The obvious trouble didn’t seem to worry the
long marker of our group, Jacko, who almost holed
his tee shot with a 6-iron at the 149-metre 2nd. At
no stage did his shot fl y over the wetlands, instead
he aimed well left and sliced his shot onto the
putting surface. Sadly (well not really), he couldn’t
convert the three-footer for his fi rst birdie of the
trip. He didn’t have to wait long though.
On the par-5 8th, we all carefully negotiated our
way down the fairway with the exception of Jacko,
who cut his drive into the fairway bunkers down
the right, chipped out and then laid up short of the
hazard that isolates the green from the fairway.
Surely he was out of the hole ... not so. He pitched
in from 50 metres and scampered to the next tee
with our cash in his pocket.
It was to be Jacko’s day. Three more birdies,two from chip-ins, made it hard for the rest of us
to overhaul the 16-marker.
His best (and most lucrative) birdie came at the
298-metre 14th. With a swamp left of the driving
zone and an array of fairway bunkers scattered
left and right, there is more room nearer the green
and it arguably makes more sense to bust a tee
shot as close to the fl ag as possible. Just be sure to
avoid the wicked little pot short and right of the
shallow green. Jacko dumped his wedge approach
into the pot bunker, but it didn’t matter. He still
grabbed all the skins on of er when his bunker
shot bounced once, hit the base of the fl ag and
stayed in the hole.
Jacko fi nished the day with 43 points and all
the money. Thankfully I wasn’t driving home
with him.WHERETOPLAY
MAGENTA SHORES GOLF &
COUNTRY CLUB
Contact: (02) 4336 0102,
http://www.magentagolf.com.auSHELLY BEACH GOLF CLUB
Contact: (02) 4332 1103,
http://www.shellybeachgolfclub.com.auKOOINDAH WATERS RESORT
Contact: (02) 4351 0700,
http://www.kooindahwatersgolf.com.auWHERETOSTAY
PULLMAN MAGENTA SHORES RESORT
The fi ve-star resort (pictured) adjoins the 1st
hole of the golf course, just a short stroll
from both the clubhouse and beach. Offering
apartment as well as one-, two- and three-
bedroom villas, the facilities also include a
tennis court, swimming pool and day spa.
Play and stay packages are available on
selected dates.
Contact: (02) 4352 8100,
http://www.pullmanmagentashores.com.auWHERE TO EAT
BIG TUNA FISH CO.
Affordable quality seafood and
excellent chips.
131 The Entrance Rd, The Entrance.
Contact: (02) 4332 5341.BANG RAK THAI
Delicious Thai with generous serves at
good prices.
107 The Entrance Rd, The Entrance.
Contact: (02) 4333 7099.KOOINDAH WATERS, LIKE MAGENTA
SHORES, IS A FINE EXAMPLE OF HOW
AN ORDINARY SITE CAN EVOLVE INTO
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL.
Kooindah Waters’ challenging
but pretty opening hole sets the
scene for the rest of the round.Water and sand play prominent
roles in protecting par at
Kooindah Waters.112 APRIL 2018 | golf australia