Some Pics of Ran's Beloved Newcastle

[Andrew Summerell]

Andrew,

I remember playing Newcastle before the changes to the 3rd green.  Was it 20 years ago?  A would have put it a bit less than that.  Did they only add to the front of the green.  I seem to remember far more significant changes to the green complex.  Are there any photos of the old green?

You are probably right about when it was done. I have a poor concept of time.

I don't have any old photos of the 3rd green, but some may exist. There was only one bunker on the right side of the green that was similar in look to the bunker on the left side of the green. The green seemed a little wider, but I may be wrong on that one. With the green being smaller, it also made the hole measure longer at 250y (227m). For a short time in the early 70's it was the 1st hole.

[Brian Walshe]

Andrew,

From memory the green was much wider but not as deep and was a lot more open.  It was a more rounded shape more in line with the other greens.

[Sean_A]

Sean,

The first, second (not shown), fifth, sixth, eighth, tenth and I think 15 are.

Mark,

The 1st & 2nd share about 5 fairway bunkers. You probably hit it so straight you didn't notice.

Andrew,

Either that or I am still tired from having to get up at 4.00 am on Sunday to get a flight all the way up to that miserable, rain-soaked wasteland called NSW.  Good thing Newcastle was worth it. I haven't seen any rain in Melbourne since I arrived back, of course.  Just some beautiful light to photograph in. 

I am still struggling to place where the fairway bunkers on two are... They must be inside the treelines on the left, since that is the only time I see the left side of a golf course.

Mark

Yes, but, it looks like you have a few fairway bunkers on par 3s to make up for it - tee hee.

Ciao

[Kevin Pallier]

Looking at the course since, I had the idea of moving the tee on the 3rd forward and to the right, into the trees separating the hole from the range. IMO it would provide a better par three of 170/180-odd metres, with the green then at a 45-degree angle, more or less, and the run-on approach requiring a shot moving from left to right. You could also enlarge the short left trap or move it to the right to play with the perception of how much room is there in front of the green.

Much like this:


What are your thoughts on such a move? *braces himself*

Scott

From the look of that photo v was I recall from my last vist there - they've surely done some tree clearing ?

Anything is possible but I dont like the idea for the following reasons:
- the fallaway off to the left is too severe for the over shot club
- the green is too narrow for such a shot IMO with the bunkers around it (as I said before I also reckon it's too narrow as things stand)

Place a green about half way along the yellow line you showed where the is a rise in the land and it opens up the possibilitie for # 4 lenthening. Dunski 

[Andrew Summerell]

I've just added a couple of comparison photos of the 5th & 6th to show what has been cleared. My photos are from just after the tree clearing had started. It's a bit hard to see because the angles don't really show all that has been done.

Mark's photo shows the left side just out from the tee looking cleaner. That will continue to go back even further.

My photo shows the 5th after only a little of the clearing had been done. Previously, the mound to the left was unseen.


This photo shows the Ti Tree coming out about 8 - 10m metres further than in the photo Mark took.


Although this photo shows some clearing has been done at the drive zone, it still needs to go back about another 15m.