If exhilaration is what you want then there is no better course
in Australia to satisfy a yearning for golfing thrills than The
New South Wales Golf Club at La Perouse. High up on the cliffs
above Botany Bay it is one of the most severe tests of golf in a
high wind and only on a rare day do the flags lie still.
The credit for the course goes to Alister Mackenzie and is simply
another wonderful example of the debt Australian golfers owe him
and those he left behind to carry out his plans. In this case it
was local Eric Apperley who was entrusted with the construction
of bunkers and greens.
The course opens with a short four followed by a long three with
a green altered from the original concept that reflected the
difficulty of the shot the player was asked to hit. It was not a
big green but it was receptive and it fitted admirably with the
rest of the course. The newer version, elevated with edges that
sweep the ball away, is not, sadly, a green that does credit to
the hole or the course.
The oddest hole on the course is the third, a sharp dogleg to the
left with a huge dune to the left of the tee. The correct line
for the better players is straight over the dune covered with low
growing vegetation and the ball washer gives the unsure the best
reference as to the correct line. Like the previous green it is a
negative feature that could be improved upon.
Of course, one must always be aware of the jigsaw that is a golf
course and how all the pieces fit into the puzzle. There are
times when an architect has to introduce a negative feature or
put up with poor design concept simply to fit the whole course
together or to get to a great piece of land and open up a fine
hole.
The fifth is the world famous par five and the first time a
player is introduced to the view from the top of the hill out
across the ocean is a moment of true wonder. The fifth, too, is
somewhat of an odd hole. Short hitters cannot drive far enough to
reach the plateau more than two hundred meters from the tee and
face a blind second straight up and over the steep hill.
Downwind, balls that reach the far edges of the plateau topple
over and roll and additional eighty meters down the hill, leaving
only a pitching club to the green.
The next hole is the most stunning par three in the country. The
tee is out on a rocky promontory and the middle iron shot is
fired across the ocean to a small green favoring a shot moving
from right to left. It is not the most difficult short hole, nor
are the greenside bunkers particularly remarkable when compared
with the best work in Melbourne but it is a hole one could never
tire of playing.
The best holes on the course come in a five hole stretch from the
thirteenth to the short par three, seventeenth. The thirteenth is
a dogleg left and the approach down then up to the elevated green
is in keeping with the exhilarating nature of the NSW experience.
The fourteenth is a quirky short four hole with a huge shared
fairway with the fifteenth hole. There is a diagonal ridge to
carry with the tee shot and the further left the drive flies, the
longer the carry but there is the obligatory reward of a shorter
approach and a better angle into the small green perched up on
the holes highest and most dangerous point.
The tee shot up through the shute at the fifteenth is, in my
opinion, the most difficult tee shot in the world. The first half
of the hole plays uphill, the fairway is uncommonly narrow, and
both sides of the driving area are lined with unplayable lies in
the indigenous scrub. If the drive is missed left there is no
alternative but to head back to the tee and try again although
the right is a little more forgiving because it offers a
reasonable place to drop if the ball is unplayable.
The sixteenth is a longer and more dangerous version of the left
turning thirteenth and one of the most demanding and least
forgiving shots on the course comes at the 140 metre seventeenth.
The long thin green falls off sharply on both sides and into the
wind only a fine shot will find the target.
New South Wales stamps itself as easily the finest course in the
countries biggest city. What is somewhat remarkable is that in
the early eighties the famed layout was in terrible condition and
its unfashionable location saw the club advertising for members
in the local newspapers.
Verdict
That it recovered its reputation was a matter of importance to
golf in Australia because it is such a significant course and as
conditions improved the club became the most sought after
membership in Sydney. It is the closest we have to the brand of
golf made famous by the links at Pebble Beach and for those who
love raw golf where the chances of fighting a battering wind are
high, it is the greatest thrill in Australia.
Access
The New South Wales Golf Club is a private members only golf club
and does not offer 7 day a week public access times. Subject to
special events, they do, however, allow limited public access
during weekdays only. No weekend times are available unless
invited by a member. Bookings are essential.
(4.5) | Add A Review
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05 Jan 2012
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20 Apr 2011
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14 Mar 2008
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21 Apr 2007
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1. strone | Rated
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11 Jan 2012
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Played here on JAN 3rd 2012,
It was blowing a gale and the greens had just been mowed and rolled. This place is amazing, I cant wait to get back there and play it again, It is a true test of golf and the wind made it very tough!. I had 30pts playing off 7 and I was happy with that in the extreme wind! I cannot find a bad thing to say about the course, it is a true test of golf in an amazing location!. I had the best golfing experience of my life here!.
Play it any way you can!!