Course 13 for 2024 & 381 all-up: Benalla GC, Vic
Par 5 16th green complex
Nomadic_golfer : January 2024 – Benalla Golf Club, Vic review
Par 72, 5879m, Slope 123 $30
3 par3s 123-190m, 12 par4s 273-404m, 3 par5s 443-478m
This country town of 10,000 people stands as the gateway to the high country and ski slopes for Melbourne-ites. It owns a solid golf course with Santa Anna fairways and POA greens in a par 72 layout of only 3 par 3s and 3 5s.
Fairways are tree-lined fairways, of standard width and gladly, you are not overpowered by trees, while some lovely green settings (particularly on back 9) leave a lasting memory. There are a mixture of hazards in the air (trees which are a good variety of shape and size, most mid-size gums, with some pines and some massive gums that feature – most notably the huge gum on the inside corner of the 404m left to right 18th) and on the ground (a smattering of bunkers, some fluffy stuff around the greens and a couple of streams/ water hazards – the hazard down the left of the short 4 11th is very prominent).
Mid January had the fairways as soft and lush (but good cover) as I’d ever played (presumably to protect against a run of mid-30 degree days that were forecast) and greens had some issues (diseased/ dead patches) but the unaffected patches were good.
Most memorable holes for me were: 2 (a shortish 443m dogleg left par 5 with large trees and OB left off the tee. To get a look at the green, your tee shot must either hug the right side or be well over 250m. If not, the bold, attacking golfer needs to sling a big right to lefter in and negotiate trouble on both sides, with OB looming for one over-cooked); 7 (362m that meanders left to right and finishes at a super green setting in front of a copse of gums, protected by a pot bunker complete with wispy surrounds, front right); 10 (375m left to right par4 with large, but carry-able trees on the inside corner, and some cypress-looking trees short & left of the green which means the best approach is a result of taking on that inside corner from the tee) & 14 (275m par 4 that turns hard left and offers a prize for a big high draw (one that was beyond me). Trees overhang the fairway here so even a layup must be very accurate.
The 2 short 3’s in 8 (123m) and 13 (135 m) are both picturesque, surrounded by trees, with the narrow elevated green on 8 swaying me to give it my nod as the superior of the 1-shotters. While this track is on a dead flat piece of land (so is Kingston Heath) it is a country track worth playing. There are your usual country quirks, and a couple of holes that leave you scratching your head, but there are plenty of interesting features and I reckon condition would typically be pretty good.
