Brookwater Golf Club

IN: COURSE REVIEWS | BY: Bruce Young | | REGION: Brisbane, QLD DATE: 10 May 2002 | Rated

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It has been nearly thirty years since the Brisbane region has had a new high-end golf course, but if what I experienced the first time I played eighteen holes at the recently opened Brookwater Golf Club was anything to go by, then the long wait has been well worth it.

Opened for play on March 16th of this year, the course is yet another Greg Norman designed facility in South East Queensland following on from The Grand, The Glades, Pelican Waters.

The course had been an integral component in a long term plan put to the Ipswich City Council back in the late 80's by the Brisbane development company, the Mur Group. It was their company behind the creation of a new town/city in the region to be known as Springfield.

The course was seen as an essential feature of the project in order to attract home buyers to the development and had the additional benefit of helping to alleviate a significant lack of quality courses in Brisbane. Certainly there had been the likes of Indooropilly and Royal Queensland but in terms of a world-class tournament course there was nothing within 50 kilometres of Brisbane.

Brookwater is just 28 minutes from the Brisbane GPO. Sure the Gold Coast, an hours drive away, had several but for a city such as Brisbane and its surrounds, which contain such a large golfing population, they had been relatively starved in terms of quality facilities.

The South East Queensland climate is conducive to year round golf played in daytime temperatures that seldom fall below twenty degrees even in the winter months. There was every reason to believe therefore that a golf course correctly positioned in terms of its quality would be well received. Queensland has produced three of the last four Australian winners of the world's major golfing events and, has a proud record in junior golf of late, so it has done well in that regard. The introduction of high-class golf courses such as Brookwater will, however, take this to another level again.

Several design companies had been involved in the early stages of the consent approval process. It was, however, the need to create a deal that would introduce funding to the golf course, and its associated residential development, that saw Greg Norman and his alliance with Medallist Golf Development became involved in the project in 1998.

Medallist Golf Development is a joint venture between the McQuarie Bank, one of corporate Australia's makers and shakers, and Norman's company Great White Shark Enterprises. This group was able to seal the deal with the Springfield Land Corporation, or perhaps it was the other way around, and the golf course construction started in August 2000.

The first impression one gets on arrival at Brookwater is a lasting one and tells a story, that being the predominance of tall mature native vegetation which is one of the great features of the course.

It is visually stunning, perhaps one of the most attractive courses this writer has seen. As is typical of Greg Norman designed courses the vistas are dominated by full faced bunkers that act almost as beacons and guiding lights but at the same time blend into the natural environment. The bunkering is dramatic but it also sits so well there appears nothing artificial about it.

The clubhouse in these early stages is a temporary one, but sufficient for the initial needs of the course, although demands from growing numbers on the golf course, corporate days, residents and ultimately tournament logisitcs will see a new clubhouse created there within the next eighteen months. The actual starting date for the construction will be driven to a large extent by the number of residents that are moving into the development, as it is they who will provide the greatest source of business for the additional facilities a new clubhouse will offer.

The grasses used on the course reflect the environment and the climate in this almost microclimate of South East Queensland. As has been the case at Pelican Waters, Tifdwarf is the grass chosen for the greens. While Tifgreen 328 is the preferred choice for many of the courses in this region, Tifdwarf is even more heat and humidity tolerant than its bermuda cousin, a factor important in the summer months given the valley effect of so many of the holes here.

It may be that if climatic conditions allowed Norman to use bent grasses here, his design philosphy for some of the greens may have been a little different. The degree of contour on several of the overall smallish greens would have made putting very difficult on greens running at the speed which can be achieved on bent greens. Although good stimpmeter readings can be achieved on Tifdwarf, they are typically not the lightning fast achievable on bent.

The greens were a little firm when I played them but that is not unusual in the early stages of a course's existence. Once settled in the greens will prove more receptive, which will be important given the small greens and that several potential pin positions are tucked behind traps and hard to access with firm greens.

As is the case with my previous reviews I will not go into a detailed hole-by-hole description but rather select some of the holes that took my eye the first time I played it in May some six weeks after opening. As is the case with all golf courses, and indeed golf holes, their initial intrigue often changes the more you play them as you appreciate, even more, their respective subtleties but these are those that stood out to me.

The first, a par 4, was a relatively straightforward tee shot with a right to left camber from the fairway bunkers right. It then requires a short to mid iron to a well guarded and raised green. I say raised but the second shot actually plays slightly downhill however the area immediately surrounding the green is below its level leaving an escape from deep bunkers or a tricky pitch to hopefully save par.

Before I proceed, one of the interesting features of the course is that whilst the fairways appear narrow from the tee, and several are, in terms of their landing area they are actually made wider by the gathering nature the valley effect has on tee shots.

The second, again a par 4, is a fine golf hole quite reasonable from the tee but the strategy kicks in with the second where trees in the middle of the fairway tend to direct traffic either right or left of them. A long hole at 400 metres, the second has to be taken in over a lengthy water hazard and low-level scrub along the right hand side of the fairway.

