Blog 54 – Lismore

Nomadic_golfer : July 2020

Par 70, 5772m, slope 126, green fee $26

6 par 3s from 115 – 165m, 8 par 4s from 320 – 395m, 4 par 5s from 440 – 485m

It’s the 31st July and I wind my way off the hill at Stony Chute into the commercial heart of the local area. Lismore has a population of just under 30,000 on low lying ground on the banks of the Wilson River, a tributary of the Richmond River and is subject to serious flooding. In July/ August 2020 it was not the place to be driving around with Victorian number plates!

The course is a good, solid track and excellent value for money at $26, or $20 on Sundays. It had reasonable kikuyu mixed fairways with some uphill and downhill holes making the walk a good exercise, particularly the back 9, which is also the strongest and most interesting side. Still within the town limits, in a garden setting, fairways are framed by tall Aussie eucalypts and there are plenty of birds and wildlife around.

The layout attracts some criticism due to most fairways consisting of what I would call small ‘moguls’ of 2-3m in diameter, giving you lots of subtle side-hill, up and downhill lies, very unusual. I reckon they are a point of difference and a good test. The greens are 328 Bermuda and in pretty good condition, relatively small; dormant and spongy at this time of year but there are a number of slopey greens that would break a lot and be quite quick when up and growing.

The course is a good mix of ups and downs and left to right, right to left etc, with 6 par 3’s and 4 par 5’s. My favourite holes were: 4 (index 1 395m; steep downhill tee shot, trees both sides, bends right at about 200m with big culvert, slightly back uphill to green ); 11 (short 120m par 3 with massive tree short left and big drop off on right side of green dictating a slight draw or dead straight tee shot); and 12 (380m hard left to right on a sloping left to right fairway with the green dropping off to the right and a large tree short left, requiring some shape around).

Lismore Workers GC is solid, without being spectacular and probably a better test of golf than the yardage suggests with the hilly lies, despite there not being an over abundance of hazards.