Melbourne’s central business district provides a diverse range of experiences from dining in world class restaurants, sourcing the latest fashions from designer shops, sipping a coffee in a cafe, and drinking cocktails in uber-funky bars that are hidden down laneways.   Now its possible to play 18 holes of golf in Melbourne city, indoors, and only a 9 iron distance away from some of the cities finest restaurants, bars and cafe’s.  (And only a lob wedge from my office!)

Golftec is a fully fitted out indoor golf centre located in Exhibition Street, near the corner of Bourke Street.  The Golftec centre is setup with the latest in sophisticated indoor golf systems.  10 virtual golf bays provide access to over 100 golf courses from St Andrews to Pebble Beach.  Play 18 holes on a course of your choice or the bays can revert to a more traditional driving range.   The centre also features an indoor putting green, and the first indoor practice bunker Ive ever seen!    Topped off with a cafe, this is a perfect location to work on the game whilst in the city.

Road Test

Sam, one of the owners, a coach at Golftec and writer for Golf Magazine was only too happy to show me around the complex.  The indoor driving bays are impressive.  Multiple camera’s and sensors track the swing and ball to provide a very accurate indoor golf experience.  Hitting the ball into the screen, the computer graphics take over showing the trajectory of the ball on the hole.  Swing dynamics including swing speed, angle and club face are provided after each shot.   Towards the rear of the centre is a full size practice bunker, and upstairs is a large putting green.  All aspects of the game can be practiced without putting a foot on the course!

As well as offering full rounds of golf and a driving range experience, Golftec have a team of coaches on hand to provide expert tuition.  I caught up with Dion for a lesson on my shortgame.  Dion has played professionally and caddied for some of Australia’s finest.  Being able to have a golf lesson before, during or after work is ideal.  And Dion was able to provide me with some great advise on my very average short game setup.  The virtual golf bays allowed practice from full drives and iron shots through to short chips and pitches, all from the one spot.   You can bring along your own clubs, or brand new Mizuno clubs are available to use as part of the golfing experience.

The Word

Golftec is an ideal location for the golfer working in the city, allowing the opportunity for a lunchtime 18 holes with mates or a lesson before or after work.  Its also perfect for a visitor to Melbourne who may want to work on their swing before heading down to take on the world class sandbelt or Mornington Peninsula courses.

Details

Golftec

• 136 Exhibition St Melbourne
• Mon – Fri: 7:30am to 9:30pm
• Sat, Sun: 10am to 6pm
• Bookings – (03) 9421 2049
• Website
• Email

Have just added the Callaway Hyper X Driver to the golf bag, replacing the Titleist 983E which had not been the most reliable of clubs and never lived up to its predecessor the 975D which was a great driver back in 2000. The Hyper X is my first 460cc driver, so whilst it dwarves my older drivers, it visually doesnt look as massive as some of the newer drivers look.

Technical Talk The clubhead is all titanium and incorporates ‘Complete inertial Design’ and ‘Hyperbolic face technology’, yes the marketers have been at it again with the jargoniser. But fear not, this isnt all smoke and mirrors, the driver really does work. Essentially the technology provides a bigger sweet spot and weight where it needs to be to maximise the effect of club on ball. My driver has 10 degree loft and a Fujikura regular flex shaft

On the course At address the club feels right, the clubface is actually closed by 1 degree and looks like it wants to hit the ball! Whilst the temptation is to grip it and rip it, a smooth swing at the ball is all it takes to launch the ball long. When i did manage to make contact with the centre of the sweet spot my drives were long and straight, even matching it with the pro and single figure handicapper I was playing with. When I hit off centre, which is disturbingly often, the ball still flew well of the club with reasonable distance. A couple of times I grimaced as my swing fell away only to see the ball on a reasonably straight and long trajectory.

On Par Rating – Callaway Hyper X Driver Definitely a birdie, at least after its first outing.