BUNINYONG GOLF CLUB
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Holes: 18
Course length:5759 metres
Par: men 72, women 73
Greens: Grass
Bunkers: Yes
WELCOME to Buninyong - the quintessential country golf course.
Like one of Mount Buninyong Winery’s finest blends, Buninyong Golf Club has stood the test of time and keeps improving with age.
Tucked 20 minutes away from Ballarat’s main thoroughfare Buninyong can lay claim to being one of the premier courses in regional Victoria.
Established in 1926 as a meagre sand scrape layout circling a race course, Buninyong is now thriving after decades of gradual expansion.
The scrapes were replaced with greens during the 1960s, while a new clubhouse was eventually built over the existing building which also served as a jockey headquarters.
While the club has been in a constant state of change in its 89-year history, John Ciezki – a member since 1980 - believes the layout itself remains original.
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“The course hasn't really changed, it's been terrific,” Ciezki said.
“It plays pretty tough; there are a few more trees put in since the early 1960s and 70s.
“If you're off the beaten track you pay a penalty for it straight away, like most courses around the country.”
While not overwhelmingly long, the strength of the course undoubtedly lies in its stellar putting surfaces and quartet of par fives, with each providing a different and unique challenge.
The round begins with a regulation 475-metre par five that leads into a tricky par three over a creek, following a run of three consecutive par fours that require solid shot shaping and caution off the tee.
There are plenty of great golf holes on this layout, but Ciezki nominates the par five sixth as the Buninyong’s feature.
At just 441-metres in length it is easily reachable in two, but a choke point between two massive trees roughly 150 metres from the green make for a tough second.
But is the green itself that provides the true challenge, with a surface like polished glass capable of sending even the best putters bag to the bag for a wedge, should any downhill stroke finish past the hole.
Another par five – the brutal ninth follows from the par four seventh and par three eighth - while the second-nine really showcases the courses acclivities, particularly on the 10th and 11th (both par fours), as well as the short, downhill par three 12th.
If there is a knock on Buninyong it is an absence of heavy bunkerage, but for the most part the tight tree lines and lightning fast, undulating greens make up for the lack of sand.
Regardless, the course has produced many a good golfer in its time.
Ciezki is a winner of three straight Australian veteran’s titles, but is not the only Buninyong member to have excelled on the big stage.
The Tatt clan is perhaps the best known golfing family in Ballarat, while Helen Pascoe has arguably been the region’s most dominant golfer over the past decade, with Kevin Robinson also shining on the national stage on more than one occasion.
“It is a great club to be a part of,” Ciezki says.
“We have a fantastic board at the moment and a great band of volunteers who do a lot around the club.
“It's a good country atmosphere to be involved with.”