It begins as a trickle in the Australian Alps and winds northwest forming the border between NSW and Victoria before flowing into South Australia then heading south and, ultimately, out to sea.
The mighty Murray River – the third longest navigable waterway on earth – is Australia’s greatest river with a majesty that enthrals hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. This holiday-maker’s playground has an ideal year-round climate, incredible natural beauty, historical sites and has gained a reputation for great food and wine.
There is also an abundance of riches for the travelling golfer with more than 20 courses to be enjoyed between Albury and Coomealla in what is now widely-regarded as Australia’s best-valued golf holiday region.
ALBURY TO COROWA
The challenging Thurgoona Country Club Resort, on the north-eastern outskirts of Albury, is one of the most underrated layouts to be found along the Murray River and is regarded by many as some of the best design work by Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge.
The par-72 layout has gained wider acclaim in recent years as the host of the NSW Senior Open, which has seen the likes of heralded players including Peter Lonard, Peter Senior and 1991 Open Champion, Ian Baker-Finch, compete for the trophy.
Thurgoona bares several Thomson and Wolveridge trademarks including rolling fairways, groups of mounds as well as strategically-placed and visually intimidating bunkering.
But it is the huge greens that offer the greatest challenge at Thurgoona. From the tee, most of the fairways are generously wide but heading for the green on each hole is fraught with all sorts of dangers. Many of Thurgoona’s greens are raised above the level of the fairway and, despite their size, will deflect mis-hits well away from the putting surface. Small mounds built into the edges of the greens make chipping a thoughtful task.
The good design is complemented by its great year-round condition. In winter, it is possible to see the white peaks of the Snowy Mountains while walking the manicured couch fairways and putting on some of the best bentgrass greens in the area.
The 173-metre par-3 16th is one hole you will remember long after you have left the course. This is Thurgoona’s signature hole and from the tee an intimidating scene confronts you. Water from the front of the tee stretches to the green and wraps around the right toward the back of the putting surface. The green is wide but all that water sitting in front of you can be enough to add tension to the muscles in your arms and shoulders.
From Thurgoona, it is an easy 15-minute drive to the picturesque Albury Commercial Golf Club.
There are only a handful of courses in Australia that can claim the great Jack Nicklaus once held their course record. This is one of them.
The Golden Bear was in his prime in 1971 when he visited the course for an exhibition match and posted a four-under-par-67, breaking the course record by two shots. It took decades for Nicklaus’ record to be bettered, and was one that couldn’t even be lowered by the likes of Greg Norman, Billy Dunk and Brett Ogle.
These great Australian players would have found tight fairways and small greens. Mis-hits to either are heavily penalised.
Accuracy is the prime importance at Albury. At 355 metres, the par-4 3rd is not a long hole by any means but it is still rated the toughest on the course. Bungambrawatha Creek runs along the right of the narrow fairway before cutting across the front of the green. The approach must be played over the creek to reach a dish-like green, guarded by bunkers left and right.
Albury is an undulating layout, far more than any other Murray course found to the west, and rarely offers the same shot twice. The 339-metre par-4 8th is a prime example. It is a terrific short par-4 where the drive is played through a chute formed by large pine trees to a rollercoaster fairway that cambers slightly from right down to the left. Ideally, the best position to approach the elevated green is from a flat lie in the ‘valley’. But many a player is caught with an uphill or downhill lie making it a difficult short second shot to a small green.
Albury is a border twin city with Victoria’s Wodonga, which is home to Wodonga Golf Club, about five minutes’ drive from the bridge spanning the Murray.
The Kevin Hartley-designed course lies in the shadows of Hunchback Mountain, which is visible from most parts of the course (except for those spots regularly visited under trees and shrubs) and provides an eerie backdrop, while Felltimber Creek winds through the middle of the course creating its own challenges on several holes.
Heading west along the Riverina Highway from Albury, you will find one of the prettiest courses to be found anywhere along the Murray River. Halfway between Albury and Corowa is the Howlong Golf Resort – a gem of a layout that is easy on the eye but demanding on your game.
