Holiday at home: Victoria's Secret

Stretching east from the outer suburbs of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, north to the Great Dividing Range and south to the Bass Strait coastline, Gippsland incorporates snowfields, old growth forests, rolling green pastures, beaches and lakes.

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DOWN BY THE LAKES

Following the Princes Highway east from Sale will lead you into the heart of the Gippsland Lakes district. A network of lakes, with the largest being Lake Wellington, combine with marshes and lagoons to cover more than 600 square kilometres of the area. Needless to say, the region is a haven for birdlife with more than 20,000 waterbirds calling the lakes home.

Bairnsdale is the largest town in East Gippsland and, depending on the time of year you visit, you can easily mix boating and fishing (spring and summer) or snow-skiing (winter) with a few rounds of golf on the same holiday.

From the beautiful rotunda in the main street of town, it’s about a 15-minute drive south to Eagle Point where you will find the Bairnsdale Golf Club, and some spectacular views of Gippsland Lakes.

The club was formed nearly 120 years ago, but it wasn’t until 1958 that the picturesque Eagle Point site saw the first rounds of golf played.

Today, beautifully maintained couch fairways and some of the best putting surfaces in all of Gippsland make Bairnsdale a must for any golfer visiting the area.

Bairnsdale GC. PHOTO: Supplied.

The two par-4s leading away from the clubhouse ease you into the round, before the first significant challenge presents on the 491-metre par-5 3rd hole. There is out-of-bounds well off to the right of the fairway, which will only hinder wild hitters. Of more concern are the fairway bunkers – one on the right of the driving zone and another on the left of the popular lay-up distance from the green. Avoid the pitfalls en route here and you can have a good shot at an early birdie.

The 3rd is followed by arguably the prettiest of Bairnsdale’s holes – a 134-metre par-3 played over the edge of a lake to a green protected left and right by bunkers. It’s a good test of your iron play early in the round.

Bairnsdale’s back nine covers more undulating terrain and it is here where you will get one of the best views of the nearby lakes during your round. The 13^th hole, the first of two back nine par-5s, plays slightly shorter than its 503 metres would suggest as it gradually descends to a green, lying just beyond two fairway bunkers and protected by another sand trap short and left. But it is the sight of the beautiful Eagle Point Bay off in the distance you will remember most.

One development taking advantage of the picturesque lakes environment is the marina, golf and waterfront residential community at Metung, about 30 minutes’ drive east of Bairnsdale. What was once over-farmed grazing land has been transformed during the past three decades with more than 15,000 trees planted and several wetlands regenerated.

Central to the greening of the development was the construction of the Metung Country Club (formerly known as Kings Cove Golf Club) – a resort-style nine-hole layout designed by Ted Parslow, who also created the highly acclaimed Murray Downs course near Swan Hill on the Murray River.

The course, which is now under the management of the nearby Metung Hot Springs, features two sets of tees on each of the nine holes offering great variety, with the length and playing lines significantly different during the second lap of the layout.

Metung CC. PHOTO: Supplied.

As one might expect from a modern course, the green complexes here are dynamic with big putting surfaces giving rise to dramatic slopes and tiers. Parslow has used bunkering sparingly in this design, especially along the fairways, but they certainly play their role in protecting most greens.

For mine, Metung’s best is the long par-5 4th/13th hole. As the 4th hole the journey is a mere 524 metres … that is ‘mere’ when you have to cover 563 metres when it is played from the 13th tee. Both are genuine three-shot holes with the green and its surrounds cut off from the fairway by rough. A large scheme of bunkers encroaching from the left edge of the fairway ensure you are just as accurate with your lay-up as you hope to be with your shot to the green.

One of the best layouts in the entire region rounds out any Gippsland golfing journey originating in Melbourne.

Lakes Entrance Golf Club affords players all the sights, smells and sounds of true links golf.

Recently ranked No.88 by this magazine in the Top-100 Public Access Courses in Australia, Lakes Entrance covers a wonderful sandy landscape with high dunes the only thing separating it from the beach and the waters of Bass Strait.

The club moved to this site in 1958. The land was a combination of swamp and undulating sand ridges covered with coastal banksias, wattle and ti-tree – the perfect land for a natural links. The legendary designer Vern Morcom laid out the 18 holes simply by walking the land and driving pegs into the ground to mark the location of tees and greens. The only plans put on paper were the contour drawings for each green.

Lakes Entrance GC. PHOTO: Brendan James.

While some holes were redesigned in the 1980s by Ted Parslow, much of the course still has Morcom’s touch about it. The front nine runs closest to the beach and covers rolling land with several tees elevated on dunes to offer ocean views. The best hole, for mine, is also the toughest at Lakes Entrance. The 418-metre par-4 7th follows the direction of dunes to the right and doglegs left around a small lake that lies on the inside corner of the fairway. On the final approach to the green, the fairway narrows dramatically between the ti-tree.

One hole that regularly plays into the prevailing wind is the 137-metre par-3 15th. A lake between tee and green can be troublesome, as can the bunkers short and long of the wide putting surface. The real test here is getting the club selection correct for the tee shot from an elevated tee into a headwind or crosswind.

WHERE TO PLAY

1. LANG LANG GC

Green fees: $30 (weekdays), $45 (weekends).

www.langlanggolfclub.com.au

2. PHILLIP ISLAND GC

Green fee: $45.

www.pigc.com.au

3. AUSSIE GOLF RANCH

Green fees: $23 (nine holes), $17 juniors (Saltwater Creek par-3 course).

www.aussiegolfranch.com

4. LEONGATHA GC

Green fee: $50.