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| Strategy is more important than length at Gainsborough Greens |
Alas, it was.
So the moral of the story is, if you don’t want to set
yourself up for diversions on the golf course, don’t take diversions on the way
there.
Golf is all about setting up good habits and sometimes you
don’t know when the pre-shot routine has started.
We found a flyer at the brochure stand at our resort for 18
holes at Gainsborough Greens, with a cart, for $39 and managed to book a
tee-off time at 12.36. It’s dark at 5.30 so we figured that was probably the
latest we should book, as sometimes rounds over here take 5 hours.
I loved this course. Okay, it is a little bit scruffy with
some of the many bunkers a bit hard-packed around the edges and the greens were
not consistent in speed. But the layout means every single hole holds your
interest.
There are a lot of doglegs and many holes have water
features but the bailout areas are generous. Gainsborough Greens oozes ‘character’,
unlike most of the resort courses which all seem to meld together in my memory.
(There’s dementia in my family so, in fairness, the courses
may not be at fault here.)
Off the women’s tees, the course measures 5050 metres so it’s
not a monster. All the par 5s are over 400 metres and it takes 3 damn good
shots to get to them but many of the par 4s are under 300 metres so you don’t
have to be a big-hitter to score on this course.
The first hole is a gentle introduction, only 246 metres
downhill to a hidden green. Bunkers left and right in the fairway so you have
to drive straight. I did and was left with 60 metres to the green and managed
to hit the first hole in regulation. “Love this course,” I thought, and
immediately 3-putted.
Most of the greens are small but undulating so the putting
can be very tricky if you’re not in the right spot.
Standing on the 2nd tee, you’re immediately jolted out of
your sense of security. The 2nd is a 285 metre par 4, dogleg right, pond in
front of the tee so you had to carry about 120 metres to get to the fairway.
Then at 145 metres, you had two large bunkers. So if you are a natural fader of
the ball, or you can control your slice, the hole is challenging but doable.
Visually intimidating and if I had any brains I’d have played a 5 wood on to
the fairway but ... where’s the fun in that?
After I wrote ‘7’ in the scorecard, I concluded there’d have
been way more fun in that, than hitting my ball into the left bunker, staying
in the bunker, dribbling out of the bunker, chunking my iron into the rough,
pulling my half-wedge and then chipping and one-putting.
At least the hole had a happy ending.
Fortunately, that was my worst score at the course but the
front 9 (par 35) really chewed me up and spat me out. I scored 48.
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| Sixth tee, Gainsborough Greens |
Fiona scored 45.
I got my first birdie at the 11th, a 245 metre dogleg right
with a wide pond directly in front of the green. When Fiona went in the water
with her second shot, I changed from a 9 to an 8 iron and made the green. Sank
a 20 ft putt and decided the greens weren’t so bad after all.
The 12th hole is the narrowest hole I’ve ever seen. Well,
narrow probably isn’t quite right because it has a bailout area on the left but
when you stand on the tee, there’s a stand of trees immediately on your right
which appear to go almost to the green. The right front of the green is guarded
by a bunker and there are lots of humps and hollows on the left.
At 239 metres, it’s a very short par 4 but, once again,
visually intimidating. Especially if you haven’t watched the Ms Kallas-Way
YouTube video on bunker play.
You could easily lay up with an iron off the tee but ...
where’s the fun in that?
When my drive ended up in the greenside bunker, (I hit the
cart path for extra distance and, yes, of course I planned it that way) I
decided I had to redefine my meaning of ‘fun’ when on the golf course.
But I applied the principles of Ms Kallas-Way’s bunker
tuition and ‘showed the crab the view’ to end up nicely on the green where I
sank a 15 ft putt for another birdie.
The 18th is a superb par 5 finishing hole, 436 metres dogleg
left. I suspect a lot of scores have been ruined here but it’s a buzz if you
hit the green in regulation without going in the water. You need to keep your
drive right as there is water on the left and a very strategically placed tree,
leftish, to muck up your second shot.
I ended up behind the aforementioned tree but managed to
draw my 3 wood around it which left me with 130 metres to the green. Which was
protected by a wide lake, directly in front.
If you’re a nervous golfer, or running out of balls, you
could lay up to the water with a half wedge and then have a short iron to the
green but ... where’s the fun in that?
130 metres is a 4-iron for me but with that water in front
and heaps of room at the back of the green, I took out my 5 wood ... and landed
pin high.
Unfortunately, I 3-putted. But it’s always a buzz when you
pull off those shots across water.
Whoever invented the saying ‘game of two halves’ must have
been a golfer. Thanks to long, straight driving and steady irons on the second
nine (par 37) I managed to shoot 40 coming home.
Fiona shot 45, so I didn’t have to drive back to the resort.
(Worst gross has to drive home.)
The round was very slow on the front 9 but not so bad on the
back and took four and a half hours. Although we had a cart, it’s a very easy
walking course so we’d use trundlers next time.
If you don’t hit the ball straight, you’ll need lots of
spare balls because there is a lot of water. And, unlike the resort courses, it
comes into play a lot. But don’t let that intimidate you. This is a course
where strategy matters (and there is lots of fun in that) and I think it’s got
something to offer all handicap ranges.
I can’t wait to play this course again.
(Not so sure about Fiona.)
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