Blog 61 – Club Banora

Nomadic_golfer : August 2020

Par 70, 5609m, slope 126, green fee $25

5 par 3s from 139 – 182m , 10 par 4s from 273 – 396m, 3 par 5s from 405 to 500m,

Third course from our Tyalgum base on NSW’s Northern Rivers was this unusual 11 hole course in Banora, just 5 minutes down the road (South-West) from Tweed Heads.

Club Banora is an interesting place. The golf course is part of a very large sports club with tennis, bowls etc. and the clubhouse is massive. It was previously an 18 hole course but has been reduced to 11 holes as the holes in the centre of the course became too water-logged, too often. You now use 11 greens (7 twice and 4 of once). There is a very parkland feel with no real rough to speak of and trees generally spaced out to allow recovery shots, with no real definition from fairways to rough. The fairways are couch and a number are quite good, some are quite soft yet others are very firm and running. Greens were excellent; maybe 328 Bermuda. They are large, very flat and quite quick for a public track.

The 3rd is a good risk/ reward drivable par 4 with OB left and water right, its then followed by some ‘up and back’ medium length par 4’s. The pick of the holes are: 1 (snaking par 5 with water cutting across fairway 50m short of green); 2 (strong 180m par 3 with bunker short right); and the best hole is 8 (390m slightly right to left with OB 25m left of fairway and thicker trees left, with bunker short right making left the preferred line off the tee)

Overall, it’s quite basic and not the hardest track going around, but there are some interesting holes and the greens are worth the visit alone.