1. rubs | Rated | 07 Feb 2012 | Add A Review

really nice course. Played the course when driving back to Sydney and was pleasantly surprised. The course layout and good quality greens places this course better then Nowra in my opinion. Lots of challenging tees shots and difficult to get close to the pins because of the very large greens. Looking forward to playing again soon and seeing the new holes.

2. q-tip | Rated | 31 Dec 2011 | Add A Review

What a gem! Time for an update on the ever-changing nature of Shoalhaven Heads golf club which was established in the 1980s as a 3-hole course to expand in mid-to-late 2012 as a full 18-hole course with works near complete on the 3 extra holes.

Now measures 4612m Par 59 (15 holes) with five par 3s ranging from 126-201m, six par 4s ranging from 254-412m and four par 5s ranging from 440-522m. To play 18 holes you still, for now, play the first 3 holes again which makes the course 5220m Par 69.
Great sand-based course layout with the ocean waves crashing on the beach being heard on the opening 7 holes and the closing 3 holes. Nine holes generally run north-south (1, 3-7 & holes 13-15) whilst 6 holes are orientated east-west (2nd & the heavily bunkered holes 8-12).

Course generally has kikuyu grass fairways on the front half holes and couch grass fairways on the back half holes. The large-sized bent grass greens are smooth but play a little slow and are all mostly well over 30m in length and width with undulations and ridges throughout the green. Every hole has at least 2 bunkers with a total of 67 bunkers on the course with many OOB lining the rightside of fairways and greens.

Front half highlights include: the Par 3 opener 201m 1st with 2 bunkers guarding the large undulating green; the 522m slight bend right 4th (index 3) with OOB along the entire rightside from the tee with 6 bunkers within 80m of the green; the classic short par 4 reminiscence of many great metropolitan sandbelt holes on the 254m straight 5th (index 11) with 5 bunkers guarding the green off the tee; the 169m 6th (index 9) with red-staked bush left off the tee to a green with 2 bunkers; and the long Par 4 straight 412m 7th (index 1) with a right-sloping fairway to OOB on the far right off the tee to a green with 2 bunkers and OOB close on the right.

Back half highlights include: the 465m slight bend right 10th (index 7) with 3 fairway bunkers right off the tee from the dead tree which is 200m off the tee on the left to a green with 3 bunkers short and rightside; the short 323m 14th (index 2) which doglegs 45 degrees right from 200m off the tee with a fairway bunker at the dogleg corner and OOB along the entire rightside to a 40m long undulating green with 3 bunkers; and the 460m slight bend right 15th (index 6) with OOB right and 2 fairway bunkers off the tee to another 40m long green with 3 bunkers.

Despite only the 412m 7th being long all other par 4s here are less than 325m with accuracy, not length required to score well. The par 3s and par 5s are varied with good bunkering both on the fairway and at the green with OOB always a possibly if you miss the generally wide fairways.

I have to agree with others that the course conditioning is great and the greens are amongst the largest I have seen outside of any metropolitan course.

Shoalhaven Heads is a small coastal town of around 3000 people about 16km south of Gerringong and 20 minutes east of Nowra. The town is overlooked by Mt. Coolangatta which rises 320m above sea level just west of the town near the local wineries.

Played here Boxing Day 2011 with $21 green fees for 15 holes or $16 green fees for 9 holes (Holes 1-7 then 14 & 15). Course access is from Staples Street.

What a great course with fantastic course conditioning! This course is better maintained with more challenges on offer than at either Nowra or Worrigee Links.

Highly recommend a round here and be sure to play here again when they open the 3 extra holes to make this a 18-hole golf course sometime mid-to-late 2012.

3. generalhol | Rated | 09 Feb 2007 | Add A Review

This course now has 15 holes with the the first 3 holes being played twice to make up the full 18. Plans for the final 3 holes are under way. This is a testing course with out of bounds on the right side of 10 holes. The wind plays a big influence here as you can here the surf crashing on the beach for most of the round, and, club selection can change from round to round. Being made on sand dunes there are generous quality bunkers throughout the layout both fairway and greenside. The large greens make for good pitching targets but beware, four putts and five putts can eventuate with a lack of concentration. Long putts can be tricky as two greens are 50 metres in length and all greens are undulating so consider pin placement. It is hard to pick a signature hole but my pick would be the 250 m par 4, reachable in 1 for the brave but if you hit a bunker you may well hit into another trying to get on the dance floor.

The greens here can put some better known courses to shame for the condition they are kept in.

4. nathanqld | Rated | 07 Feb 2005 | Add A Review

I'm not usually a fan of nine hole golf courses but I must say that this one is by far one of the best maintained and diverse I have come across. First thing you will notice is the huge green sizes which are looked after as well, if not better than most 18 hole courses. Good vary between par 3, 4 and 5's allows you a chance to use most clubs in the bag which is something not always found on the shorter courses. Enjoyable to play, is a shame the course could not have been 18 holes because it would be a challenging course with the ocean winds being a matter of a few hundred meters away.