Course 81, Kew Country Club, NSW
Nice layout, good test
Nomadic_golfer : October 2020
Par 70, 5807m, slope 127, green fee $32
5 par 3s from 118-186m, 10 par 4s from 327-388m, 3 par 5s from 469-513m
The 4th round out of our Port Macquarie camp was at Kew, a little town of 1k people, just out of Laurieton, 20 minutes from Port Macquarie.
Its a very interesting layout, condition just a pass, not great. Kikuyu fairways that have some other broadleaf grasses invading it and quite patchy, and no real definition. Trees are medium to large pines and gums, well distanced on most holes so you have good chances of recovery but the grass is out there so harder to punch one up around the green. There are a few holes with thicker trees/ bush where there is no recovery (eg. left of 14). Kikuyu tees and surrounds also. Bent greens that might have had some coring a month prior and were patchy other than that.
But, after a ho-hum first hole, the layout on the front nine is excellent with every hole (excl 8) having some real character. My favourites were 2 (368m which narrows at driving length with trees and a right fairway bunker, then into a very shallow green with bunkers protecting both left and right front); 5 (390m, 100m lake carry but water carries through as a narrow stream on the left to about 250m, where paperbarks pinch in on the right side to make it quite a narrow driving hole for such a long par 4 – tough hole); and 7 (376m, slight right to left with fairway narrowing the further you hit the drive and a stream cutting across the fairway more than 250m from tee).
The back is not quite as strong but still has the same character, 13 and 14 add something different with 2 medium length straight par 4s with narrow fairways and some more penal rough just to check that you can nail a couple of straight drives at this pivotal point in your round.
There are a moderate amount of bunkers, water in play on a number of holes, and really good variation in length (for par 3’s 4s & 5s) and shape of holes and of generous v harsh penalties. It is a very solid layout, good test of golf, condition just ok. Well worth a little drive from Port Mac.