You will be impressed with the colourful flower gardens, lake and fountain beside the 6th green, in front of clubhouse. But the quality of the layout will also leave you with no doubt Howlong is not a bed of roses.
Howlong’s greens are outstanding and are arguably the truest putting surfaces in the area. A green rebuilding program in the 2000s saw the bentgrass greens almost double in size, and designer Kevin Hartley incorporated only subtle breaks which can make them challenging to read.
Howlong only measures 5,689 metres from the tips but there are two par-4s that defy the ‘short’ course tag. The 400-metre 6th and 420-metre 7th are brutal holes. When the 6th, a dogleg right, is played into a prevailing breeze, the 7th, offers an assisting tailwind ... a good case of the lord giveth and the lord taketh away. A pair of pars through these two holes is rare; bogeys and double bogeys are not. Both holes feature large greens that slope steeply away at the sides so a long second, or third, shot must be accurate.
Howlong has some very good short holes as well. Two appear consecutively on the back nine - the 320-metre par 16th and the demanding 195-metre par-3 17th. A long-iron or fairway wood is the best option from the 16th tee to ensure you find the fairway. A drive hit too far down the left of the fairway will find a bunker just inside the seemingly endless row of pine trees. Find the fairway and a short iron approach is all that is needed. On the 17th, accuracy with a long club is a must from the tee to split the narrow corridor created by large trees left and right. As you might expect on such a long par-3, the green is large and inviting.
When a group of prominent businessmen and politicians met for the Federation Conference in 1893, the little Murray River town of Corowa – about 25 minutes’ drive west of Howlong – was thrust into the national spotlight.
The conference was held at the local courthouse and a decision was made to draw up a constitution for the new nation.
These days, Corowa is world renown as a great skydiving venue and the links with Federation are still visible driving through town. There’s a Federation Hotel, Federation Cafe, and even a Federation Museum.
The quiet achiever over the years has been the Corowa Golf Club. Although the club was founded just after Federation and began as a nine-hole sand scrape course where the local high school can be found today, the club didn’t move to its present site until 1955. Then, 18 holes were laid out on low land between the mighty river and a clubhouse. Another nine holes were added to the Old Course, east of the clubhouse, in 1980. Designed by veteran course designer Al Howard, the third nine differs greatly in character to the Old Course and certainly adds to the variety of golf Corowa offers.
RIGHT: Corowa Golf Club. PHOTO: Brendan James.
The opening hole of the East Course sets the tone for the nine. At 509-metres, this dogleg par-5 sweeps gradually left around the edge of a lake. The green is easily the size of two greens from the Old Course and is set in an amphitheatre created by some well-sculpted mounding.
For mine, the East Course nine played with the back nine of the Old Course (1-18) is the most challenging and interesting of the layout combinations.
The Old Course back nine leads away from the clubhouse in the direction of the river and the 502-metre par-5 11th goes a long way to getting you to the edge of the Murray in a hurry. A wall of mature gums and pines, left and right, make this a very tight slight dogleg right hole that is a genuine three-shot par-5.
Corowa – the home club of former Tour pro and Olympian Marcus Fraser – has an enormous variety of holes, which have been complemented in recent years with significantly improved conditioning of its fairways and bentgrass greens.
Another feather in Corowa’s cap is it is one of two clubs along the Murray that boasts a cinema in its clubhouse precinct. Golf, dinner and a movie … sounds like a plan.
YARRAWONGA TO MOAMA
Yarrawonga is home to the ‘newest’ course to be found anywhere along the Murray.
Black Bull Golf Club – five kilometres east of the main street – opened its first holes in 2010 with the remainder coming into play in 2015 and today it is one of the most highly regarded courses along the majestic river.
In fact, it debuted in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Courses ranking in 2016 and has been there ever since. In January this year, it was ranked No.80 in the country.
Black Bull is quite different to all its neighbouring courses.
