

Australia is so large that you probably will want to fly between locations.  In 10 days, I think it would be tough to go to Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania and New Zealand.  You would spend all of your time travelling.  

I would make sure and give yourself ample time in Melbourne and then pick one or two other destinations from there.  I would recommend 2 days in Tasmania, 5-7 days in Melbourne and 1-3 days in Sydney.  During your Melbourne stay, I would consider taking the drive along the Great Ocean Road to either Port Fairy or Adelaide.

For golf, I played

Royal Melbourne West
Kingston Heath
Woodlands

Barnbougle - $100 AUD for all day.  I played 36 by 2 in the afternoon.

New South Wales
Newcastle

All were terrific.  If I had more opportunity to play, I would have added:

Royal Adelaide
Portsea
Royal Melbourne East
As many of the other sandbelt courses as I could (Commonwealth, Victoria, Yarra Yarra, Metropolitan)
St. Andrews Beach

The sandbelt courses are so close together that they are probably all within 15 minutes of each other.

For accomodations, consider staying at Victoria.  They have a great deal that includes golf and lodging.  I stayed at the Novatel St. Kilda which was very enjoyable.


I have a folder of links that would be useful for you.  If I can figure out an easy way to transfer them, I will send them.

Here are threads I was involved with.  Also be sure and look up Phillip Gawith's posts.  He has photo tours of all the courses I visited plus several others.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21356;start=msg388095#msg388095

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21344;start=msg386991#msg386991

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21294;start=msg385559#msg385559

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21189;start=msg385226#msg385226

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=21245;start=msg384496#msg384496

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16261;start=msg283617#msg283617

http://publishing.kyneton.net.au/barnbougle/

[Jason Topp]

Ed - I booked my golf as a single and it was not a problem.

[Tom Huckaby]

I just feel bad for the fellow GCAer who is hanging on pins and needles waiting to see it Ed lets him tag along or not, based on what advice Ed gets in here.

 

Sorry Ed, couldn't help it.  You are so fun to pick on.

 

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

Ed,
I had 12 days and saw NSW, RM, KH, Comm., Metro, St. Andrews Beach, National Moonah and old, Moonah Links, Barbougle, Royal Adelaide, Hope Island and the Glades.

I had two days in Sydney without golf, 1 day in Adelaide and one day in Melbourne. I would skip the gold coast, but you can easily do Syd, Mel, Adl and Tasmania in one trip. The sandbelt courses are close together (KH/Comm & RM/Vic) practically border.

Adelaide was a pleasant surprise and I am happy I did not skip it as so many people do.

BCD

[ed_getka]

Thanks for the replies so far, except you Huckaby . The thing that would be most useful to me is for you guys to prioritize the order of courses you would see, if you were going for the first time, knowing what you know now.
   I don't have a private club membership, but how important would that be? I was under the impression that Australia was more like the UK model, of making requests ahead of time.
   With regards to prioritizing courses, I prefer courses that are heavy on the fun and quirky. Championship/US Open style courses just give this 12 handicap a headache.
    Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks at Callippe Tom.

[David_Elvins]

Ed,

Ben's list is covers all the essentials.  Woodlands, Victoria and Yarra Yarra in Melbourne, Portsea and Peninsula on the Mornington Peninsula and 13th Beach and Barwon Heads on the Bellarine Peninisula are others on roughly the same level as Metro, Moonah Links, Commonwealth.

Portsea and Peninsula are less well known but there are new photos up on www.claytongolf.com.au (broadband reccomended) with more to be added soon.  Portsea in particular seems to fit your criteria of shortish and quirky.  It is great fun.

THe clubhouses at Peninsula, Victoria and Barwon Heads all offer excellent accomodation in the heart of the action.

[Andrew Summerell]

Ed,

Make your first stop Melbourne. Play Royal Melbourne West (& East if you have time) & Kingston Heath definitely. If you have time Commonwealth, Woodlands, Victoria, Metropolitan & Peninsula (North) are worth a hit. You probably won’t have time to check out the Mornington Peninsula, but National (Moonah), Portsea & St Andrew’s Beach are the ones you would want a game at.

From Melbourne you can catch a flight straight to the city of Newcastle & play Newcastle Golf Club. I’m a member at Newcastle if you need a guided tour. It’s a 2 hour drive down to Sydney to play New South Wales, which I would suggest you play on a Friday as it will be easier to get on. There is nothing else in Sydney worth playing.

From Sydney you can fly direct to Launceston & drive up to Bridport, stay overnight & play 36 at Barnbougles the next day. From Launceston you can fly to Adelaide or Christchurch, although, Adelaide would be less time consuming than New Zealand & probably advisable for the short amount of time you have.

Andrew

[James Bennett]

Ed

It is surprising what Virgin Blue airlines can do (similar model to South-West).  I have given similar advice to other GCA'ers, although I don't know if they necessarily follow my advice!

