Golf Australia – April 2018

golf australia | APRIL 2018 105

I

t’s not often that the beauty of a golf

course can simply take your breath

away, or at the very least make you stop

for a minute to soak in the scene. If it was by

the sea, discard that one because any course

or hole, no matter how good or bad, can look

world class and amazing with an ocean view.

Let your thoughts drift away from the ocean

to lush strip-cut and undulating fairways –

lined with majestic stands of fl ooded gums as

well as vast areas of sub-tropical forest – and

punctuated by white sandy bunkers. In the

spring, blossoming azaleas and fl owering

natives add touches of pink, red, white and

purple to the colour palette.

If you’re now thinking of Bonville Golf

Resort, you’ve been fortunate enough, like me,

to experience arguably this country’s most

beautiful inland golf course. If you haven’t

played Bonville, there’s never been a better time

to experience what some are moved to describe

as Australia’s Augusta National.

There is some resemblance to the famous

home of the Masters Tournament and all credit

must go to the designers, Terry Watson and Ted

Stirling, whose brief from the original owners

was to create a course like that found in

Having recently hosted the ALPG Tour’s Australian Ladies Classic, one of

this country’s most spectacular inland courses has rarely looked better and is

justifying the description often made by visitors as Australia’s Augusta.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY BRENDAN JAMES