Most notably it is located south of the Murray on the Victorian side of the border – making it the first river course built since Wodonga Golf Club opened for play in 1983 – long after poker machines had ceased to fuel the development of the big Murray River clubs like Yarrawonga Mulwala, Cobram-Barooga, Rich River and Murray Downs. All, of course, are found just north of the border in NSW.
On course, Black Bull offers wide fairways, big greens, expansive bunkering and subtle mounding. There have been trees planted across the property, but mostly form a green barrier between the course and the surrounding Silverwoods residential development.
In fact, one of the endearing characteristics of playing a round on this Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett-designed layout is the open space. The spacious Grand Prix couch fairways, punctuated by bunkers of varying shapes and sizes, expose players to breezes coming off nearby Lake Mulwala. These winds add to the challenge of avoiding several man-made lakes and streams that come into play on nearly a dozen holes.
A 10-minute drive back into town and north across the river will have you pulling into the car park of the Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort, which has 45 holes – the 18-hole Lake and Murray Courses as well as a short nine-hole Executive Course – making it one of the largest publicly accessible golf complexes in the southern hemisphere.
It’s actually hard to imagine this massive expanse of golf course landscape, club and accommodation buildings was a dairy farm a century ago.
Nearly 110 acres of dairy farming land was purchased in 1926 and nine holes were laid out and ready for play within 12 months. The course was extended to 18 holes within the next 20 years ... and it has been growing ever since.
In 1957, course architect Sam Berriman, who designed great Victorian layouts like Horsham and Keysborough, was commissioned to create a new 18-hole layout. Nearly 25 years later, designers Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge added another nine before completing their 18 holes five years later.
The Murray course, designed by Thomson and Wolveridge, is, in my opinion, one of the best layouts you will find anywhere along the Murray and is ranked No.50 in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Public Access Courses in the country.
Huge river gums dominate the flood basin landscape and natural lagoons border many of the fairways. The first four holes lead you to the north bank of the river and the best of these holes is the 360-metre 3rd. It is a terrific par-4 with a wide landing zone from the tee, but the best line into the green is from the right half of the fairway as trees can obscure your view from the left. A billabong cutting into the fairway lies short of the kidney-shaped green, which is also protected by two bunkers, ensuring you think hard about your approach shot club selection.
The Lake Course – ranked No.69 in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Public Access Courses – is a contrasting design to its Murray neighbour. It is more open but still features some big gums, lakes and plenty of bunkers. This course incorporates some older-style design holes with new holes created by Thomson and Wolveridge.
It is one of the old Berriman-designed holes that you will get your heart racing as you near the turn. The 283-metre par-4 8th is a picturesque hole that is dominated by a lake that is easily reachable from the elevated tee. This pretty hazard also comes into play for the wedge approach to the smallish green.
While water dominates at the 8th, it is sand that will be your curse at the 322-metre par-4 15th. This is a classic Thomson and Wolveridge-designed hole with the strategic use of bunkers, on the fairway and around the green, as well as mounding. The fairway narrows in the landing area with three bunkers and a small mound presenting problems. The second shot is to an elevated green nestled between four bunkers and several mounds. Standing down on the fairway it is a great sight - bunkers cut into the slope and hillocks defining the landscape behind the flag.
Off the course, the club has a myriad of facilities for resort guests to enjoy including great dining and bars, a health and fitness centre, croquet lawns, heated swimming pool, lawn bowls and a 60-seat cinema.
Cobram-Barooga Golf Club, 30 minutes’ drive west of Yarrawonga, is typical of the Murray River’s big resort courses in offering great golf and outstanding facilities.
The 36-hole complex, incorporating the Old and West Courses, is always presented well with the fairways having a good cover of couch and the bentgrass greens rolling true. The layout is built on sandy soil, which offers excellent drainage and dry conditions under foot year-round.
Both courses present differing challenges but, for mine, the more mature Vern Morcom-designed Old Course – the host of the PGA Tour of Australia’s TPS Murray River tournament won by Hannah Green earlier this year – is the pick of the two, as it places a real premium on good course management and equally good shot-making.
