Nomadic Aussie Golfer
Golf Course Reviews
australiangolfcoursetourbycaravan.com / @nomadic_golfer
Hi there. I am Tony Ellis, lifelong golf addict and recently converted ‘full-time traveller’. If you have found yourself on this website, you may have a bit of an idea what I’m about. This might fill in the gaps:
It started off as a mid-life crisis, retiring from my sound Corporate job, selling our family home and heading off, caravan in tow. That was late 2019, and rather than tread the well-worn conservative path of my Corporate Finance brethren, my wife and I literally headed off into the unknown. Would we work again? Did we have to work again? Could we put up with each other full-time? How would we spend our time? Did we have enough interests to keep boredom at bay? ………
A few months in, and the world was in an unusual state …….. the covid pandemic. We were in rural NSW, and found ourselves on a farm/ camp with 3 other couples and the farm owners. All great people and always something happening to keep us occupied around the farm. We were still able to play golf in NSW, and as I had already chalked up 28 courses by mid-March, some covid daydreaming had come up with the idea of playing 100 different courses for the year. It seemed like a realistic and entertaining goal.
By the time we had finished the hard lockdown at the start of June, I’d played the 10 courses that were located within an hour or so of the farm, leaving 62 in 7 months for the ton. As we resumed travelling, I would just play courses on our chosen travel route, rather than plan the courses and have the golf dictate our travel. The number was building steadily and by the time we signed up to do a few weeks volunteering on a farm in high country NSW, near Glen Innes, at the beginning of September, I had played 62 courses, with 38 to go. It was around this time, sitting around the nightly (and very necessary) campfire, that my wife asked me how I was going to document the courses I’d played. “I’ve got my thoughts on an Excel Spreadsheet, that’ll do” was my response. “I’ve seen what you are doing, what you are writing – that would be a waste” she retorted “put them out there for others to use, bung ’em on a website, post ’em on insta”. A very coercive lady is my wife Jo, so I got to work.
Over the next couple of months, I added 1 course per day to the website, using the Excel notes I recorded and the few photos I had taken. From that point onwards, with the website in mind, the notes became more detailed and the photos much more plentiful. The ‘quality’ of those earliest blogs, before that point in time, will attest to that.
I did achieved the 100 different courses goal in 2020, exactly 100 in fact. It didn’t seem that difficult and I assumed that would become the annual ‘norm’. This was not to be the case, with various strands of life taking precedence in each year since (including some ‘work’), and I am yet to get anywhere near another ton in any one year. One theory of mine was confirmed in that first year – to me there is something appealing in every golf course – you might have to look hard sometimes, but you’ll find it. And it is not rare that the rugged looking courses, off the beaten track, with no reputation, provide you with the most satisfying days. Finding well designed golf holes, with a quirk or two, after arriving with low expectations, gives rise to a great day.
The life experiences have been vast in these last 5 years, but there hasn’t been the quantity of golf courses that 2020 delivered. As I write this in early 2026, I still remain shy of 500 courses played in my life (I was at 169 before our trip started). Not to say that there hasn’t been a heap of great golfing experiences in those 5 years, but the number of new places explored, and therefore new courses encountered, has declined. Golfing highlights in this time include a 4-month, 45-course ‘circumnavigation’ of Tasmania and a trip around the UK in a motorhome with my youngest son, playing 61 courses in 60 days.
Through the website and the instagram page over the last 5 years, I have had the pleasure of meeting many like-minded golfing ‘nuts’. This has been a unintended benefit, and one which has really broadened my outlook on the game. My passion for golf remains as strong as ever. However, the focus has changed considerably – definitely since I was that over-enthusiastic teenager, getting a club in my hands at every opportunity. Even at the start of our trip, I was always working on my game, aiming to improve, get that handicap down to a PB etc. While I am still keen to play well, my appreciation of the grounds on which we play and my desire to learn more about the courses, see more and appreciate what it all means, what drives designers/ architects to do what they do etc etc, occupies much more of my golfing focus. It did in fact, lead me to the UK.
What does this all mean going forward? It just means that on this website, I will continue to look at how the course in question looks & plays, with commentary predominantly centred on what makes a course tick, it’s defining characteristics, and it’s design highlights. And as my experience continues to grow, perhaps the depth of my reviews will grow.
We are still to get west of the Stuart Hwy in our travels, and as such, West Australian golf courses remain a large gap in my portfolio. I am hopeful that we will attend to this gap in the next couple of years, as I am also hopeful of a return trip to Tassie, in an attempt to complete all the courses on our golf quirk-rich isle, and sample a couple of new, high-profile Tasmanian offerings. Anyhow, there is still lots to explore and lots of golf courses in Australia to write about so stay tuned. I do also intend to find time to write about the links-inspired experience of 2025 UK and include my thoughts on these courses on the website.
PROFILE
Born
1968 McLaren Vale, South Australia
Residences
1968-1999 South Australia
1999-2019 Victoria, Australia
2004/05 Denver, Colorado
Golf Club Memberships
1980-1984: McLaren Vale GC (Ashbourne) SA
1982-1994: Victor Harbor GC, SA
1993-2001: Barmera GC, SA
2000- current: The National GC, Vic (formerly Long Island Country Club)
COURSE EXPERIENCE TRACKER
As at end 2019
169 courses played
144 in Australia (77 Vic, 46 SA)
25 Overseas (10 UK&I, 10 USA)
As at end 2025
468 courses played
383 in Australia (108 Vic, 103 NSW, 70 SA)
85 Overseas (70 UK&I, 10 USA)
For detail on courses played, refer to the Home Page
