BALLARAT GOLF CLUB
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Holes: 18
Course Length: Blue: 5817m, Black: 6193m
Par: 72
ACR: 73
Greens: Grass
Bunkers: Yes
BALLARAT Golf Club is fast establishing itself as the premier course in the city.
And it's not hard to see why.
A carefully manicured course and challenging layout, Ballarat offers something for golfers of all levels.
Claiming to be the oldest continually played course in Australia, the Ballarat Golf Club has a long and proud history, spanning back to 1895.
However, it is the last six years that have set it apart from the rest.
A vast redevelopment in 2008 saw the golf club swap land titles with Roadcon, meaning Roadcon would own the eastern part of the old course and the golf club would own the land for the new course.
Little remains of the historic old course - the former third hole is almost played in reverse as the current fourth hole - but apart from that, the course is almost completely new.
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Designed by legendary golf course designer and five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson, the links-style course is the most open in the Ballarat area, not lined with trees like many of its counterparts.
The result; a course that can be forgiving and quaintly peaceful on a calm day but treacherously difficult if the wind decides to blow.
And if it was not difficult enough, playing an additional 376 metres off the seldom used black tees opens up almost an entirely new course in itself.
Boasting 50 bunkers across all but one hole (the par three 11th that requires a tee shot over water), pin placement can make a massive difference to the playability of the course.
Flags in the middle of the greens give golfers of an ability the chance to score well, while a tough pin position could easily have you repeatedly reaching for the sand wedge if you try to take them on.
However, it is not just approach shots that could have you spending some time on the beach, with strategically-placed sand traps designed to catch out wayward tee shots.
Of the 14 holes that are not par threes, 12 feature bunkers at driving distance for those with any degree of length to their game.
The heavily undulating fairways and deceptively contoured greens may be more attributable to a bulldozer rather than mother nature.
But it matters not.
It is all part of the grand transformation from the previously flat and somewhat uninteresting track.
The Santa Ana couch fairways ensure the course is in immaculate condition throughout the summer, with continual drainage works ensuring the fairways remain more than playable throughout the incessantly heavy Ballarat winters.
When launching his new course, Peter Thomson was reported to have said that "in time it will compare favourably with the Melbourne sand belt courses".
Club professional Dave Wallis says Ballarat's heavy winters make it difficult for a new course to reach its prime quickly, although he feels the course is drawing closer to its peak.
"To put a timeframe on it would be kind of stupid, especially with the Ballarat climate because for four months of the year we are pretty dormant," he said.
"I think if we have a 10-year plan to be at our best within 10 years, I think we're set. If we were at a metro course on a sandbelt that might drop to five years but due to the limitations we have with climate I think within 10 years, that's just another four years, we will be great."
Whether it ever reaches the heights of Melbourne's top sandbelt courses remains to be seen, but Ballarat is already well on the way to becoming one of country Victoria's best golf courses.