Course 7 for 2021, White Cliffs, NSW
The ultimate outback golf course
Nomadic_golfer : February 2021
Par 70, 4750m, green fee $5, Slope n/a – 9 hole course
2 par 3s from 113-193m, 6 par 4s from 238-304m, 1 par 5 of 430m
White Cliffs is a remote opal mining town in the outback west of NSW, 255km northeast of Broken Hill, 1000km northwest of Sydney. It is a dry, hot, barren place where most of the dwellings are underground dug-outs. It’s a fascinating little town, that is well worth a visit and some tours, and is best accessed via a one hour drive from Wilcannia
The golf course is the ultimate outback track; no grass at all, narrow fairways, lots of salt bush, OB on a number of holes and a few dry creek beds and other hazards around the place. The local rule of 1 club length movement onto your portable mat of artificial turf, wherever you are on the course, except for the scrapes, enables many saltbush escapes and reduces the fear over the tight tee shots.
All of the par 4s are on the short side and with the hard running fairways, all driveable with the right wind. The tactic is let ’em rip, take your club length, then chip to the scrape. The 3rd at 198m (into a strong Southerly the day I played) is the hardest hole on the course by a mile, while the par 5 6th has a dry creek bed running across the fairway about 120m out from the scrape. Downwind and on the hard ground, I hit Driver 8 iron 40 metres through! The scrapes are called ‘sand’ but they are more of a crushed gibber or a shale.
The locals play at 8am Sundays and 4 of us turned up on this mild February morning. I played with locals: Dick Wagner (Southern Cross Opals); Pete; and Nick – all great fellas who love their golf but don’t take it too seriously. I highly recommend a Sunday morning round as a unique golf experience and a great way to spend some time with these very hardy folk.