The third is a bit of light relief after a wake up call at one and two but only from the tee as the second shot is very challenging and requires precision. The landing area for the tee shot is wide but it is important to keep it on top of a ridge around 100 metres from the tee in order to have the best view and lie to access the green. The green is long but very narrow with a bunker right above the green and two large bunkers left. A difficult up and down for those missing the green. It is one of those holes that really challenges you with a short iron in hand.

The par 5 4th is another visually exciting golf hole. Bunkers only 150 metres or so from the tee are more a visual feature than strategic but the key issue here is to get the tee shot down on to the flat well beyond those in order to avoid hitting from a downhill slope across a creek that runs across the fairway. The elevation fall from the tee to the landing area is something like 10% or 25 metres and again climbing back up to the green a similar amount. A word of advice or caution here is that with the third shot, or for the longer hitters the second, if you are not in a position to access the green, be sure to check the flag position to allow the best set up for your next.

The 5th is the first of four outstanding par threes on the course. Downhill and a mid iron. A great looking hole and plays just as well.

Considering I wasn't planning on doing a hole by hole I have managed to get a little carried away here but it is that type of course where hardly a hole is not worthy of a mention. I will, however, skip across to the back nine and start with the interesting and perhaps controversial tenth.

The par 4 10th hole is very narrow from tee but once in the landing area requires a very steep climb with a mid to short iron to a green with a huge ridge running through the middle. This could be considered controversial as it probably borders on the unfair. Having said that, it is kind of fun to have such a green on any course but perhaps not on a hole that has such a steep gradient for the second.

The par 5 13th is a beautiful golf hole. Turning right to left from the tee and measuring 550 metres or close to 600 yards it feels to me like one of those holes that invites you to hit your tee shot long and straight. From there it is important to position your second shot, either left or short of the front bunker just before the green. This becomes clear when you consider that the green is one of the smallest around and is protected by two very pronounced bunkers on the left of the green.

The 14th is another fine par three only 143 metres and the shortest hole on the course but again beautifully framed by bunkers right and left and a contour in the green that feeds most shots in from the right side.

I just loved the par 3 16th hole. It comes after a run of holes through forest and the 15th, on which I had reservations and on which I will expand soon, but when walking onto the tee at sixteen it is like a breath of fresh air as all of a sudden it seems that there is plenty of space. The hole does not actually play that way but it appears that way. A long iron or even a wood from the back tee to a green guarded by a huge bunker left that runs down to and into the lake adjacent. A bunker guards the right also and the hole, to me, felt beautifully balanced.

The 17th is the last of the par fives and the shortest but a very good one. The tee shot was relatively straight forward but the strategy really kicks in with the second. A large water body and area of scrub encroaches from the right some thirty metres short of the green and creates the narrowest of openings to the a long and heavily contoured green. It is therefore essential to ensure that a layup with the second is exactly that in order to leave a full shot for the third. Also the area just short of the water is a little downhill and you might end up closer to the water than you had intended. Long hitters may choose to take on the green but beware the dangers. The bunkering right and left frame the green beautifully. This hole like so many of the others just felt good.

I really enjoyed most holes on the course and the difficulty has been to limit the amount of holes to discuss. There was one hole that I did not see as a good fit on the course, the par four 15th. It felt to me like a compromise. I have no doubt that there were issues, which have resulted in the creation of this hole, perhaps to do with it's proximity to the adjacent Opossum Creek. The hole measures some 400 metres but the last eighty metres or so are all covered in low level scrub. There is no option for those players who can not reach the green other than to lay up short of that scrub leaving a third shot of some 100 meters or more. The area leading into the green is squeezed between the creek left and a ridge right and it feels that way.

The only other hole that did not inspire me was the 12th an uphill par four but not so much that it was bad hole but perhaps more that it was not up to the high standard of the others.

Considering the clubhouse is temporary (Update March 2004 - New $6 million clubhouse opened) and that all facilities are as yet not in place the standard of service was as you would expect from a Troon Golf set up. The meet and greet was prompt and informative, the clubhouse offered you all that you needed in terms of a place to have a bite to eat and a drink after the round. The pro shop was reasonably well stocked for the stage the course is at, there was an informed and informative young guy on the first tee to get you going and the on course drinks lady was a regular and pleasant visitor during the course of our round.

I loved this course. It is one of those courses that really inspires you and despite the fact that I did not play great in my first try I am keen to get back again as I am sure that it will present a variety of challenges on every visit. That my opinion has not been coloured by my less than impressive play on the day suggests perhaps that the course is bigger and better than an individuals form.

I see no reason why it will not develop into an outstanding tournament course and very quickly move into a leading position amongst Australian courses.

As I have always said and for those that have not heard it from me before I'll say it again. Don't be a hero if you do not have the game or the length to play the course from the back tees. By doing that you are effectively eliminating many of the challenges the designer was intending to expose you to and you will emerge defeated not challenged. The design strategies here are intriguing just make sure that you allow yourself to experience and enjoy them.

As indicated earlier, the clubhouse facility, despite being temporary, is ample for the courses requirements at this stage. There is not a lot more to be said about it other than to accept the fact that it is a temporary facility. You can buy Brookwater merchandise, snacks and have a drink in a pleasant environment overlooking the first tee.

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