Golf Australia December 2018

A FRIEND of mine recently returned from a golfing holiday with three mates in Ireland. It was a 16-day vacation that was a year in the planning and something he had dreamed of doing for as long as I can remember. In short, the itinerary saw the group land in Dublin and head across the north of the Emerald Isle before travelling down the west coast to the famous courses of the south west and the Ring of Kerry. In all, they played 18 courses in 16 days … a demanding schedule in anyone’s language. Such an odyssey was never going to be cheap, especially given the exchange rate and the fact they had cherry-picked to play the most famous and renowned courses in Northern Ireland and the Republic. Saying…

Standing in front of the clubhouse and looking out over the vast acreage of tree-lined fairways, it’s hard to picture in your mind that golfers once trekked only nine holes at Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club. For the first 13 years of its existence on its current site – having moved south from Kirra in 1927 – on the western bank of the Tweed River, there was just nine holes available but the first steps in the expansion of this club began with the completion of a second nine in 1951. But the growing popularity of the course during the late 1960s and early 1970s planted the seed of an idea to expand even further with a second course and extensions to the clubhouse. A third nine was opened…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Soorley Street, Tweed Heads South, NSW 2486. CONTACT: (07) 5524 4544. WEBSITE: www.cooltweedgolf.com.au DESIGNERS: There is no designer credited with the original nine-hole layout. Other designers have included Geoff and Ted Parslow, Peter Williams, Richard Chamberlain and Graham Papworth. SLOPE RATINGS: West: Blue 129, White 128 and Red ladies 128. River: Blue 120, White 119 and Red ladies 127. PLAYING SURFACES: TifGreen 328 (River course greens), TifEagle (West course greens) and couch (fairways and tees). Some tees are now being converted to Zoysia, which performs better in the shade. GREEN FEES: $55 (18 Holes), $35 (9 holes). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Peter Lonergan. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: The membership year runs from July 1 to June 30 and pro rata fees are available. There is currently no joining fee…

IT ALWAYS raises a wee smile when, during the prolonged and typically over-the-top build-ups to a Ryder Cup or a Presidents Cup – take your pick – the matches are hailed as gladiatorial contests between the “best players in the world.”They’re not. Of course they’re not. Neither of them. In terms of quality, these biennial battles are marked by who is not on the premises as much as by who is. At the Ryder Cup, there is no sign of Jason Day. Or Adam Scott. Or Marc Leishman. Or Hideki Matsuyama. Or Cameron Smith. Or Louis Oosthuizen. At a Presidents Cup you’ll look in vain for any of the leading Europeans who have done such a consistently fine job of whuppin’ Uncle Sam’s increasingly beleaguered band of nephews. You get…

QUEENSLAND’S Robyn Choi has played her way onto the LPGA Tour after a marathon eight rounds of qualifying school. The 20-year-old was 10-over par for the eight rounds at North Carolina’s Pinehurst Resort, which left her tied for 45th with the top-45 and ties each claiming a player’s card for the 2019 season. Choi, a two-time Queensland amateur champion, has been studying in the United States and playing college golf for the University of Colorado. Sydney-born Choi now joins Minjee Lee, Su Oh, Katherine Kirk, Sarah-Jane Smith, Hannah Green and Karrie Webb on the LPGA Tour next year.…

NSW’S Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort has been named Australia’s Best Golf Hotel for 2018 at the fifth Annual World Golf Awards for the second consecutive year. Announced at a gala ceremony in Spain recently, the international awards program serves to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in golf across a range of categories on a global scale. Voted on by respected golf industry experts and tourism authorities, the popular Hunter Valley property claimed the win after competing against an impressive line-up of world-class golfing destinations from across the country. “On behalf of the team at Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort, I’m exceptionally proud of this achievement and the hard work that has gone into securing this award for a second year running,” Chief Operating Officer of Minor Hotels – Australia and New Zealand,…