In recent times, the course has been renumbered and several holes redesigned by course architects Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford (Golf Strategies) as part of the clubhouse’s relocation to the adjoining Barooga Sports Club. These new holes have certainly added some depth to the quality of Morcom’s original creation.
What was the Old Course’s ‘iconic’ opening hole, now plays a pivotal role in the final run to the clubhouse. The 239-metre par-4 16th is a real ‘sleeper’. It may be short but it can certainly be the unravelling of a player, looking to make a birdie late in the round. From the elevated tee it looks like you could throw the ball on the green, but it better be a straight ‘throw’. Huge pine trees line the fairway and surround the heavily bunkered green, with their low hanging limbs making a scrambling par a tough task.
Cobram-Barooga is a wonderful experience with enough variety, beautifully presented, to entice you back again and again. It’s worked for me.
Cobram-Barooga’s nearest golf course neighbour has long been regarded as one of the hidden gems among the Murray River courses.
But the Tocumwal Golf & Bowls Club – just 10 minutes’ drive to the north west – has grown increasingly popular with travelling golfers simply because of the variety of holes to be played and the high quality of its presentation. All of this has led to the club hosting major events, like the NSW Mid-Amateur Championship and the PGA of Australia’s national and various state Associate Professionals Championships.
Both courses have beautifully presented true rolling greens to be found at the end of gently undulating fairways of equally impressive Wintergreen couch.
The two 18-hole layouts are known as the President’s and Captain’s Courses.
The original layout was opened in 1956 and the creation of a second 18 holes, designed by Kevin Hartley, was opened for play in 1993. All of the holes have since been combined to mix the old with the new.
The majority of the President’s course is made up of holes that were built on land purchased from the RAAF in the early 1950s. During World War II, a 60 square kilometre area, including the site of both courses today, was commissioned by the U.S. Army Air Corps as part of its top-secret aerodrome. It was a heavy bomber base, prepared for an attempted Japanese invasion. At the height of the war, the complex was the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth, with 450 buildings and four runways.
The two holes that close a round on the President’s course are among the best Tocumwal has to offer.
The 355-metre par-4 17th is a terrific driving hole, it is the mid- or short-iron approach to the green that is the real test. There is little room for error as you fire through a narrow chute, created by towering river gums, to find the putting surface. If you can avoid the trees, and the three bunkers around the green, and you might just finish the round with a par or better.
One of the biggest course changes made at Tocumwal in recent years has been the introduction of a new 18th hole, after the construction of two bowling greens between the clubhouse and the course. The green complex of this 152-metre par-3 is a beauty. The figure-eight shaped putting surface is angled slightly to your approach, with bunkers skirting both sides of the green, and demands a top shelf tee shot to make a closing birdie.
There are a few routes to choose from when heading west from Tocumwal to Echuca and on to Moama. I’ve always taken the slightly longer route along the B400 to Echuca via Nathalia. Why?
I always make time to stop at Brereton’s Bakery in Nathalia. It’s an old school bakery with glass cabinets full of delicious goodies (think of the best cream bun you have ever had … they’ve got it) and the seductive smell of freshly baked bread filling the air. And the coffee is pretty good.
The anticipation of, and later satisfaction of devouring, the coffee and bags of baked goods make the 90-minute drive from Tocumwal to Echuca fly by.
From the historic city of Echuca, where paddle-steamers from a bygone era still ferry tourists up and down the river, it is just a short drive north across the NSW border to Moama and the Rich River Golf Club.
The club, too, has a rich history dating back more than 100 years when it was founded as the Echuca Golf Club on the banks of the Campaspe River some 15km south. In 1968, the course was extended to 18 holes and converted to grass greens.
But the club had a major problem. It would flood from time-to-time. From 1973 to 1975, it was flooded five times and a decision to move north of the border was made.
In 1976, 800 members of the Echuca Golf Club bought 300 acres of land near Echuca’s border twin town, Moama, at a cost of $80 per acre. The present-day site was selected because it was flood free and undulating enough to produce a quality layout.
Brothers, Geoff and Ted Parslow, were commissioned to design the layout (the current West course), which was officially opened in the 1979. The popularity of the layout and the club’s facilities led to a second course being built and the East Course was opened for play in 1988.
