1. scarlett | Rated | 24 Oct 2006 | Add A Review

I read the reviews and checked out the Golf Course Guide (brilliant for green fee players like me) and everything seemed positive about this course, but after the round I was dissappointed. Sure it was a nice enough course and there were hundreds of kangaroos about, but in all honesty it was just a standard sububran (or country town) golf course. I just couldn't see what the fuss was about, even given the (slowly diminishing) VIC-centric nature of the Golf Course Guide.

The course is set inland in the coastal town of Anglesea, on the hills so has plenty of elevation changes. The base is pretty much sandy as you'd expect being coastal, and the native vegetation is a type of mid-sized eucalypt. That might have been my first problem, whilst the Australian bush is pleasant to play through and around, the eucalypt species there is so homogenous that it quickly became annoying. A complete lack of diversity in the trees meant the holes started to blend in with one another, and that detracted from the round.

There were large mobs of kangaroos on most holes of the course. Like most 'roos that live around humans, they pretty much wandered where they liked and didn't care whether you were swinging a club two metres away from them or not. They also didn't care about hopping across the greens and bunkers and the sheer number of them must make life hell for the greenskeepers.

Here's a warning though - The kangaroos attract tourists! Although there are signs near the clubhouse and carpark warning non-golfing visitors and tourists not to wander onto the course, they do anyway. The 10th is a downhill dogleg left hole playing away from the clubhouse / carpark. From the tee I played a shot down the left hand side of the fairway to try and cut the corner and take advantage of a sloping bank that pushes balls back into the fairway. Good thing I did too, as when I trundled down from the tee there were three young ladies standing pretty much in the middle of the fairway at about 150m from the tee. They were watching the 'roos and taking photos and seemed oblivious that a hacker (me) had just smacked a hard projectile in their general direction. I couldn't see them from the teeing area until I'd walked about 30m down the fairway, so it wouldv'e been an interesting argument if they'd been hit.

Nothing special, just a pleasant local course set in a coastal town. Not too expensive for the round and par 73 for something a little different.

"No gimmes, no mulligans; play golf"

Scarlett

2. robfindlay | Rated | 09 Sep 2005 | Add A Review

This is a great course, much improved over the last ten to fifteen years from a dry dusty track to a lush well-maintained course of two halves - the first nine is carved out of the bush, with difficult shots from the tee more than anything, and the second nine negotiating the land closer to the main road, but still as a full round a beautifully picturesque experience with both challenges and respites along the way, and a suitably long 18th to test your endurance - a great course with fond memories and challenges ahead.

3. ninjagolfa | Rated | 20 Feb 2005 | Add A Review

Let's start with the bad points, as there's not too many! No driving range...well, there is, but you provide your own balls. OK...that's it, there's nothing else to pick on unless you have weak knees as the course is very hilly.

For tourists...this place must be the mecca of golf in Australia...good Aussie bush setting, more kangaroos than you can poke a stick, or wayward Titleist Pro V1 at, down by the Great Ocean Road...it doesn't leave much out.

As a golf course, it is well laid out with great facilities. Plenty of drinking water around the course, toilets, views, kangaroos (seeing a pattern here?). The greens are high-quality, great bunkering with predictable sand and the fairway grass is top notch too...if you can get your ball to stay on it...there's plenty of slopes.

Variety of holes is good and will probably see you try every club and shot in your bag. Lots of holes with views overlooking valleys that just beg for the driver and a solid belt...especially the 18th. The 18th green, set into the hillside immediately beneath the clubhouse with its multi-levels and ridges must play out for some interesting spectator comments...it's a doozy.

One other thing that would be an interesting addition is to get a few of those kangaroos with targets painted on their sides :-)

4. mavrick5 | Rated | 21 Jan 2005 | Add A Review

I remember playing here as a kid with my father. Very picturesque course with lots of kanagroos wandering around. When I played there, it was very lush and green, but that was a long time ago.