Above: Junee’s par 3 16th and par 5 13th green. The use of it’s natural assets and great variety of holes asking questions of you, made it my #1 Hidden Gem for 2020
Nomadic_golfer : February 2021
2020 awards, 100 courses played
I’ve played the 100, listed my favourite 15 courses and my all-star 18. Now for some other awards and stats from the year that was
Courses
Favourite course – Royal Adelaide SA / Favourite country course – Murray Downs NSW / Favourite surprise – Junee NSW / Favourite scrapes course – Dunkeld Vic
Hidden Gems List – Junee NSW / Harden NSW / Inverell NSW / Grafton NSW / Casino NSW
Most underrated – Bairnsdale Vic / Thurgoona NSW
Most Unique – Pottsville NSW / Crescent Head NSW
Longest course – Mt Broughton NSW (6619m) / Shortest course – Pottsville NSW (2608m)
Best conditioned in general – The National Vic (Country – Murray Downs)
Best conditioned greens – Gunnamatta (The National) Vic / Gold Creek ACT
Best value for money – Glen Innes ($14) / Inverell ($15) / Harden ($20) / Kempsey ($17 incl Comp) / Most quirky – Gundagai (some great holes, some unusual and play over effluent ponds)
Sundry
Most groups overtaken in a round – 7 (Bathurst on a Sunday arvo)
Above: Harden’s clever layout and great use of it’s natural characteristics, especially undulations, demanded it be on the Hidden Gem list
Above: A natural bush setting with excellent bent greens and a fantastic back 9, which takes advantage of a meandering stream make Inverell a Hidden Gem.
Above: Super greens, beautiful scrub surrounds and a layout that hardly has a bland hole made me choose Grafton as a Hidden Gem
Above: Great variety in length and shape, combined with some really tasty risk-reward holes and that intangible asset ‘character’ has Casino on my Hidden Gems list
The full list of courses (in chronological order)
| Avoca, Vic | |
| Maryborough, Vic | |
| Grampians GC, Dunkeld | |
| Casterton, Vic | |
| Kingston SE, SA | |
| Lake Albert, Meningie, SA | |
| McCracken GC, Victor Harbor, SA | |
| Royal Adelaide, SA | |
| Victor Harbor, SA | |
| Mannum, SA | |
| Loxton, SA | |
| Barmera, SA | |
| Dareton GC, Coomealla, NSW | |
| Riverside GC, Mildura, Vic | |
| Murray Downs GC, NSW | |
| Cohuna GC, Vic | |
| Long Island, Vic | |
| National – Old, Vic | |
| Leongatha GC, Leongatha South, Vic | |
| Maffra GC, Vic | |
| Heyfield GC, Vic | |
| Bairnsdale GC, Eagle Point, Vic | |
| King Cove GC, Metung, Vic | |
| Orbost GC, Vic | |
| Mallacoota GC, Vic | |
| Tathra Beach Country Club, NSW | |
| Tura Beach Country Club, NSW | |
| Bega Country Club, NSW | |
| Gundagai District Sevices Golf Club, NSW | |
| Galway Farm GC, Coolac NSW | |
| Cootamundra Country Club, NSW | |
| Junee Golf Club, NSW | |
| Young Golf Club, NSW | |
| Tumut Country Club, NSW | |
| Harden Country Club, NSW | |
| Binalong Country Club, NSW | |
| Yass Golf Club, NSW | |
| Brighton Golf Club Vic | |
| Moss Vale Golf Club, NSW | |
| Mt Broughton Golf & Country Club, NSW | |
| Shelly Beach Golf Club NSW | |
| Kooindah Waters Golf Club NSW | |
| The Springs CC, Peats Ridge NSW | |
| Tuncurry Golf Course (Forster-Tuncurry GC), formerly Grand Lakes CC | |
| Tallwoods Country Club NSW | |
| Club Taree Golf, NSW | |
| South West Rocks GC, NSW | |
| Kempsey GC, NSW | |
| Mullumbimby GC, NSW | |
| Ballina GC, NSW | |
| Kyogle GC, NSW | |
| Coraki GC, NSW | |
| Casino GC, NSW | |
| Lismore Workers GC, NSW | |
| Byron Bay GC, NSW | |
| Murwillumbah GC, NSW | |
| Coolangatta Tweed Heads – West Course, NSW | |
| Coolangatta Tweed Heads – River Course, NSW | |
| Ocean Shores, NSW | |
| Pottsville GC, NSW | |
| Club Banora, NSW | |
| Grafton GC, NSW | |
| Glen Innes GC, NSW | |
| Guyra GC, NSW | |
| Armidale GC, NSW | |
| Uralla GC, NSW | |
| Inverell GC, NSW | |
| Deepwater GC, NSW | |
| Tenterfield GC, NSW | |
| Emmaville GC, NSW | |
| Yamba G & CC, NSW | |
| Iluka GC, NSW | |
| MacLean GC, NSW | |
| Sawtell GC, NSW | |
| Coffs Harbor GC, NSW | |
| Bonville Golf Resort, NSW | |
| Nambucca Heads Island GC, NSW | |
| Crescent Head CC, NSW | |
| Wauchope CC, NSW | |
| Port Macquarie GC, NSW | |
| Kew CC, NSW | |
| Longyard GC, Tamworth NSW | |
| Tamworth GC, NSW | |
| Dubbo GC, NSW | |
| Wentworth GC, Orange, NSW | |
| Bathurst GC, NSW | |
| Duntryleague GC, Orange, NSW | |
| Wagga City GC, NSW | |
| Gold Creek CC, ACT | |
| Yowani GC, ACT | |
| Royal Canberra GC, ACT | |
| Federal GC, ACT | |
| The National, Gunnamatta, Vic | |
| Sandy Golf Links, Sandringham, Vic | |
| Spring Park GC, Dingley, Vic | |
| Thurgoona CC, NSW | |
| Commercial Golf Resort, Albury, NSW | |
| Temora Golf Club, NSW | |
| Cowra GC, NSW | |
| Tipperary GC, Young, NSW |