Blog 289 – Lakes Entrance

Nomadic_golfer : February 2024 – Lakes Entrance Golf Club, Vic review

Par72 , 6104 m, Slope 129 $40

4 par3s 137-184m, 10 par4s 281-418m, 4 par5s 458-509m

Flanked by Bass Strait and with 90-Mile Beach as its southern border, this is a fantastic site for a golf course. And the experience on this Vern Morcom/ then Ted Parslow design is no letdown, I have it as one of the best tracks in country/ regional Victoria. Wrap it up with other courses in this area (Leongatha and Bairnsdale take my fancy, while I’ve heard Sale is pretty good too) and you have a selection of quality courses in the wider Gippsland region.

The site is adorned with natural sea-side vegetation and a lot of small-medium stringy-bark looking gums, which form the majority of the borders on the back 9, with the odd, large pine as a feature (3 huge pines behind the par3 11th tee especially).

It was actually a plus to be directed to start on the 10th, as the round builds to a crescendo on this routing. You can hear the ocean throughout the course on a turbulent day, and although your tee shot on the 11th is across water, it is just an inlet. You finally meet the beach on the 7th hole, and what a hole – ‘Khyber Pass’ as its known is a 418m right to left, snaking par 4 with sandhills bordering the right side and a view of the ocean distracting you, There is a water hazard left for the overcooked draw, and if you do find the fairway, you then need to thread the long 2nd between 2 tree-clad mounds to a green in its own little ampi-theatre. It is dramatic, and into the Easterly I had, it is tough.

But Lakes Entrance is by no means just about Khyber Pass, it has a host of proper sea-side holes. There is an element of ‘out & back’ within each 9 which gives you that true-links experience of a run of holes into the wind, followed by a run of holes with it. The front 9 is closer to the sea, more exposed, longer and the most dramatic. The tee on the 4th (a 398m par 4 that moves gently right, and is the 2nd in a run of 5 holes facing East on the front) is also big on drama. You walk back 50m through natural sea-side bush to your elevated tee that sits on an island surrounded by this low-lying bush. The tee shot is then over this bush and the whole right side is bordered by it too, and it is thick.

Those first 7 holes on the front are a great test, and to top off that side, 8 and 9 are a quality short par 4 & 5 respectively, with each posing a significant risk/ reward question involving water.

The back 9 is more protected, a little tighter, undulating and still contains quality holes. My favourite is probably the 137m 15th which is at the Eastern-most end of the course. It marks the geographical turning point on the back side loop and faces south, directly at Bass Strait. Downhill from an elevated tee, there is a water carry and I’m sure would play anything from a 3 iron to a wedge, depending on wind strength. In a nice touch, they look to have cleared some of the growth behind this green to give you a teasing look at the ocean.

The only weakness in the layout as I see it, is the similarity of the closing 3-holes, all short par4s of just over 300m, and all shaped with a degree of right to left. Interestingly, the average length of the 4s & 5s pointing East is much longer than those facing West, suiting the fact that the Westerly blows more often than the Easterly. The easterly is quite frequent in late-summer, is what I experienced, and is definitely the toughest to play the course in.

The course’s defences consist of a mixture of hazards in the air (more severe on the back 9, and on the ground (interestingly no bunkers on holes 1 or 2) with a few water hazards and bunkers on the vast majority of holes. I would bet that a major talking point here is the playing surfaces. While kikuyu is prominent everywhere ‘through the green’ and condition was fine, the bent/ poa greens were exceptional. In late summer, they were firm enough, and the surface was baby’s bum smooth and lightning quick – probably the quickest I have played outside the Melbourne sandbelt/ Mornington Peninsula. The kikuyu surrounds/ lightning quick greens is an interesting combination, which takes away ‘bump & run’ options and one that my short game is not quite up to conquering!!

Overall, this is a must play, and at $40 is an absolute bargain. The layout is super, it is exposed and challenging in any strength of breeze, the green surfaces are fantastic and you get a different challenge with that greens/ surrounds combination. And the sea-mist that rolled over the course at 7pm on a 26 degree summer day was a magic touch too.