Huntingdale Golf Club (38)

A new year and the first game with the SGA Tour Victoria for the year at the magnificent Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne's sandbelt.

The first game, great course and most people still on holidays had a large field for the early morning shotgun start.

They are getting serious

Started on the par 3 12th hole which is always a challenge for the first of the day, particularly when the green is surrounded by bunkers, which I managed to find.

Par 3 12th hole

Bunker play was better today (and it needed to be) and managed to get out of all the greenside and fairway bunkers I found although just one sand save.

Par 5 14th tee

Played reasonably for 16 points each nine, so 32 in total, no wipes and no lost balls. 

Par 3 15th hole

The tees were forward on a number of the holes for example the par 3 15th where we were playing from around 120m, whereas the hole can go back to about 141m plus.

Par 4 16th hole from fairway

Par 4 18th hole

 

Probably most consistent round since back from injury although put the driver away and still struggling with the over the top swing and resulting slice.

Barossa Valley Golf Club

The Barossa Valley Golf Club is situated in Nuriootpa in the Barossa Valley just north of Adelaide.

The road trip continued on from the Adelaide Hills and we stayed in Nuriootpa for a couple of days whilst exploring the Barossa Valley.

Par 4 1st hole

The weather was warm in the lead up to new year and it was 36C when I ventured out, so a electric cart and lots of drinks was necessary.  I had the course to myself, so got around in less than 2 hours.

Par 3 3rd hole

The hot weather meant the fairways were quite dry but the tees and greens were in good condition, the greens in particular considering the dry spell were soft and so the ball stopped well.

Par 4 4th hole

A couple of kangaroos spotted in the shade on the way around.

Managed to play slightly above handicap which in the conditions I was happy with.

Par 3 15th hole

Tee shot on 15th

Looking forward to a full year of golf in 2016.

Long par 3 17th hole

A feature was the long par 3 holes, notably the 17th at 210 metres from the back.

Mt Barker Hahndorf Golf Club

A post Christmas road trip to South Australia provided an opportunity to squeeze in a couple of games whilst away.

Par 4 1st hole

An early morning start, an electric cart, hire clubs and ready for a quick round.

Par 3 2nd green

The Mt Barker Hahndorf course is located at Mt Barker about 15 minutes drive from Hahndorf and is in good condition with an interesting mix of holes.

Over the fence is in the paddock

The course is next to farmland so over the fence on a few holes has you in a paddock.  It also shows you how dry things have been and the condition on the greens and fairways is good with this in mind.

A number of water hazards around the course and although some were dry, others are placed such that fairways directed tee shots towards them and some local knowledge would be good to know when to lay up.

Par 4 16th hole

An enjoyable round and on with the holiday.

Victoria Golf Club (9)

The final SGA Tour Victoria event for 2015 had us travelling to Cheltenham in the Melbourne sandbelt for the Tour Championship at the fantastic Victoria Golf Club.

Ranked at number 9 in the 2012 Top 100 courses, it is always a privilege to play this course and an event eagerly awaited each year.

After some warm weather earlier in the week, a pleasant 24 degrees had the makings of a great day at the office.

Par 4 First hole

 We had a shotgun start off the par 4 second hole, and with a lost ball on my opening drive, the day did not start in a promising manner, and it did little to improve with too many double bogies to make a score.

Par 4 12th hole

The winds picked up during the day to be stronger than forecast which made some of the holes into the breeze more of  a challenge.

Short par 4 15th hole

Victoria demands precise and strategic thought with all shots to navigate around and avoid bunkers.  Ended the day with 27 points, when if you played to your handicap you had a good day.  DCR was 76.

Southern Golf Club

Another trip out with the SGA Tour Victoria for my first visit to Southern Golf Club in the Melbourne sandbelt.

Clubhouse

Club from practice range

Today was a fun day of matchplay and supporting the two finalists in the SGA Tour Matchplay Championship.  Excellent facilities at Southern with a range, short game and nets.

Par 4 10th hole

Teeing off the 10th tee, we were evenly matched with my opponent only conceding 1 shot to me, taken on the 17th hole.

One of many water hazards awaits

Southern is not in the 2012 list of Golf Digest Top 100 Courses, that I am using to record my games but was in 2004 (89), 2006 (93), 2008 (82) and 2010 (96)

Fairways wide and in excellent condition

A course of two quite different nines with the front nine featuring quite a few water hazards and tree lined fairways the feature of the back.

Par 4 8th hole

A very close match with holes going up and down on our first nine, no halves, before a closer match on the second nine, having me one down coming down the last (9th hole).  My opponent sank a 40' putt to win the match, and conceded my 15' putt to finish 1 up.

Picked up a logo ball, which filled up the collection - now to start culling some of the 'corporate' logos.