In 2019, the club began a major renovation of its East Course – being overseen by Thomson Perrett Golf Design (TP Golf) – which it hoped would ultimately return the layout to the Top-100 Public Access Courses ranking. After years on the outer, the East layout was ranked No.82 in 2021 and the expectation it will climb higher again in 2023.
The East Course differs greatly to the West Course. It is a more open, links-style layout that in recent times has seen fairways widened, some bunkers taken out of play and green complexes re-crafted. All the changes give the overall feeling that this is now a more strategic and fun course to play.
Some of the most noticeable changes to the East Course come late in the round. The green of the 144-metre par-3 16th has been moved left to hover above the edge of a lake.
At the next hole, the designers embraced the club’s desire to create more risk and reward during the round. The 346-metre 17th used to boast two routes to the green – a small alternate island fairway gave ‘gamblers’ a chance at hitting a short-iron second shot while the conservative route was to a fairway doglegging left around the large lake. The island has since been removed and the lake made larger, while the fairway has been widened and two greenside bunkers also taken out of play. From the tee, the key is to pick your line over the edge of the lake and commit to the shot. There is plenty of fairway to the right of the water but the temptation to take the water on is too much for many to avoid.
The West Course has mature tree lined fairways and smaller greens than its younger neighbour. Several new holes – including the 12th, 15 and 16th holes – have been created on the West Course in recent times as room was made for the construction of a mini-golf course adjoining the clubhouse.
COHUNA TO COOMEALLA
It’s a long way from the dairy farming community of Cohuna to the U.S PGA Tour but Stuart Appleby successfully made the journey.
Cohuna Golf Club is where the Australian Open champion first played the game, honed his skills over the years, won the club championship in 1989, then turned professional and left the family farm.
Appleby once told an American golf magazine of the growing reputation of Cohuna, adding that: “if I had one round to play in my life … it would be Cohuna.”
And it is no wonder Appleby in his prime was one of the finest ball-strikers in world golf.
The Cohuna layout can be found on the forest covered Gunbower Island – Australia’s largest inland island – that is bounded by the Murray River and Gunbower Creek.
Founded in 1939, Cohuna’s development was complete with the conversion of sand scrapes to bentgrass greens in 1973. Surprisingly, there are no obvious water hazards and bunkers are seen sparingly across the course. They are not needed to make this course a significant challenge.
The first thing that strikes you about the course is its natural beauty. Black box, red and river gums, some dating back 400 years, dominate the landscape of the par-72 course and create a natural wall between each fairway. Many have tried to take the course on thinking they can “rip it apart” but have left the course thinking otherwise. There is little chance of finding an adjoining fairway with an errant shot – the trees are just too big.
While tall timbers dominate at every turn, I really enjoyed the way the course navigates its way through these natural skyscrapers. Apart from the par-3s, there are few straight away holes and the many doglegs throughout don’t really favour left or right.
Cohuna’s short par-4s – especially the 3rd and 13th – are all interesting and more venomous than they first appear. The 318-metre 18th is the best of them and despite its lack of length is no easy finish. Thick vegetation hides Gunbower Creek from view to the left as you stand on the tee. Red river gum trees – some up to two metres wide – tower over the right-to-left dogleg hole where a drive must find the right half of the fairway to leave the best chance of hitting the angled green that is protected by a ‘coffin’ like bunker short left. Any drive left leaves only a blinkered view of the putting surface.
Following the Murray on its snaking journey northwest, I drove 25 minutes to cross back into NSW and my next golfing port of call, the underrated cluBarham Golf & Sports.
From humble beginnings in the 1920s, the formerly known Barham Golf Country Club is continually improving on the back of a Ross Watson prepared masterplan nearly a decade ago, which has seen new holes built and several others improved.
The newest holes – the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 18th holes – add a modern element to the par-72 layout, which is carved from natural bushland. A stream, Hudson Creek, winds its way through the heart of the course (and flows into the Murray a few kilometres away). Majestic river gums dominate the front nine while the back nine is lined by wide reaching mature cypress pines, golden wattles and various species of gum trees.
