1. coffee_is_happin | Rated | 21 Apr 2008 | Add A Review

I went back to play at Churchill Park in December 2007 and the course has improved incredibly over the past 4 years. The fairways are now 95% couch grass which gives an awesome surface to hit off. The greens were in the best condition i have ever seen them, even after heavy rain the 2nd time i played. What was always a good challenging, tight layout is now really well groomed. Certainly worth a visit.

2. dandeman | Rated | 28 Dec 2007 | Add A Review

love playing ere, is in great condition from tee to green for a public course, excellent drainage as i played ere on xmas eve after 4 straight days of rain and the course played great. fairways r in great nick and the greens are usually fast but after 4 days of rain when i last played it they were perfect! the dog leg aspect of the course adds to the challenge as accuracy is the main priority as its a fairly tight on most holes. bit hilly on some holes but there are carts available to make it easier. pretty good price for green fees for the condition and layout of this excellent course.

3. nik1981au | Rated | 27 Nov 2007 | Add A Review

Well im new to golf and new to the area but have been playing this course on a regular basis.

Ive only played on 5 courses… 3 in Australia and 2 in NZ and considering this is a public course it is very good.

Very scenic… decent layout and some very good holes.

Most definately a lot of dog legs, which luckily for me i can hit over :) But for someone with a smaller drive can prove to be quite difficult. Lots of trees everywhere and some very well placed for those like me who hit a long drive and like to cut corners to shorten the hole.

8th Hole is one of my favourites, its a 495m Par 5 from the back of the tee which is an uphill hole into a 2 tiered green, if the pin is positioned up top, you dont have many issues, however if its positioned on the bottom tier and you hit the ball up top you run the very likely chance of your ball rolling 50m back down the fairway. Very tricky hole surrounded by thick scrub… oh and watchout for the brown snake near the tee too ;)

A lot of work has gone into the course in the last 1-2 years according to the number of members i have played with and it shows. It truely is a stunning public course of which i will probably join.

4. coffee_is_happin | Rated | 18 Apr 2006 | Add A Review

I was a member of Churchill Park for about 8 years and i completely agree with the dogleg point of view, we used to joke that even the par 3's had a kink in them.

All jokes aside the course is tough. The tees (most of anyway) provide you with flat lies however that is where they end. If you are not used to playing the ball above of below your feet, you may be in for a long day as if you stray off the short stuff, the trees leave you with 2 options, sideways and safe or a brave (but often foolish) blaze of glory that will generally bounce back past your head.

More recent visits have shown the fairways and greens to be much improved over the past few years, with almost all of the fairways being successfully transplanted with a couch grass variety specifically targeted at Churchill's unfortunate clay based soil. It has worked wonders. This is a course that during a particularly wet winter in '98 was playing tee up on the fairways, and now players will be presented with a ball sitting on a lie that is begging to be struck.

The "dog leg" issue really isn't one, and does more to make the player actually think on the tee rather than just reaching for the "big d" 14 times a round. The corners range from any where between 150m and 220m from the tees, offering the choice of lay up or challenge the corner.

From the back markers 3 of 4 par 5's are reachable, and with 2 very good shots, so is the 8th, which at around 500m isn't huge, but with the prevailling winds playing in to you and the fairly severe up slope from 160m out.

The greens will turn quite a lot, all bar one slope from back to front, ans do have some pretty wicked slopes in them, especially the 8th, 11th and 14th.

All in all a very good test of all facets of your game, the fact that most clubs coming to Churchill Park for pennant will have issues with the tightness of the course, shows just how much your brain will need to be involved in a good round, just as much as a straight tee ball.

5. rogerhammond | Rated | 12 Jun 2003 | Add A Review

Played there mid June...and first impressions are good (except the practice putting green is very average and no indication of what you can expect out on the course greens). Couple of driving nets to warm up in and away down an opening Par 5 running downhill.

On the front 9 - I noticed that it was quite muddy in patches, even in the middle of the fairway - take a divot and you start to look like the guy on the Mastercard ad! The Par 3's we're particularly impressive (can't remember the number - but there's one where you're standing up high on the hill overlooking the green with lots of National Park beyond with suburbia beyond that...a vista usually reserved for your more upmarket course.

The back nine was summed up nicely by scottyt...dog-leg city! You get a bit of deja-vu and double-takes on the hole number board just to make sure you're playing the right hole. Also, for June - the sun rises right in your eyes on several of these holes - very difficult to see where your ball lands, you have to listen for it...mine made no noise landing in the sand trap :-(

All in all I liked the course, though it is quite hilly and will test your leg strength pulling the cart around and there are no golf carts for hire here.

Also, the new pavilion looks great. If only they could start a nice service of bacon and eggs about 4 hours after the course opens (and the 18-holers are just finishing), I'd say they would do a killer trade!

6. scott tindall | Rated | 02 Jun 2003 | Add A Review

The course sit at bottom of a mountain range that often provides a stunning backdrop to many of the holes. The 18-hole championship course is a test of accuracy cut through a established native gum forest. The par threes are of excepetional quality and test the best of iron players. The back nine can become quite tedious as a run of 7 or so dogleg par-4s in a row does not do wonders for the imagiation. Overall the course is quite pleasant and the condition of the greens are superb.