Golf On The Nullarbor
For the latin scholars amongst us you will know that null means no or none and arbor means tree, so the Nullarbor Desert is the no tree desert. Stretching over 1,000 kms along the Eyre Highway in South Australia and Western Australia which traverses the Nullarbor there is a golf course. In some cases the holes are 100 kms apart and are located close to the roadhouses which provide food, fuel and accommodation for those travelling. Today we stayed at the Nullarbor Roadhouse at the eastern end of the desert and at that road house is hole 5.
Hole 5 - Dingo's Den - is a 538 metre par 5 which was into the wind today. So no picnic. Hiring clubs comprising a 5 wood, a 7 iron and a 9 iron I made my way to the tee. 5 bucks for the set of clubs which included 3 balls. With snakes here there and everywhere the goal was to keep the ball on " the fairway".
Given this was the first time I'd swung a club in 3 weeks, and given these clubs were probably of a 1970s vintage, I was a bit nervous trying to find the short grass. Anyway, the ball went forward so it was all good.
Having found the "short stuff" it was time to hit the second shot. I figured lift clean and place might be the order of the day given the condition of the fairway. As can be seen, the hole is quite tight and straying into the scrubland brings hazards which are not limited to golf. However, put a good swing on the ball and launch it forward.
Even though you find the fairway, the challenges are still not over. The local sightseeing plane which takes people whale watching in the nearby Great Australian Bight can cross the fairway as it makes its way from the roadhouse to the runway. Fortunately the plane was parked up for the night so it was all good to go. The green was still in the distance.....
Finally made it up to the green and with my 9 iron in hand, I chipped it on and 2 putted using my 5 wood.
For the record, I played 2 balls and ended up scoring a 7 and an 8. For a 538 metre par 5 into a stiff breeze using 3 clubs which had been round the block a few times, I'll take that.
Then 700 + kms up the road, and after missing out on a few holes, next to the Balladonia Roadhouse is this charming little par 3. It's the 12th hole on the Nullarbor Golf Course and measures in at a challenging 175 metres.
This picture is taken from the tee block and the hole is named "Skylab", more of that in a minute. If you look into the distance you can see what looks like a Japanese Flag. Well at least a red circle on a white background. That's your aiming point. As you can see, you have to clear the gum trees in order to make the green. Lloyd, they could do with a bit of your chainsaw handiwork. Regarding Skylab, Wikipedia tells us .......
A week before re-entry, NASA forecast that it would occur between July 10 and 14, with the 12th the most likely date, and the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) predicted the 14th.[140] In the hours before the event, ground controllers adjusted Skylab's orientation to minimize the risk of re-entry on a populated area.[8] They aimed the station at a spot 810 miles (1,300 km) south-southeast of Cape Town, South Africa, and re-entry began at approximately 16:37 UTC, July 11, 1979.[7] The station did not burn up as fast as NASA expected. Debris landed about 300 miles (480 km) east of Perth, Western Australia due to a four-percent calculation error,[7] and was found between Esperance, Western Australia and Rawlinna, from 31° to 34° S and 122° to 126° E, about 130–150 km (81–93 mi) radius around Balladonia, Western Australia.
I didn't play the par 3 at Balladonia but did walk the hole and inspected the green
If you ever cross the Nullarbor, as millions of grey nomads do in the campervans and caravans, you might inspect some of the holes on the journey. There is a full 18 hole golf course stretching over 1,000 kms. But I wouldn't make a special trip just to play the golf course. I think you'll do an awful lot of driving for not a lot of good golf. It's fun and adds a bit of a distraction to the long car journey, but in my view that's about it.
And So To Golf In New Zealand
The report for this week has to start with Friday Skins, as we had a good turn-out with 13 players. So four groups and a pool of $127 that was up for grabs. As you well know we have had Chris Timms in the mix this year, who has been looking to obtain another income stream, should the international funds market collapse. The competition was intense, where the first 4 holes were won by Bruce Grant who sank a 3 metre putt to make a par and claim 3 points to win the first $52 Skin.