Melbourne is an excellent base.  From there, you can drive down to the sandbelt, mornington peninsual and across the bay to the bellarine peninsula.  You can also fly quite cheaply to Newcastle (Stockton/Newcastle GC)/ Sydney (NSW GC 20 mins away)/ Launceston (Barnbouglr 60 mins away) and Adelaide (RA/Kooyonga/Glenelg/Grange West and East all less than 20 minutes away).  Ideally, you would fly to Newcastle and play, drive down to Sydney (90 minutes) and see the harbourt, play at NSW then drive nearby to the airport (20 minutes) and return to Melbourne. That way, you have a good base, and no flight over about 90 minutes to see the golf you might want to see.

I think Ben Dewar described Adelaide accurately (my home town).  Easy to leave off an itinerary when competing with Sydeny and Melbourne (and even Tasmania with Barnbougle - that place must be good ), but, if you do visit, you will be very happy and pleasantly surprised that you did.  The town is best described as a sleeper, in more ways than one.

In Adelaide, RA is the stand-out.  After that it depends on your prefernce for condition vs architecture.  Condition varies from month to month, but architecture doesn't.  Kooyonga is lovely with wonderful undulating ground.  Glenelg is also very good with outstanding presentation currently (a decade of changes was completed recently).  Grange was of high quality but is going through some rebuild.  This will be compelet in november 2007, prior to the Eisenhower Cup and Espirito Santo being played there in 2008 (the Eisenhower is co-hosted by Hrange West with RA).

Of course, Australian bush and wine country is very close to Adelaide (and the other citiies, although the wine is of a lower quality IMO).  Depends on your entourage what the itinerary should be.

Whatever you do, you will enjoy.  Don't worry about the bits you miss, what you see will stay with you a lifetime.  You can always visit again!

James B

[Jonathan Cummings]

On a plane 2 weeks from today to play 16 courses there all listed above.  I had my trip professionally set up and after years of setting up mine and other trips to Ire/Sco - I haven't regretted it one bit!  JC

[Andrew Summerell]

Shivas,

Yarra Yarra is named after the names given to each nine. Alex Russell named the front 9 Yarra & thought the name sounded so good he would name the back 9 Yarra as well.

He had help from his brother Darrell & his other brother Darrell.

[Ben Cowan-Dewar]

Ed,
If I was you and had ten days and was not sure I was going back soon, I would route it as follows. This is a condensed version of the trip we book.

D1- Leave Cali
D3 - Arrive early in Sydney and take in the city, it is wonderful.
D4 - Play NSW early and have the rest of the day in the city
D5 - Early flight to Adelaide (this is your longest inter-country flight, but you gain an hour, so it really only 2 hours) and play RA that afternoon.
D6 - Early flight to Melbourne and drive down to Mornington, play SAB in the afternoon.
D7 - Play 2 courses at National (Old and Moonah) and drive to Melbourne.
D8 - KH and COMM, they are literally a mile apart and easy walks, so you can play 36
D9 - RMW, play the VIC in the afternoon if you want, otherwise relax
D10 - Morning flight to Barnbougle, play in the afternoon
D11 - Play following morning and fly home via Sydney.

Trying to get New Zealand in such a short itinerary is a waste.

My trip may seem busy, but you have time in Sydney to both get adjusted and see the city, which is great. You can obviously delete anything you wish, but COMM or Vic would be my early suggestions. Not because I think they are far worse than National's two courses, but if you are going down to see SAB, you should definitely get to the National (they are also close) and the deal to play 36 holes is great and I love the Moonah course. Plus, you will get a cart for the Old, so it will be a good day to play 36.

Do not miss -
NSW - Far exceeded my expectations and the only really worth candidate in the city.
RMW - One of the truly greatest courses.
Barnbougle - Superlatives don't do it justice
RA - DO NOT SKIP RA, everyone who does has missed a truly world 100 layout and chances are that you are not going to take a trip back to Adelaide anytime soon (unless you are also addicted to wine)
KH - Although I think its perch at World 20 is high, the course is an absolute must.

PM me if you have any questions!

[PThomas]

Ed - since T DOak and I think Jeff Brauer have said the RM might be the best course in the world, does that make it a must play??

make sure you take lots of pics.....I also want to get there someday!

[ed_getka]

Thanks for the advice guys, I am starting to get a very good sense of what to try and do. Don't worry with recommendations about me wearing out or covering too much ground. When I am on vacation, without the kids and wife, and golf clubs in tow, I am the energizer bunny.
   One other thing, my other great passion besides golf is being out in nature, so I really don't care to see anything in a city, but if I am going to spend one day in nature, where should I go?
    What is so prohibitive about flying over to New Zealand?
Shivas,
   I will make a point of getting a hat for you.
Paul,
   No need for me to take pictures, I just look at the David Scaletti pix which are far superior to anything I'll be able to do.
   
   

[James Bennett]

  One other thing, my other great passion besides golf is being out in nature, so I really don't care to see anything in a city, but if I am going to spend one day in nature, where should I go?
     
