Course no. 27, Tura Beach, NSW
There’s lots going on with this entertaining track: massive elevation changes; beachside feel; and small, very slopey, tricky to read, greens
Nomadic_golfer : March 2020
Par 73, 6018m, slope 144 , green fee $42
5 par 3s from 153 – 181m, 7 par 4s from 304 – 377m, 6 par 5s from 425 – 474m
There’s a lot to digest at Tura
Day 2 of golf on the Sapphire Coast, and I am just down the road from Merimbula, at the very hilly Tura Beach Country Club. I always walk when I can, and this track has been the best cardio challenge so far with the combination of steep hills and spongey fairways giving you a fair workout.
The surface of the small, slopey, bent greens was very smooth, while the predominantly kikuyu fairways (some couch) were a little inconsistent/patchy on this mid-March day. With the amount of slope on the fairways, some play narrower than what they are and it is difficult to hit a lot of them. There are plenty of hazards: it is quite well bunkered; there’s thick ti-tree/ bush lining some holes; plenty of trees; and a number of water traps.
The front 9 is close to the beach, and has a much different feel about it (the more interesting 9 in my opinion), while the back 9 is hillier and has houses lining a lot of the holes. I love the fact that there are 6 par 5s on this track, and they all give you a chance and give you decisions to make, though don’t be deceived by yardages; the 18th is the shortest of them but plays just as long, with the very steep uphill second shot. The par 5s are the essence of this course.
My favourite holes are: 2 (467m downhill par 5 which is definitely reachable but has a green that is surrounded by water for ~270 degrees, its a classic risk/ reward); and 3 (180m par 3, downhill and pointing at the beach, with a very prominent bunker tucked front right). The par 4s are probably the soft point of the layout; their biggest defence is the steep ascents (8, 10 & 15) but none of them cry out ‘great hole’.
Metres ain’t metres on this entertaining track, and there are plenty of great sea views from vantage points around the course. It’s not easy, as the slope rating suggests, and if you are going to walk it, limit the beer consumption the night before!
