Blog 32 – Junee

Nomadic_golfer : April 2020

Par 72, 5943m, slope 117, green fee $25

4 par 3s from 130 – 185m, 10 par 4s from 295 – 391m, 4 par 5s from 463 – 519m

Course no. 4 from our Coolac base, just under an hour drive away, was Junee. Junee is a quaint town of just under 5,000 people, well known for its roundhouse railway museum and chocolate factory.

As for the golf course – sometimes when you least expect it! Reading reviews beforehand didn’t tip me off, the low-brow car park and club house certainly didn’t make me sit up and take notice and the first tee/ hole didn’t give me much of a heads up either. But this is a really good lay-out and and a challenging, enjoyable golf course.

While the bent greens are ok (not great) and the kikuyu fairways are patchy, the variety of shapes, lengths and directions, combined with the many different shots that this course asks you to hit, and the use of the area’s natural assets (undulations, rocks, gullies) make this a good test of golf and an aesthetically pleasing day out. Whilst fairways are tree-lined (gums and pines), the trees are not huge like the river courses and sparse enough to give you a chance if you miss the fairway.

Holes 2 through 10 are super; with long par 4s 4 and 5 (one left to right, the next r to l) complemented by 2 really good short 4s in 6 & 7 (both r to l). 8 is a ripper 155m par 3, steep downhill over the gully and 10 is 158 m to a raised green with hazard surrounding. 16 (185m across the gully) and 17 (379m l to r turning downhill with a rocky outcrop on the inner corner) are excellent holes also, before a chance to finish well with a downhill par 5 18th.

Junee has that intangible ‘character’, I loved the layout. A lack of bunkers and 4 short par 4s in 5 holes on the back nine detract a little and stop me from giving a higher rating on the layout but I’m coming back!