Pacific Dunes GC Port Stephens, New South Wales Dual US Open tennis champion, Pat Rafter, may be the face on thebillboard inviting all golfers to try Pacific Dunes, but he could easily have been the inspiration behind its design. The James Wilcher-designed layout – about 40 minutes’ drive north of Newcastle at Medowie near Port Stephens – possesses similar attributes to those that endeared Rafter to the Australian public throughout his illustrious career. Pacific Dunes is challenging but, like Rafter, is sportingly fair. While power hitters will enjoy the generous landing areas on some holes, a strategic approach combined with deft touch – not unlike Rafter’s typical game plan – augers well for some good scoring. However, the fact is Rafter arrived on the scene well after Wilcher’s superb design was in the ground. Laid out on a rolling sandy landscape, Pacific Dunes has two distinct nines. The front nine is heavily bunkered and its fairways wind between lakes and natural wetlands. The inward half also features several water hazards, but is dominated by long strands of large Angophoras and Swamp Mahogany trees. In this day and age of new courses often measuring a lengthy 6,600 plus metres, to meet the desires of sometimes ego-driven developers, Wilcher has delivered a 6,411-metre layout (from the championship markers) that actually incorporates some terrific short par-4 holes. It is a difficult task for course designers to meet the length requirements of a developer and still include a couple of good short two-shot holes – which is why many modern layouts don’t possess a quality short par-4. That said, Wilcher has been able to create a respectable length course and incorporate three terrific short par-4s, which are among the highlights of a round at Pacific Dunes. Find out more at www.pacific dunes.com.au To read the rest of this review please purchase the October 2005 issue of Golf Australia magazine. Order your copy at www.mymagazines.com.au     course review archives