Gainsborough Greens Golf Club, on the northern edge of Queensland’s Gold Coast, may not be listed amongst the high-end golf courses in the South East Queensland golfing mecca but there is little doubt it offers some of the best value for money.
Designed by American Fred Bolton and built in the late 1980’s, Gainsborough Greens is the one of the courses left as a legacy of the Japanese corporate invasion of the Gold Coast that provided outstanding golfing facilities for both the serious and social golfers.
The original developers sold Gainsborough Greens in 2004 and it has since undergone several ownership changes until Mirvac took control in January of 2009. Mirvac are in the process of establishing the first 119 housing lots adjacent to the golf course with the final release date yet to be determined.
Plans are in place for what will eventually be a new layout at Gainsborough Greens that will incorporate many of the existing holes. Noted Australian architect Ross Watson has been involved in the Master Planning to date. The exact timing of the construction of the new golf course is yet to be confirmed but a reconfiguration of the existing layout to align itself with the proposed residential housing has bought the golf club time while adjacent real estate is developed. An interesting layout and good test of golf has been created in the meantime.
Originally 23 holes were built at Gainsborough Greens. Five holes on the long standing layout have been taken out of play due to the construction necessary to create the housing lots and their associated infrastructure. The additional holes built to the west of the course during the course’s construction are now being utilised and are performing a great role in keeping a quality layout in play.
Ten or so months were required for those holes to be restored to playing quality by the end of 2007 but they now include several intriguing holes. Much of the original bunkering in this area of the golf course has been restored and/or re-drained along with returfing and stolinizing of the fairways to provide a consistent playing surface.
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The Layout
The opening hole of the current layout is a generous downhill par four to get play underway but on entering the newly commissioned five holes you need to be warmed up as the second is one of the tougher par fours on the golf course.
There are two very good par threes (the 3rd and the 6th) in the early stages of the round and the par 5, 4th hole that will possibly become the finishing hole when development is finalised, has the makings of a very good finishing hole.
On re-entering the original layout at what is now the 7th hole, the golf course becomes familiar once again with a long par five (544 metres) to greet you and the holes that have become so much part of the history of Gainsborough Greens lie ahead.
The toughest par three on the layout is the 11th, which measures over 200 metres with a large bunker to the left and behind the green.
Perhaps the most demanding hole is the sweeping right to left dogleg at the par 4 15th.
Measuring close to 435 metres from the back tee, the hole requires a tee shot hugging the left hand tree line to shorten the approach. It is an area of the course where considerable infrastructure development has been undertaken but which is now being re-turfed to the point where there will be little evidence of what had gone before.
The short par 4, 14th is sure to provide the most fun and stick in the memory long after a round at Gainsborough Greens. Measuring just 267 metres, the hole offers the reward of eagles and birdies but plenty of risk for those slightly off line.
A hole that will be new to many is the par three, 17th. It utilises the green of the previous par 4 16th but is played from a new tee with the hole angling across water to the right and front of the green. Measuring 154 metres and combined with the almost iconic par five 18th, the new 17th will provide the first leg of what will become a memorable finish to a round of golf at Gainsborough Greens.
The 18th is, in many people’s eyes, the signature hole of the golf course. At 472 metres, it is not a particularly long par five by modern day standards but the last 90 or so metres is essentially a compulsory water carry. A drive finding the fairway provides that tempting decision to either lay up or have a go and many a round has been either made or destroyed at this final hurdle.
Gainsborough Greens offers an affordable yet genuine alternative to several higher priced golf courses on the Gold Coast. With several of courses in the area continuing down the privatisation road, Gainsborough Greens is rapidly becoming one of the best examples of accessible public use golf facilities on the northern end of the Gold Coast.
The golf course has a good quality practice facility, a new fleet of golf buggies, an excellent clubhouse, wildlife galore and a price that makes a trip to Gainsborough Greens well worth the effort.
How To Get There
Gainsborough Greens is situated just 25 minutes drive north from Surfers Paradise and 35 minutes south of the Brisbane CBD.
Use exit 49 off the M1 between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and follow Yawalpah Road approximately two kilometres to the sign on the left signalling your arrival at Gainsborough Greens.
Full course details of Gainsborough Greens »
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08 Jun 2013
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1. vaspotres | Rated
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08 Jun 2013
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Always a delight to play here. Reasonably wide open fairways in very good condition, greens hard and fast (unless it has been raining excessively), but still challenging with numerous water hazards and large greenside bunkers to trap the unwary (and me!). Slowly starting to build a bit of local knowledge which is very helpful on this course given the number of hazards alongside a number of the fairways. If you are new to the course, be prepared to lose a few balls…