Course 28 for 2023 – RAAF Golf Club, Darwin, NT
The very photogenic par3 8th
Nomadic_golfer : July 2023 – RAAF Golf Club, Darwin review
Par 69, 5448m slope 105 $20 (9 hole course)
6 par3s 113-206m, 9 par4s 233-400m, 3 par5s 469-539m
Bombs Away – Military golf; left, right etc etc. I bet they’ve heard ’em all around here
This is a very interesting 9 hole course abutting the RAAF Base & Darwin Airport, that was established in 1970 to provide golfing facilities to all members of the ADF community. It continues to do that today and is open to the public also.
Volunteers constructed the par69, 9 hole/ 18 tee course and continue to look after the property today. Condition was ok, but its the varied and feature-packed design that piques your interest here. There are an assortment of trees and a mixture of tight versus generous fairways, no bunkers but a number of grassy mounds, OB fences and a variety of hazards.
After the 280m par4 first provides a gentle loosener of no real substance, the 170/ 195m 2nd demands you strike one crisply. From here on in, there are some really interesting holes. 3/12 is a really strong par4 of 356/ 396m with the tees providing 2 different angles, making one a slight left to right and the other right to left amongst some nice gums and a drain that runs down the right, then cuts across in front of the green. The par3 5th 164/ 136m is also a beauty, from 2 separate tees that almost sit on Bagot Rd, through 2 different chutes of trees to a green fronted by a couple of grassy mounds.
It is literally bombs away on the par 5 6th (502/ 535m), and it may be the signature hole here. It bends left around a wide drain and OB fence that houses the RAAF’s finest on the other side. That drain carries on down the left before cutting across the fairway 60-70m short of a long, narrow green that is tucked a little further left again. The 8th (113m par3) / 17th (238m par4) provides the real excitement of the layout, with the penultimate hole providing the ultimate risk/ reward; absolutely driveable with water short and right, and trees left. I wonder if I am the first player here to ever mistaken the 1st green as the one in play, push my driver 20 yards and finish up with a 15 footer for eagle!! A 206m par3 as the last ensures you must make a fine strike to finish also.
I really enjoyed this quirky little track that has a lot of spunk & character. Condition may not be first class, but the options and features keep coming and have you wondering what is up next as you approach each tee.