   

Well, for a truly natural experience (no, not nudism) you could go across to Kangaroo Island, an hours drive south of Adelaide, then an hour on the ferry across Backstairs Passage.  If I was in Sydney, I'd probably go up to the Blue Mountains, about 90 minutes west of Sydney.

James B

[Chris Kane]

Ed, I'm not sure how strict the clubs are about the private club requirement, but I imagine that as a minimum they'll require a handicap.

Others have made good suggestions for courses in Melbourne.  On the Peninsula, the first two to play are St Andrews Beach and Portsea (Paul Daley will agree with me), then play the Old and Moonah courses at the National.

Make sure you play NSW and Newcastle.

I'll be in Scotland when you're here, but am happy to arrange a game for you with another member at Commonwealth if you wish.

[ed_getka]

As of now I am tenatively planning to go down to Australia in April. Would any of you guys recommend a different time? My understanding is that the main golf season and tournaments are mostly over, but the courses are still in good shape before winter sets in. Am I likely to run into aeration time?

[Paul_Daley]

ED: you 'ol son of a gun!

As Chris Kane pointed out, the others have made excellent suggestions, but do try and play two courses on the Mornington Peninsula that you may not have thought about, namely, Portsea and St Andrews Beach. Also, you must slip in a game at Moonah Links (Legends Course) for it has topographical and design features not found in the many nearby courses. It also has one of the best three-hole stretches going, on the back nine. Five minutes away, The Dunes is well worth a game and do try and play a beautiful, old British-style course called Sorrento. From there, you can jump on the ferry and enjoy a 30-40 minute cruise and play at historic Barwon Heads, following a short drive. There are three courses at the coastal township of Barwon Heads and all are worth a game. If time is tight, the one to play is called Barwon Heads Golf Club. If time is not tight, you'll enjoy the 36-hole complex, Thirteenth Beach, too.  
   
You'll know all about the great courses which comprise the Melbourne sandbelt, but make sure you don't miss out on Woodlands, which for a variety of reasons, flys under the radar.

Regarding the interstate courses, don't leave our shores without playing:

Barnbougle Dunes (Tas)
New South Wales (NSW ... as you'd imagine)
Newcastle (NSW) for how good it is; but also to ponder how great it could have been.
Royal Adelaide (SA)

You need a three-month vacation to do it justice, so really everyone has just "cherry-picked".  
 

[Philip Gawith]

Ed - I would go for Ben's itinerary. Feels 100% right based on my experience. NZ is 4 hour flight plus 2 hour time change just to get to Auckland - then quite a few more hours to get to the courses. Kidnappers is a great course, but it does not belong in a 10 day schedule when you have so many other wonderful options.

[ed_getka]

Thanks gents. As always the treehouse comes through. One of my earlier questions is whether traveling as a single vs a twosome will make any difference?
   When I went to Scotland I purposely didn't travel with anyone to TOC so I could show up as a single. Worked great and I played 36 holes on my day there. Are any of the courses being recommended going to fall into a single is better category?
Paul,
   I know I will only be skimming the surface, but we just don't get enough years during our short stay on earth. Hopefully I'll get back as I have a 6 year rota for overseas trips every other year: Scotland, Australia, Ireland. So hopefully 6 years from now I will be planning my next trip.
   Is there a time of year when the legendary winds at Barnbougle are less likely to be howling?

[Jason Topp]

   One other thing, my other great passion besides golf is being out in nature, so I really don't care to see anything in a city, but if I am going to spend one day in nature, where should I go?

I thought Tasmania was incredible.  We were on the East Coast and hiked to Wineglass Bay.  The advantage of scheduling a "nature day" there is that if weather conditions or mood lead you to want an extra day at Barnbougle, you would have it.

[Chris Kane]

Ed, most of the courses you will be playing are private clubs only accessible through an advance booking, so if you book as a single, you'll likely be playing alone.  They aren't the kind of places where you just turn up and slot into a foursome.

If it was me, I would come with another.  You will have no trouble getting on any of the courses mentioned, provided you book a month or two in advance.

[Jason McNamara]

First, thanks for all the informative posts above.

One question: How difficult is it to get weekend rounds at the Sandbelt biggies (and RA & NSW)?  I imagine no morning play for guests, but are afternoons sometimes possible?

Or should I just spend the weekend at the Gabba/in the Barossa Valley?

Thanks,

Jason

[James Bennett]

Jason

Saturday in a City, you could play with a member that you know.  Sunday, probably the same but you may get access Sunday pm.

If you are reciprocal, or have a great club or something, try a letter to the Club.  You may be succesfu, perhaps Sunday pml.  I suggest you R&R on the Saturday in particular if you don't know anyone.

Of course, if you are away from the big smoke/cities, then things change.  EG On Mornington Peninsula you could be more lucky.

James B

[Chris Kane]

Jason, absolutely no chance to play on the weekend as a manager's guest.  Members can usually take guests on a Sunday.

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