Golf Australia February 2020

WE all know golf is the most frustrating of all sports. As weekend warriors we hit the course hoping this is the round where it all comes together. Last week you couldn’t putt but you hit it great. Each of the three weeks before that, you hit it sideways all day and couldn’t miss with the flatstick. If only there was a day when all facets of your game would come together at once for that round. That round you can boast about for years to come. That round which becomes the benchmark for all future performances. What if you had that round and that was as good as it will ever get for the rest of your playing days? I’ve no doubt, like me, you’ve been trying to replicate…

The signs are everywhere. From the moment you step onto the 1st tee, Greg Norman’s connection to The Eastern Golf Club is clearly evident. His presence extends far beyond his role as designer of the 27-hole layout as well as the adjoining par-3 nine-hole course, known as ‘Shark Waters’. Five sets of tee markers in the shape of Norman’s Shark-brand logo can be found on every hole and there’s even a shark fin emerging from the water in the lake left of the 1st tee of the short course. On the course, the bold, expansive bunkering – a trademark look for Norman course designs worldwide – can be seen everywhere. It’s a long way from the club’s suburban roots at Doncaster. It is nearly 12 years since The Eastern Golf…

THE COURSE LOCATION: 215 Victoria Road, Yering, Victoria 3770 CONTACT: (03) 9739 0110 WEBSITE: www.easterngolfclub.com.au DESIGNER: Greg Norman Golf Course Design. SLOPE RATING: South Course: Black 130, Blue 128, White 122, Red 130, Yellow 120; North Course: Black 129, Blue 127, White 124, Red 127, Yellow 117; East Course: Black 128, Blue 127, White 120, Red 124, Yellow 117. PGA PROFESSIONAL: Scott Barradell. PLAYING SURFACES: Grand Prix couch (fairways), T1 bentgrass (greens). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Jay Infanti. TEE TIMES: The Eastern is a private member club. Guests of members are welcome ($60 per round) as are accommodation guests of Yering Gorge Cottages ($95). Members of international and interstate golf clubs ($150) can apply for a visitor tee time, which are available Sunday to Tuesday and Thursday to Friday. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP:…

He was really something wasn’t he? Along with just about every other living, breathing punter on the planet, your humble correspondent was entranced by the sight of the greatest golfer we have yet seen performing close to the top of his peerless game during the recent Presidents Cup matches. The combination of Tiger Woods and the composite course at Royal Melbourne was intoxicating. “Best-ever meets the best we’ve got,” you might say. There was just one caveat clinging to that enjoyment. It was difficult not to feel a little disappointed as Woods and the other 23-players on show in the biennial contest between the United States and the International squad launched a succession of short irons into almost every one of those wonderfully contoured greens. Yes, Alister MacKenzie’s masterpiece stood…

TIGER WOODS and his all-star Americans might have lured the masses, but the real star of the Presidents Cup was the course. The plaudits for the Royal Melbourne Presidents Cup Composite Course were loud and widespread from the players and captains, to the media and gathered galleries. The greatest aspects of Australia’s premier course had been showcased to the golfing world and the golfing world loved it. “Royal Melbourne is not one of the longer golf courses we play, but it is tricky. And when it gets fast and if we get hot weather, we get the northerlies coming in there, it can get quick, like it was in 2011,” Woods said. “Here, you can have a sand wedge in your hand and you can’t fire at a flag, you…

HANNAH GREEN capped off a remarkable year by winning the Greg Norman Medal at a glittering ceremony at RACV Royal Pines Resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Green, who only turned pro three years ago, won twice on the LPGA Tour in 2019 including the Women’s PGA Championship. The 23-year-old will be one of the favourites for both the Women’s Vic and Australian Open titles to be played in the first two weeks of February. Golf Australia announced the 2020 ISUZU QUEENSLAND OPEN will be played at Pelican Waters Golf Club from February 20-23. It will be the first time the championship will be hosted on the Sunshine Coast since Ian Baker-Finch won the title there in 1990. Also on the move is the AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, which is headed up…