Trevor had a couple fo vouchers for the Sandhurst North course & invited me Neil & Matt along. We had a perfect day for golf, bright sunshine & just a slight breeze. The was the first time I had been out to Sandhurst & with any luck it wont be my last. It is a great set up. 36 holes with fantastic facilities.

Let’s start with the small draw backs. They are in the process of putting down new sprinklers or drainage on the front 9. This leaves a bit of a patch work of sand lines throughout the fairways. Having said that, it only effected our shots once or twice. The other issue was the sand in the bunkers. Sandhurst is in the same boat as most other courses in Melbourne, after the heavy rains we have had in the last few weeks, most of the sand has been washed away. I’m sure that the bunkers would be much better normally.

Too the positives. What a great course, wide open fairways with well positioned bunkers, both fairway & greenside. The greens were large & if you didn’t get yourself close to the pin you could be left with a 3 or 4 putt to finish off the hole.

There are some great holes here as well, the par 3 called “The Wall” is interesting. Not an overly long par 3 but the green has a stone wall surrounding the back. Came in handy for me, after I left my tee shot short then thinned my chip. I got a nice ricochet of the wall & on to the green

My favorite hole on the course would be a toss up between the 9th & the 18th with the 9 just winning. There is a lake down the lefthand side of the entire hole with a estuary running in front of the green.

I recomend this course to anyone & from what I hear, the Champion course is even better. So make the trip & have a hit, you wont be disappointed

Neil Matt & I took a trip out to Emerald. It was another beautiful day & a couple of degrees cooler up there than down in the city. The course is in a gorgeous setting, surrounded by gum trees & native birds.
The course is very tight. A lot of the tee shots have a tunnel effect with trees on both sides making you have to hit straight. It’s not the longest course going around but it protects itself with a well thought out design & tight fairways. If you are a little wayward this course will bite you.
The fairways are well looked after & the greens are about what you would expect from a country course.
It is a nice course with friendly staff, if you are up that way, well worth stopping in for a round

We played 13th Beach today, it is a course that I have been wanting to play for years. We played the Beach course which to me was a bit of  a misnomer . At no point did we see the beach.  Don’t get me wrong, the course was fantastic, the fairways were perfect & the greens were true. Perhaps  I built the course up too much in my head  but I was expecting to at least see the ocean at some point. We played the course with the wind blowing, but playing on the coast I guess you would be dreaming to expect it to be still. I think I lost about 8 balls during the round ( the only comp I won all day), it is a punishing course when you play off line. One of the things I was really disappointed with was the bunkers. I played out of about 5 bunkers, 2 of them were great. The rest of them were crap, fuck all sand & full of stones. Neil, Matt & Ian felt the same way, considering we were that close to the beach you would expect a decent amount of sand in a bunker.
But enough bitching. We headed out to play the course because it was Trevor’s birthday & as stupid as it sounds he couldn’t make it. Neil, Matt Ian & myself tried to make up for it but we couldn’t make up for the fact that Trevor wasn’t there, even with a video call to Trevor which may have made things worse To sum things up, I have been dying to play this course for years, perhaps I built it up too much in my head, but I can’t get over the fact that there wasn’t any holes that played in view of the ocean.

Neil booked us in for a last minute round out at Eyensbury. It cost a little more out here, $59 for a round & $40 for a cart. Neil, Trevor, Matt & myself tied off juust after 11 on a fantastic Melbourne day. The sun was shinning & the course was in great nick. Wide open fairways & well paced greens added up for a perfect day. I’m still getting used to my new clubs, the shafts are a little longer so I need to adjust my stance slightly. I still spraying the driver to right but I managered to get a couple of good ones away. Matt was smashing them off the tee which was always great to see, if he gets his short game together he will get bored playing with us

We had a group of 6 head out to Yarrambat on Saturday morning. Neil, Shane, Trevor, Stan Matt & myself wandered on down, John had to pull out at the last minute after doing hsi back Having watched the weather forcast all week I was pleasantly surprised when Saturday rolled around & the day turned out great The course was in pretty good nick, a little wet under foot but still pretty good.

