A Dickensian Golf Experience or Neighbouring Crappy / Great Holes

[Bryan Izatt]

To borrow from Charles Dickens and A Tale of Two Cities, I recently played at The Coast golf club in Sydney, NSW;    “    It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…    ”.  Now, The Coast is an economical (nay, cheap) golf experience that lies next door to the more famous and discussed New South Wales club. A poor cousin on the same peninsula.

In the course of two holes on the back nine I experienced the best of times and the worst of times (albeit in reverse order).

First up was the 11th hole.  Possibly the most bizarre routing I have ever seen.  A hole with no redeeming golf value.  But, there was a nice view from the green.  From the tee, a sparse box with a fence and hedge tight along the left side, the line of play is completely unclear.  There is no map or other device to guide the way.  The group in front scattered to three of the four points of the compass - players they were not - and then they disappeared.  In the direction the tee was pointed there was a small fetid pond maybe 150 yards out and then the ground fell away.  

In the absence of any other guidance I laid a 5 iron down over the corner of the pond.  When I got to the ball it became clear that the hole bent back on itself to the left and ramped up a hill.  By bent back, I mean not a 90* dogleg, but something rather approaching 130*.  And by uphill, I mean it's like 220 yards to a green that's up about 60 feet.  Did I mention the fairway was only 20 yards wide?  Or, that it was lined with gorse on the left side and fell away precipitously on the right.

I suppose the play off the tee was a duck hook, but then that'd be difficult to keep from running through the 20 yard wide fairway and down the precipitous hill.  Mind you, they had built a small bumper mound on the downhill side of the fairway to give you some assistance.  On the other hand it was firm and fast.  The ball would probably launch nicely off the bumper.  

Did I mention there was a nice view from the green?  First an aerial of the hole, then the view.








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And, then there were the best of times on the 14th.  A par 4 from the the high point of the headlands down over a gorge to a fairway leaning towards the cliffs and the sea.  The green is sited on the vliff edge, behind a ridge and a single pot bunker that protects from approaches from the safer right side.  First an aerial view, then a couple of pictures, one from the forward tee and one from (far) behind and below the green.

[Ronald Montesano]

Yardages, please, for 11 and 14.

Any more pictures of the later?

I have some ideas, but I need some more information.

Probably measures as an angle of 130 degrees, but as you played it (over the pond), was 90 degrees (smart play).  Where did your tee ball end up?

[Scott Warren]

Brian,

The 11th, I understand, has a tee short left of the previous green that straightens the hole, but it is only used sparingly as it creates a cross-over.

Don't get Michael Taylor started on the 11th!

Did you play St Michael's?

[Bryan Izatt]

Ronald,  From the club website:

#11

A dogleg to the left runs uphill makes this hole play longer than carded distance. From the tee you find yourself staring straight down to the a dam which guards the inside corner of the dogleg. A narrow landing zone set at an angle invites overstruck shots to run into thick scrub. Front of green slopes back to fairway, so be up or a long chip back awaits.

Blue- 312m, index 12                          White- 310m, index 8/26                        Red- 344m, index 12


#14

The 14th Hole would have to be one of the prettiest holes on the course, enjoy the scenery even if your ball meets a watery grave. A series of tees are perched on the cliff face and your shot needs to carry the bay, down to the clifftop fairway which is quite a bit lower than the level of the tees. Angle of approach is the key to this hole, so be as far left as you dare. The green is perched at the end of the cliff face and protected on all sides.

Blue- 392m, index 4                        345m, index 4                       Red- 294m, index 7

No more pictures of the 14th.

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Scott,

As I look at the aerial again, there is a tee to the left of the 10th green.  For whatever reasons, on that day, they had all the tees set up on the forward tee.  I had been going back to the back tees to play (given there was no marshaling going on), but on the holes around the clubhouse I played where the blocks were, which made 8, 9, and 10 play as par 3's.  I was a little steamed by the time I got to 11 and didn't even bother to look for the back tee and I wouldn't have looked over there even if I did.  Interesting that the forward tee actually plays longer than the back tee.

The angle is improved from the back tee, but I'd imagine that they rarely if ever use it.  Given the quality of players out there, it would be a serious safety issue with the crossover.  There were a number of other danger zones on the course, especially around 9, 10 and 18.

I think I might be of a mind with Michael Taylor.   

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