Then the kitty grew as the next 5 holes jackpotted and some good players missed putts they shouldn't have, no doubt due to the pressure and the resulting knee trembler effect. Anyway Chris stood up on the last hole and slotted a 4 metre putt to make birdie, to give him a lone 3 points for the final skin of $75. He can now feed his family for the next month and no doubt will be back for more. ( Note from Australia ..... I could be wrong but I believe this mighty be the first skin Timmsy has won !!)
Then we turn our attention to Saturday golf, which did have a sequence that needs to be covered. As all previous club captains in the group would know, it is important to turn up for your tee at the correct time. I ( Eddie ) was playing with John Alexander, Neil Cameron and David Peart off the 10th tee on Saturday. However David pulled out just before our tee time because of weather and illness. We had a tee time of 11.41pm and there was a stiff northerly wind blowing. The group before us, in no particular order, was Eric Olsen, Jamie MacKay, Warren Egen and Nick Nicolson. They were running a little late for their tee time and Nick had not yet turned up, so Eric decided he should ring Nick and tell him to "rattle his dags" and get to the 10th tee. The answer from Nick was that " I am in Honolulu and sorry I am not going to make it". So they were down to three players as well.
With that cleared up, Warren elected to tee off the blue tees and duffed it 3 metres into the gulley in front, while Jamie scunges his shot halfway up the hill. Meanwhile Eric, who has just realized that he has not changed out of his Skechers shoes, has run back to the car park to put on his golf spikes. On arriving back to the tee block, he tees off and chunks a big hunk of dirt before his ball, to advance it close to the yellow tees, just in front of Warren's ball. However, in the process he has damaged his wrist and when it comes to playing his next shot he says that " I can't cock my hand, I am going to pull out", so they are now back to a twosome for the afternoon.
Another incident that needs to be recorded for Saturday golf is that Derek Todd was playing a Haggitt Cup match and was two up against his opponent on the 16th hole. He was nonchalantly walking alongside the 16th green after playing his second shot to within 3 metres. One of his playing partners having sliced it way right, thinned a shot from the 13th fairway directly towards the 16th green. Derek unknowingly took this on the centre of his forehead, causing a bit of pain, damage and blood, as could be expected from a low flying trajectile. Being an Aberdeen football supporter, he stoically held his ground and headed it back to the 13th fairway, thereby saving his partner a couple of shots from going into the hazard. He did suffer a frontal bruise, together with a bit of blood loss and a lot of sympathy from his wife. In true Scottish style he sunk his putt and won the match on the next hole. ( Wow !! )
Moving on to Wednesday golf, which proved to be more passive than the previous week. The weather was calm and sunny, with the greens showing a lot more speed. For the 26 Wagglers who turned up for golf, the conditions were benign, and this was seen by some consistent scoring for the day.
The first six holes were won by the foursome: Cooper, Keenan, Cutler and Grant who made an impressive 33 points. Their star faded however over the following holes as other teams stepped up. For the second 6 holes the threesome Peart, Morgan and Sandy Ross triumphed with a steady 41 points making good use of the Phantom. The third six holes went to team Edgar, Williden, Carvell and Walter in a sound 49 points, with Edgar sinking some gritty putts over the final holes for birdies.
The Blue Jacket was won by Brent Pownall in 41 points, who after bunking school for the day, showed us retired gents how to enjoy life and play golf. There were two close followers for the Blue Jacket in Murray Cooper (39pts) and Lloyd Morgan (38pts).
The Swingers trophy was won by Derek Todd with 3 birdies, who showed his class again by coming back from a poor start to shoot a tidy 74.
The raffle was won by Sandy Ross with number 38.
We sang a hearty happy birthday to Senaka who has just turned a youthful 51years.
As Eric jump started the birthday song, the last group of Attenborough, Pownall, Broughton and Alexander had to sing the birthday song again when they got in.
Note the camouflaged " hurt sticker " covering Derek's war wound from Saturday in the photo below. 5th trip of the year for Derek to Balclutha !!
