Blog 34 – Tumut

Nomadic_golfer : April 2020

Par 71, 5753m, slope 126, green fee $32

3 par 3s from 131 – 203m, 13 par 4s from 260 – 375m, 2 par 5s 446 & 509m

Course no. 6 from our Coolac base, also just under an hour drive away, was Tumut, on the north-west foothills of the Snowy Mountains. The Tumut area is still the centre of a softwood industry, based on pine.

The golf course, as you would expect, is hilly and in April was in pretty good condition. It has kikuyu fairways that were generally good with the odd bare patch, and smooth bent/ poa greens. Lots of slopes on fairways and greens; local knowledge is a definite advantage around here. Medium sized trees, quite thick in places.

Variety is the issue here, as there are only 3 par 3’s and 2 par 5’s, and a large number of similar length, shape and direction par 4’s – there is a lot of ‘up and back’. There is more variety on the first nine, while the second nine is prettier, set in the hill, but repetitive. There are some very narrow greens on the shorter, downhill par 4’s eg 13 and 15, which make it interesting.

Best holes are: 3 (347m uphill left to right with water down the left and trees right); 5 (main photo below, a super 375m par 4 with tight tee shot then second over a large valley and a tree to a 2-tiered green); 10 (tough 375m uphill left to right with mounds down the left and acutely elevated green, though the shape and direction of 12 and 14 are pretty similar to this); and 17 (130m steep downhill to a very narrow green.)

It’s a pretty course, with picturesque surroundings, another tough walk but another solid track that’s well worth a game if you are in the area.