Above: Map showing courses played in 2024
Blue people icon = courses played for first time in 2024 (26)
Purple flag = courses played in 2024 that I have previously played (12)
2024 Year in Review – Eclectic 18
The field for this eclectic is the 26 courses that I played for the first time in 2024, with the criteria being that each course could have a maximum of 1 hole represented.
Great holes aren’t necessarily the domain of the upper echelon of the country’s courses with holes like the long par4 16th at Nhill (half-way between Adelaide and Melbourne on the Western Highway), and the extraordinary par3 4th at Omeo (in Victoria’s high country) great examples of this. Both of these holes still sit clearly at the front of my mind, though not many Aussie golfers would have experienced them. The same goes for 7 at Lakes Entrance, which is an absolute beast.
The fairway at the long straight par4 16th at Nhill has a dip at around driving length. You walk down the dip then look up at this brilliant green complex, set in the far back corner of this dead-square property. It also happened to be within sight of our caravan which was anchored at the local airfield.
And I experienced the spectacular par3 4th at Omeo on a joyous day I spent with Canadian-raised local Carter Bloom, who was a fantastic host. There are a handful of truly memorable holes on this 9-hole country track in Victoria’s high country, but the rustic tee setting accompanied by a large elevation drop to a small putting surface between a couple of large trees is truly exhilarating.
Completing my trio of rural treasures, is Khyber Pass, the 418m par4 7th at Lakes Entrance in Victoria’s East Gippsland region. It is the key plank in a succession of super holes on this front 9 that lay within earshot, but just out of view, of Bass Strait. The tee points you at the sandhills and beckons a right to left shaped drive before the fairway pinches in between a couple of dunes and demands a precise long second.
I could go on, but here it is:
Front 9
| Hole | Course | Par | Length (m) |
| 1 | Lonsdale Links, Vic | 4 | 295 |
| 2 | Narooma, NSW | 4 | 323 |
| 3 | Royal Queensland | 4 | 403 |
| 4 | Omeo, Vic | 3 | 185 |
| 5 | Noosa Springs, Qld | 4 | 329 |
| 6 | Newcastle | 4 | 389 |
| 7 | Lakes Entrance, Vic | 4 | 418 |
| 8 | Benalla, Vic | 3 | 123 |
| 9 | Palmer Coolum, Qld | 4 | 361 |
Pictures and some narrative of each hole, follow:
Back 9
| Hole | Course | Par | Length (m) |
| 10 | Mollymook, NSW | 4 | 360 |
| 11 | Edenhope, Vic | 5 | 450 |
| 12 | Ballarat, Vic | 4 | 300 |
| 13 | Kooralbyn Valley, Qld | 5 | 520 |
| 14 | Bright, Vic | 5 | 516 |
| 15 | Noosa GC, Qld | 4 | 405 |
| 16 | Nhill, Vic | 4 | 403 |
| 17 | The Glades, Qld | 3 | 140 |
| 18 | Palmer Gold Coast | 5 | 514 |
Pictures and narrative of each hole from the back nine:
