Jandal Budget Golf

We decided to start our Aussie golf trip on the Gold Coast, rather than going straight to the Sunshine Coast, so that we could play Ocean Shores Country Club again. We played it last year and just loved it and thought it was excellent value for money.

Blue sky golf at Ocean Shores

We got a copy of The Golfer, a free golf magazine, on our first day here. Most golf courses have them available in their pro shops. It often has special green fee deals and, sure enough, Ocean Shores were offering the same deal as last year - 18 holes, shared cart and lunch for $49. We quoted the ad when we rang and got a tee time on Sunday afternoon.

We had the free lunch before we played (starting to get sick of bacon sandwiches so it was well-timed) and were assured that although we were behind two fours, it wouldn’t be too slow.

We believed the starter, until we counted six players on the first green we played (we started on the 10th). By the end of the round, we were convinced that they were the six SLOWEST players in the club, playing together.

I’m sure the dire pace of play was what helped Fiona beat me, at last.

Or it could have been my four 3-putts.

Normally such a slow round would colour your judgement against the course but ... this course is a great test of golf. It’s got everything. Lots of well-placed large bunkers, strategically placed water (both in front of greens and beside fairways), elevated tees, large greens (not too heavily undulated).

Members who wouldn’t know golf etiquette if it bit them on the bum.

And don’t tell me that a two doesn’t have any rights on a golf course. It has a hell of a lot more rights than a six! (No, I’m not bitter and twisted about it - I was born this way.)

If you’re going to play Ocean Shores, sharpen your sand wedge. (It’s easier to bury in a tree, that way.) Or, at least sharpen your bunker skills by watching the Ms Kallas-Way bunker tip on YouTube. I spent an awful lot of time ‘showing the crab the view’ and managed to get up and down from greenside bunkers a couple of times.

Several of the greens are protected by bunkers, and when I say ‘protected’ I mean, as in Fort Knox protected, i.e. there’s generally only a wee gap of 3 feet between front bunkers. So forget about running your shot on to those par 4s and 5s. You’re going to have to play a lofted shot on to the green, often with a long iron or rescue club.

I decided I’d adopt a different approach to today’s round and be more aggressive than I had been. When I’m not hitting the ball well, I tend to take bail-out options and go for the fat part of the green rather than the pin. However, I’m starting to hit the ball well again so I decided to go for my shots.

After all, it’s such a buzz when you pull off a good shot over water and ... I’m 4 balls ahead of Fiona as I haven’t lost any, yet.

12th hole Ocean Shores Country Club

The 12th hole is a 163 metre par 3, with water all the way up the right and cutting in front of the green. You have to carry your tee shot 147 metres, over the hazard, or fade it from the right, or bail out right.

Last year my tee-shots were dreadful (weak slicing) so I played chicken golf and bailed out short right. This year I’m hitting my tee-shots as well as ever so I went for the pin. I carried the water but hit the bank of the hazard and popped up just short of the green. (Due to the extremely wet winter they’ve had, there is absolutely no run on any of these courses.)

Had an easy chip and one putt for par.

There’s nothing like positive reinforcement at the start of your round to make you feel great about the day.

There’s nothing like adding up your score after 9 to deflate that feeling. 43, bugger.

Fiona scored 45 so I had a 2-shot lead.

The 3rd hole was my favourite. A bunker covers most of the front of the green, but the hole measures only 96 metres so you’re playing a short iron. Because the bunker has a high lip, you can’t see the bottom of the flag. But there’s a bunker protecting the back of the green so you can’t bail out long.

We decided on 9-irons. Fiona went first and hit hers solidly. We were surprised when her ball landed on top of the bunker lip. Fortunately, it had enough momentum to go forward.

I changed to my 8-iron and couldn’t have hit it any better, but we didn’t know whether it was good or bad because we couldn’t see the green.

So it was nice to get up to the green and see my ball just 10 inches left of the hole.

Easy birdie. Fiona chipped and one-putted for par and, at this stage, led by one, thanks to a 3-putt double bogey and bogey by me.

The next hole was a dogleg par 5 of only 385 metres but you have to lay up off the tee because of a drain across the fairway. Second shot has to miss a large pond left and bunker right and then you’re playing your 3rd to a looooong green.

Which I 3-putted. (Should have sharpened my putter. Those trees were looking really inviting.)

The next hole, par 4, 296 metres, required a good drive to give you a comfortable shot over yet another drain in front of the green. Fiona’s rescue club left her just short of the green and I was just ahead of her so used the same club. And put it into yet another greenside bunker.

“Show the crab the view,” I told myself, and put the ball a foot from the hole.

Narrow gaps between front bunkers

Not keen on the greens here, but I love their bunkers.

That might be because I’m spending a lot of time in them.

We finished our round in the dark but, alas, it wasn’t dark enough to obscure our scores.

Fiona 84, Kay 86.