I had a half decent round coming in a pair of 47’s tieing with Matt for the low score.

Stan had the comment of the day. On the par 4 9th there is a small dam about 100 meters from the tee. Shane duffed his tee shot & finished in fromt of the dam. Stan said “Good idea to lay up before the water” Had me chuckling for the rest of the day

Neil & I headed out to Strathallan golf course for a quick 9 after work. I had to duck out early otherwise we wouldn’t have made it. As it turns out we only just finished up before it got dark. The course is in great nick, the fairways & the greens are well looked after. If you are looking for a qucik 9 holes you can’t go past this place. Neil gave me a bit of a touch up this round. I think from Memory he had 4 pars & a birdie & flogged me by about 6 shots. Well done Neil, I’ll get you next time

Neil, Matt & myself headed out to Keilor on another magnificent Melbourne Autumn day. We have had such great weather lately but I’m sure it will come to a crashing halt shortly
It’s been a while since I’ve been to Keilor & they have done a fair bit of work in that time. They have constructed a number of fairway bunkers on the front 9, the place looks great. A nice flat track with great fairways & nice greens. The course was a fantastic condition & when you jump on the freeway not that far away.
I had a nice front 9 with a few pars but fell away on the second 9. Matt picked up where I left off on the back 9 & between us we have a great score card :) Neil had a ……… well Neil had a nice day

Mornington Golf Course
18 Holes
Carts available: Yes only 8
19th Hole: Yes
Address: Tallis Drive Mornington 3931
Pro Shop phone number: 5975 4171
Web address: Mornington Golf Course

Neil, Trevor Ian & myself went out to Mornington on what can only be described as a perfect day for golf. Bright sunshine, no wind & a pleasant mid 20’s.
The first tee greets you right next to the proshop with a nice wide open fairway with a slight dogleg to the right. A nice gentle way to start your round  The course keeps the friendly attitude for the majority of your round at one of the most beautiful courses Melbourne has to offer. The ocean views & rolling hills & just a fantastic way to spend the day.  Some of the great holes on the course would be the 4 4th. You start off with a narrow drive area that just opens up to another wide open fairway. You make your way up the hill to the first of many greens with an ocean view. Another hole of note on the front 9 would be 6th.  A 350 meter uphill par 4 which has you grateful or wishing for a cart. Again, you are presented with  another spectacular ocean view from the green.
The back nine begins with the 164 metre par 3. With trees on either side of the tee box you have to keep your tee shot straight. One of the most beautiful holes on the course would have to be the par 5 15th. With bunker lined fairways, scrub to the right it is a tough hole, but again it makes life easier when you have a fantastic view.
Once the round is finished you can quench your thirst at the club house which looks back down the 18th & over the 10th tee. A great way to finish off a great round.
Check out all of the photos here

Neil, Ian, John & myself heading out to Yarrambat on a perfect Melbourne afternoon. We had a 1 o’clock tee time & conditions could have been better. The course is in great nick, the greens had been cored about a week & 1/2 ago so there was still sand & holes on the green but it allowed you to give the ball a bit of a wack when putting. It’s been a few months since I’ve played here & I still love the course. The kangaroos were out in force which always makes for plesant round. Neil is getting over his knee injury & my ankles were playing up so we were a funny sight see hobling around the course The game itself was an interesting on, Neil started the round perfectly with a birdie on the first, but he was upstaged for the highlight of the day by Ian. On the par 5 7th, Ian put the ball in the hole from about 155 metres out. It was an awesome shot

Had my first hit out for the year with the Epping RSL on Sunday. We headed out to Kilmore, which like a lot of the country has coped a fair bit of rain over the last few weeks. The ground staff hadn’t had a chnace to mow the greens for a little bit so they were a little furrier than normal Funny thing is, I had my best day with the putter for a long time, winning the least putts for the day with 29. It was hot day with little or no breeze & I was struggling by the 18th yet somehow managered to finish the day par, par. It was good to get back out again & it’s always nice to play with the RSL & Kilmore course was in pretty good condition.