A trio of Watson-designed holes open the round and feature plenty of red sandy bunkers to catch you out. But they are nothing compared to what awaits on Barham’s long-time signature hole.
The 383-metre 5th is not only Barham’s longest par-4 it is rated the hardest hole and is known as the ‘Gallipoli’ hole, so named after the boomerang-shaped bunker that is cut deep into the steep slope about 15 metres short of the elevated green. It is arguably the deepest, biggest single greenside bunker to be found anywhere along the Murray River.
Measuring nearly 25 metres wide and more than two metres deep, the ‘Gallipoli’ bunker is an imposing hazard that you are forced to clear with a long- or mid-iron in your hand. Adding to the challenge is the closely shaved fringe grass and slope off the front of the green, which will feed a short mis-hit approach back down into the sandy depths of ‘Gallipoli’.
With the tough ‘Gallipoli’ hole behind you, enjoy the rest of the front nine and prepare to make a score around the back ... if you’re up to the challenge.
And if it’s a challenge you really want, follow the signs to Swan Hill, an easy 60-minute drive northwest of Barham.
Explorers Burke and Wills arrived in Swan Hill in 1860 on, what would become, their fateful expedition to find a practical route between Melbourne and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
To mark the occasion, the pair broke ground and planted a small fig tree. Today, the giant Moreton Bay Fig stands on Curlewis St in Swan Hill and is one of the largest trees of its kind in Australia
More than 125 years later and just a short drive north along Swan Hill Rd, ground was again broken. This time it was on a new development called the Murray Downs Golf & Country Club.
Set in the heart of Kidman Reid’s historic Murray Downs sheep station on the NSW side of the Murray River, the Geoff and Ted Parslow-designed course took two years to build and was opened in 1989.
The Parslows created a magnificent layout with undulating Wintergreen couch fairways as well as large, true rolling and pretty quick Penncross bentgrass greens. While some greens feature subtle breaks, others offer severe slopes to combat what may have been a seemingly easy journey to the green.
Man-made lakes were included to help with irrigation and drainage, and a mass of native gums has matured to now line all fairways. Throw in some strategic, well-sculpted bunkering – featuring its spectacular ochre red sand – and water hazards on many holes and it is no wonder Murray Downs has many plaudits.
Murray Downs has been the No.1 ranked course on the Murray for nearly two decades and ranked 43rd in Golf Australia magazine’s Top-100 Public Access Courses for 2021.
There are some difficult, yet memorable, holes at Murray Downs but the 194-metre par-3 5th will not surprise you with its No.1 index rating as the hardest hole the layout has to offer. Standing next to the back markers can send a shiver up your spine as you look toward the flag and see nothing but water, red sand, a bit more water and a lot more sand. When the pin is positioned toward the back right quarter of the green it is a 210-metre carry over water and bunkers to reach safety. The bale out area short and left of the green is littered with bunkers making a safe lay-up a hazardous exercise.
Murray Downs also has its version of Augusta National’s famed Amen Corner – incorporating the par-3 15th, par-5 16th and the testing par-4 17th.
The 15th is a classic hole and, like the telling 5th, it requires a tee shot over water and sand to reach the green. But, at 169-metres, length won’t be a problem for too many players. One of the difficult aspects of making par here is to find the right level of the two-tiered green to allow a good chance for two putts.
The 472-metre par-5 16th is a tight three-shotter with water left and sand right from the tee. But it is the large sprawling bunkers, next to tightly trimmed fringes and drop-offs, around the green that add some bite to this cracking hole.
The downhill 17th may not seem like a brute at 376 metres. But when you are standing back down the fairway, or in the rough, with a long-iron in your hand and your approach shot must avoid water short and right of the green, you know the odds are against you. Thankfully, if you have success and find the green, putting is easier than on the previous Amen Corner holes.
