Course 11 for 2023 – City GC, Toowoomba, Qld
The uphill 410m par5 10th at 6.30am on a lovely Autumn morning
Nomadic_golfer : April 2023
Par 70, 5565m slope 131 $40
4 par3s 110-160m, 12 par4s 325-390m, 2 par5s 410-460m
In assessing how I feel after playing this well-kept inner city track, I face a real conundrum.
On the one hand this course has super green complexes with dramatic features (tiers, slopes, drop-offs, swales, mounds, tight pin options & lots of different shapes) and large, prominent bunkering, topped off with quick, smooth bentgrass greens. Condition of the kikuyu fairways was pretty good too, add in a mix of large plus some small pot-like fairway bunkering and the aesthetic and appearance of the surfaces was top-shelf, with the only issue being softness of greens due to recent rains.
On the other hand, and while I think the quality of the make-up of the individual holes is there/ ok (driven by the characteristics above), there is a real sameness about a large number of the par4s. 8 of the par 4s run parallel to each other, traversing up a moderate slope, pointing either directly North or South and are between 325 and 355m (including one stretch of 4 in a row and another of 3). The other trick I think they’ve missed is that despite the lack of length in the par4’s, there isn’t a tempting, sub-300m hole to pose that carrot-dangling, risk/ reward question
All fairways are tree lined and there is a real mixture of trees, with both gums and pines predominant. Its not quite as tight as its sister club down the road but still quite penal on fairway misses.
14 is my pick of the traversing 4’s (330m slightly right to left, with huge fairway bunkers on the inside corner, to a shallow green protected by more huge bunkers short and long – its like a day at the beach), while the 3 toughest 4’s were probably my other favourites – in: 3 (a steep 355m downhill with many options off the tee to negotiate OB and bunkers left, trees right which open up as you progress down the hole, and a water carry that could be reached with a driver down the left side); 9 (365m right to left with a narrow fairway and pot bunker on the outside of the turn), and 18 (a tough 400m, steep downhill, with bunkers on either side of a fairway that you must hit to negotiate a water carry about 20m short of a large, rolling green with multiple plateaus and tricky pin options).
Overall, its a bit of an enigma. I would play here for the green complexes and surfaces alone. The layout/ routing doesn’t reach out and grab you but the variety, imagination and challenge that the greens provide makes up for that. Straight driving and accurate wedge play would be a great recipe for a good score around here.
