Blog 70 – Emmaville

Nomadic_golfer : October 2020

Par 68, 5175m, slope 107, green fee $3 (9-holes)

7 par 3s from 112-240m, 8 par 4s from 278-390m, 3 par 5s from 480-540m

It was early October and our 6 week stay at the magnificent Kaiiwi Estate was drawing to a close. My last golf outing from this base was in the old mining region of Emmaville, home of the black panther sighting in 1958.

This is a bonafide bush track, with square scrapes, $3 green fees and spoons next to the rakes on the scrapes to clear the roo poo (thanks @pete.flower). The setting is quite nice and vey Aussie, with lots of medium size gums about, and thick scrub running alongside holes on the perimeter. Condition is pretty rough though, with lots of rocks around the place, and it is very dry.

There are some quirky holes – 3 of the par 3’s require you to hit over trees, but there are a couple of really good holes. 7 is a 540m par 5 that sweeps gently left off the tee, then goes harder left for the rest of the hole. It’s a wide fairway but there’s a dam down the left on the drive and thick trees all the way down the right. 8 is a 145m par 3 with a 130m water carry across the corner of a dam (Main photo below). Quirky things are: the drain-looking water hazard on 4 (photo above); the drive on 5 which must carry very large gums or hit a rolling hook; the tee shot on the 162m 17th that must go over a large tree 50m off the tee, not many could hit it high enough with enough club to reach the scrape; and the tee shot on the par5 9th which must go low, under some trees.

Overall, despite the conditions, there were enough unique and interesting things to make it fun. Best course I’ve ever played for $3!!

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