The tremendous year-round great condition and quality design of Murray Downs certainly is enough to warrant driving three and a half hours from Melbourne for a game. I’d even drive 10 hours from Sydney to play Murray Downs (which I did).
Back in the Victorian side of the border, the B400 Murray Valley Highway continues to follow the big river northwest into the Sunraysia region where mallee eucalypts and scrub cover the flat, sandy terrain, which then give way to vineyards, olive groves, citrus and almond trees as you draw closer to Robinvale.
After World War II, hundreds of returned diggers moved to Robinvale as part of a
soldier settlement.
Many of the new locals decided they would build a golf course among the hundreds of cottonwood and pine trees, she-oaks and willows on a piece of land just east of the soldier settlement.
Sand scrape greens were laid at the end of some rough fairways and the course remained relatively unchanged for many years.
Today, the Robinvale Golf Club Resort has bentgrass greens, couch fairways and the layout – about halfway between Mildura and Swan Hill – has blossomed into a beautiful little country course.
Six new greens were built in the mid ‘90s and more significant changes followed, including the conversion of the opening hole from a short par-4 to a 149-metre par-3 that plays alongside a vineyard to the left. The small bunkerless green is only metres from out-of-bounds left, while the slope off the right edge of the putting surface can repel tee shots into the trees.
The basic design, laid out in a natural Mallee environment, has stood the test of time well.
At 5,580 metres from the back pegs, length is not Robinvale’s greatest defence. Its tight fairways and, generally, small greens are though.
A course of this length usually boasts some quality short par-4s and Robinvale is no different. The first one to impress is the 304-metre 3rd. The hole marks the northern border of the course and features row upon row of grapevines outside the layout’s boundary. Of course, this vineyard is also out-of-bounds beyond gum trees lining the left of the fairway. There are dense clumps of trees right of the fairway as you get closer to the table top green, tucked neatly in behind the foliage.
If there is one golf course between Albury and my eventual destination, Coomealla, which fully encapsulates the natural essence of Murray River golf, it is Riverside Golf Club.
Riverside is laid out on the southern bank of the Murray between seemingly endless rows, and the odd clump, of ancient river gums, which are home to an abundance of native bird life.
From the first drive, every shot must be placed in the ideal position from the tee, or your round will become a frustrating stroll through the majestic gums.
Heading south from Riverside it doesn’t take long to be surrounded by Mallee country, which is home to Red Cliffs Golf Club.
Originally designed by soldier settlers in 1925, Red Cliffs is an interesting layout that is complemented by the quality conditioning of its kikuyu fairways and bentgrass greens.
Back in the heart of town, the Mildura Golf Resort is a decade beyond its centenary but an extensive redesign in recent years has modernised the layout.
Founded as Mildura Golf Club in 1901 before moving to its current location in 1912, it is the oldest course in the Sunraysia region. Despite the many changes that have been made to the course, the holes still wind their way through the same Sugar gum trees the great South African major champion Bobby Locke found when he arrived in Mildura in 1950. That same year, Norman von Nida, then Australia’s No.1 professional, survived the gums during an exhibition match and fired an even-par 70.
The huge sugar and river gums Locke and the ‘Von’ experienced shadow each fairway and can leave slightly misdirected drives stymied behind trees.
In 2011, course designer Ben Davey and former Tour pro the late Bob Shearer (Davey Shearer design, now known as Contour Golf Design) were commissioned to redesign the course after the resort embarked on a residential development project, which included the subdivision of 100 allotments within the layout.
Over the course of seven years, several lakes were added to the landscape, eight new greens were built and several other holes were re-routed to accommodate the new development.
One of the memorable Davey-designed holes closes out the front nine. The 308-metre par-4 is a very good risk-and-reward hole with water lining the entire right edge of the wide fairway. Skirting the edge of the hazard with your tee shot leaves a slightly shorter approach into the large green, which is tucked tightly behind the end of the lake.
