Blog 240 – Allora

Nomadic_golfer : April 2023

9 holes – Par 68, 4546m slope 105 $20

3 par3s 103-155m, 5 par4s 221-325m, 1 par5 485m

This is a short, 9 hole course half hour north of Warwick in Southern Qld. It has spongy kikuyu fairways and slow, couch greens but this is about extreme features – lots of blind shots, OB fences, super narrow greens, near-vertical banks rising above greens, drivable par 4s, amid lots of trouble and risk/ reward decisions to make.

There are many opportunities to part with your golf ball. The par 5 first is a ripper, with OB right, it dips down to a severe valley after about 250, then turns left over the valley and large trees, to a steep uphill rise to a green tucked far left. All the 4s except for the last (which gives you a choice of 2 different routes to the green) give you green-driving options, most also associated with an opportunity to lose your ball. The ultra-short 221m 6th/ 15th is a super but simple design; an uber-skinny green planted diagonally to the incoming traffic, has two tees only a couple of metres apart but one gives you the opportunity to drive the green with a strong draw, and the other with a hard cut.

The 7th is the pick of the par 3’s, a 145m carry over a little chasm to a diagonally placed green running from short right to long left with jungle long and right and a severe drop-off left. The view from the tee is just super and there is no bail out if you hit enough stick.

Condition is just ok but this is about fun. It will be even better on second visit as you will know where those blind shots are intended to travel but trying to resist all those short 4s will take more will-power than I have!