The Importance of Controlling your Temper at Golf

Pacific Harbour Golf and Country Club
Pacific: (adj) tending to lessen conflict; having a soothing appearance or effect; mild of temper.

Harbour: (noun) any place of refuge.

Pacific Harbour practice green and clubhouse

Boy, did they get the name of this golf course wrong!
The only thing this course has in common with its name is that it's going to be a long voyage across water and sand before you reach the green.
And there's no refuge once you're at the green, where you switch from sailing to mountaineering. Pacific Harbour features huge greens, and some have such large slopes that you'll require oxygen to get from the front to the back.
(You think I'm exaggerating. Huh. Wait'll you play here.)
The green fees are usually $99, with a cart. If you're willing to tee off between 6 and 7 am, it drops to $49, cart included. We checked their website and were delighted to find a special offer for August where you could play Pacific Harbour and Bribie Island, on consecutive days, for $99, cart included at both courses.
Two green fees for the price of one - how could any golfer resist that?
Our group consisted of two single-figure golfers, a 12 handicapper and a 36 handicapper. We opted to play Pacific Harbour first, which is definitely the best order to play the courses as Pacific Harbour is the tougher layout.

6th green

All four of us found the course testing and our sand wedges are just about worn out. And I'm afraid to say the mountaineering analogy is apt for some of the greenside bunkers. If your ball plugs in the sides, you're going to need crampons to get to it. (Let alone getting in and out.)
Off the Jade tees the course measures 5195 metres (par 72), which isn't particularly long but with all the fairway bunkers and ponds/waterways you've got to be accurate with your tee shots.
It also helps if you're good at lagging 100 ft putts, which is about the length of the putt I'm facing on the 6th green. I got it pin-high, 5 ft to the left but lipped out with the next one. The photo doesn't show the massive slope about 30 feet short of the pin.

The fairways are gently undulating and generous in width, but there are a lot of long walks between greens and tees so I'd advise using a cart.
Especially in August when the temperature is getting up to 27 degrees.
Most of the greens are elevated, so practice your pitching for at least a week, before you play here. If you're hopeless at pitching, you can putt from well off the green with your rescue/hybrid. Fiona employed the shot with good results.
My first experience of a 'pacific' hole was at the 4th, a par 3 of 107 metres. It's a very wide green of two tiers and the pin was on the left, which meant if you went for the pin, you had to carry a large bunker, with scrub left and behind.
I hit my best 6 iron of the trip and put the ball just 8 feet short of the pin and sank the putt. Love this course, I'm thinking, after just 4 holes. Alas, that pacific feeling of contentment would not remain.

7th tee (women's)

Parred the 5th, par 5 of 404 metres, which has lots of fairway bunkers and a stream across the fairway at about the length of a good second shot. Still feelling pacific.
Managed to par the 7th, 286 metre par 4, lots of water left, more fairway bunkers and an undulating green but a good drive leaves you with a short iron to the green so it's relatively straight forward.
Then we turned the corner to the 8th, a long par 3 of 157 metres. All the way up the right side is a huge bunker, to the right of which you have a major waterway.
And once again, the green is HUGE. And undulating.
After Fiona played 3 wood and got her ball on the front of the green, I took driver.
And creamed it.
I was congratulating myself right up until the ball bounced into a little hillock on the left and stopped on the front of the green.

8th green, the Himalayas

The pin was at the back, and I had a putt along what looked like the Himalayas.
Four putts later there was a major increase in feelings of conflict, especially as Fiona managed to 2 putt for par.
Yep, I was gasping for oxygen by the time the damn ball went in that hole.
In my defence, Fiona had a much easier putt than me as she was going straight up all the humps and hollows whereas I had to skirt the edges.
At least the back of this green offers a great view for you to rest and catch your breath.
As with many of the greens on this course, you tell yourself you'd play the hole much better a second time.
And, as long as you never play it again, you'll have no trouble convincing yourself of this.

9th fairway

The 9th, par 4, has a wide fairway but a narrow entrance to the green. Bunkers left, water right and, at 332 metres you're going to be playing a fairway wood if you're going for it in 2. I decided I could use my 5 wood to run the ball in from the front left. I made good contact but pulled the ball and ended up on the path. As my nearest relief was in prime snake habitat, I elected to play it off the path.
Not very well but scrambled a bogey.
I was out in 42, while Fiona had a very creditable 39.
So we both headed for the 10th still believing that, in spite of difficult greens, the course suits its name, especially if you consider it an exercise in retaining your equanimity under extreme duress.
If you can shrug off your poor shots on this course, you will shrug them off anywhere.
I managed par on the next couple of holes but then had trouble on 12, a par 5 of 422 metres with greenside bunkers. I was rapt to get out of the bunker with one shot (the face was about 15 ft high) but then I 3 putted.
More gasping for oxygen.

I don't know whether I got tired or the course got more difficult but my back nine consisted of par, par, dble bogey, par, dble bogey, dble bogey, par, par, and dble bogey to finish.
That gave me a 44 to go with my 42.
Fiona also wilted and shot 43 on the back nine, but an 82 on Pacific Harbour is pretty creditable.
The hardest thing to do in golf is shrug off the bad shots.
Pacific Harbour will provide you with lots of opportunities to kick the festering habit.