Water also plays a role to finish the back nine. A round at Mildura used to conclude with a very good mid-length par-3, but this has been replaced by a risk-and-reward par-5 where longer hitters can roll the dice and try to head for the clubhouse with a closing eagle. From the slightly elevated tee, you can see the edge of a lake and a tall gum tree inside the corner of the dogleg left. Avoid both and you can head for the kidney-shaped green, protected by two bunkers left and right and nicely trimmed drop-offs to the rear.
Mildura is beautifully presented and Davey and Shearer’s work there has created a very good mix of fun holes.
Speaking of fun, the Coomealla Golf Club – a leisurely 25-minute drive northwest from the Mildura resort – offers plenty of that during a round.
Founded in 1971, the Coomealla course is the brainchild of founding member Ross Putland, who came up with the design and oversaw the construction of the layout. Carved from beautiful natural surrounds alongside the mighty river, Putland ensured only the best golf course grasses were used.
Today, some 51 years on and now part of the huge Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club, it is a fabulous layout with superb couch fairways and even more impressive bentgrass greens. The large greens are well-shaped with many featuring dramatic slopes or tiers, and they are often trimmed to roll devilish quick.
Known as “Coomee” to the locals, the rolling layout measures 6,250 metres from the back tips and meanders through endless stretches of black box and river gum trees. Some fairways are so narrow there is a distinct feeling you and your playing partners should be walking single-file down the fairway to avoid the trees.
The 351-metre par-4 1st hole is a very good opening hole and really sets the scene for what is to come. Leading straight away from the clubhouse, a row of large gums and a levee bank are the only elements separating the gently rolling fairway from the flowing Murray. The line of river gums flanking the right of the fairway certainly places the emphasis on accuracy as you head for the large green that is guarded front left by a bunker.
There are two par-3s of note on the front nine. The 210-metre 3rd, is the longest of the two and presents an ominous challenge while the 145-metre 7th has plenty of trouble surrounding the green. A tree-covered levee bank to the right and behind the putting surface provides the perfect amphitheatre to hit your tee shot into. Once you have contended with the three bunkers, you had better hope your ball is beneath the hole on this back left to front right sloping green.
The pick of the inward holes is the 407-metre par-4 14th. A good drive down the left of the fairway is required. Those players trying to reach the green in two shots, must fly their approach beyond a dip traversing the fairway short of the green, which is also guarded by a bunker front left. The green is one of Coomealla’s most treacherous. It slopes markedly from back to front and a tier crossing through the middle of the putting surface can further complicate matters.
WHERE TO PLAY
THURGOONA COUNTRY CLUB RESORT
Green fees: $32 (18 holes, weekdays), $36 (weekends).
ALBURY COMMERCIAL GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $36 (18 holes, seven days).
www.commercialclubalbury.com.au
WODONGA GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $37 (18 holes, seven days).
HOWLONG GOLF RESORT
Green fee: $34 (18 holes, weekdays), $38 (weekends).
COROWA GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $42 (18 holes, weekdays), $45 (weekends).
BLACK BULL GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $60 (18 holes, seven days).
www.silverwoodsyarrawonga.com.au
YARRAWONGA MULWALA GOLF CLUB RESORT
Green fees: $60 (18 holes, seven days), $86 (all day rate), $230 (Mon-Fri unlimited golf).
COBRAM-BAROOGA GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $45 (18 holes, seven days).
TOCUMWAL GOLF & BOWLS CLUB
Green fees: $55 (18 holes, seven days), $75 (36-hole day pass).
RICH RIVER GOLF CLUB
Green fees: $55 (18 holes, seven days), $85 (unlimited golf daily rate).
COHUNA GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $35 (18 holes, seven days).
CLUBARHAM GOLF & SPORTS
Green fee: $45 (18 holes, seven days).
MURRAY DOWNS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
Green fee: $50 (18 holes, seven days).
ROBINVALE GOLF CLUB RESORT
Green fee: $30 (18 holes, seven days).
RIVERSIDE GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $30 (18 holes, seven days).
RED CLIFFS GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $25 (18 holes, seven days).
MILDURA GOLF RESORT
Green fee: $35 (18 holes, seven days).
COOMEALLA GOLF CLUB
Green fee: $35 (18 holes, seven days).
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