On Par – All about golf in Australia

Strange name, great course! The Growling Frog Golf Course is about 30km North of Melbourne’s CBD, and luckily even closer to me. The Graham Marsh designed layout opened late 2004 and has quickly become one of my favourite golf courses. Very rare for a new course these days, there is not a housing estate or hotel in sight as the course is funded by local council. This provides a scenic backdrop of nearby hills, ancient river gums, waterways and the odd kangaroo. The layout is fairly open, meandering through the gums and waterways. Bunkers are a constant hazard! The course is undulating without being hilly, and given Melbourne’s current water shortage is in fantastic condition with its own supplies of water for irrigation.

5th Hole – Long but could be longer! After a challenging start to the round, the 5th is a 421 metre par 4 – index 1. A large gum gaurds the corner of the fairway, requiring a long and accurate shot from the tee. BUT with the rough cut low, a more agressive line right of the tree shortens the hole considerably with minimal penalty. Definitely hardest hole on the course when there is deep rough to the right.

11th Hole – More sand than grass The par 5 11th hole starts innocently enough with a fairly open fairway, however the second and approach shots face an elevated green, undulating fairway and a sea of bunkers (Marsh must have had some excess sand left over and dumped it all on the 11th!

12th Hole – Big green, pin position important Following up the 11th, the par 3 12th hole is 164 metres from the back and often plays with a right to left wind. The green is huge with at least 1-2 clubs difference from front to back. Anything left can kick off the side of the green into a water hazard. The tiered green can be tricky

18th Hole – Tough finish If you need a par on the last to make the round, the final holes a tough challenge. From the championship tee it measures 400 metres, though plays longer as the hole goes uphill to the green. Tee shot is played across a swamp between two gum trees with a large fairway bunker on the left. Once safely on the fairway, a long second is usually required to the elevated green, sucker bunker on the left is not greenside and can play with the mind in club selection. Par here earns a cold one at the 19th.

Im a member of the Growling Frog Golf Club, and try to play in a few of the Saturday competitions. The course is a fair test of golf, without any gimmicks or tricks, fairways are wide and playable, bunkers are plenty but not unfairly places, greens are large, quick but true and will hold a well hit approach. A good round is rewarded, and bad round can be punished.