Course no. 28 – Bega, NSW
Pretty, out of town setting presenting soft, lush conditions and good scoring opportunities with 5 sporty par 5s.
Nomadic_golfer : March 2020
Par 72, 5742m, slope 125 , green fee $32
5 par 3s from 134 – 180m, 8 par 4s from 295 – 402m, 5 par 5s from 406 – 459m
Better play Bega
It was St Pat’s day when I fronted up with a cheesy grin for day 3 of golf on the Sapphire Coast, at the Bega Golf Club. Bega is a town of 4500 people, well know for it’s famous dairy output and is located 420km south of Sydney and 30km north of Merimbula.
The course has kikuyu fairways of varying quality with soft but true, small bent greens. The course utilises the large trees (predominantly gums) and undulating ground well, but only has bunkers on 4 or 5 holes. Walking 18 holes is a good workout on the soft, hilly fairways (but not as tough as Tura). Beautiful scenery abounds from all over the course and the clubhouse, with the course surrounded by paddocks, 2km out of town. The layout does include 5 par 5’s which all give you a chance (longest is 459m), albeit they are armed with a variety of defence mechanisms eg. steep uphill lies, water, reverse cambers and acute doglegs. This is balanced by 4 of the 5 par 3s being over 170m.
My favourites are 3 & 4 (both just over 400m, 3 is a short par 5, slightly downhill with tight driving area requiring a left to right tee shot, then a water carry if you are within range. The 4th is a tough par 4 with a slight right to left turn and the back tees in a very picturesque setting back across a creek. 8 is the other tough par 4, 373m up a steep hill with ob on left and a small green. I also took a liking to the view into the 13th green (352m); no bunkers but the fairway merges into the green on the same level, framed by 3 large trees, left, right and behind to create an amphitheatre feel (main photo below).
This is an underrated but enjoyable track, with a heap of variety in length. The layout is characterised by those reachable par 5s and some tough par 3s, while the 4s are a real mixture. Oh, and the tranquil setting, giving rise to lots of native bird life, gives you plenty of sightseeing (per this very tame fella on the 3rd tee below)
