I’M going in to bat for Italian Costantino Rocca to be the next Ryder Cup captain when the Americans head to the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome in 2023. Why? Because Rocca would know all the ingredients of an authentic Italian pizza. He could lace it with something like salami, or anchovies […]
SCORING a hole-in-one might be a rarity in most people’s golf games. And Inside Golf has long since given up recording such feats – as they seem to occur a lot more often than the odds would suggest. Yet, Ian and Dawn Campbell have beaten the ‘ace odds’ in a much different way, which is […]
A SEDATE walk around the headland that rings the entire 18 holes will only make you agree with the late, great Australian golfer Peter Thomson, a five-time winner of the British Open. Thomson once described Long Reef as the best site of any golf course in Sydney. You don’t need to convince Ben Russell, the […]
THE pandemic certainly changed the golfing environment in New South Wales. And while it has confined most golfers in Sydney to playing in their own local government area, it actually has had some benefits, of a different kind, for some clubs. Take Bayview Golf Club on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, for instance, and their general manager […]
DON’T cruise into Griffith Golf Club and think you’ll ‘carve it up’ because you’ve heard there are few bunkers and no water holes. This layout is widely regarded as one of the best in the Riverina and is a stern test of anybody’s golf skills. And here are just some of the reasons why. Griffith […]
Golfers are a hardy bunch. They’ll go out and play in just about any conditions. But nothing could really prepare them for the hurdles that Lynwood Golf and Country Club has had to endure over the past couple of years. The experts say a storm such as that they were subjected to comes along about […]
When David Zahra and Elias Sarkis took over the 19th Golf Driving Range in Sydney’s west, they felt they had a blank canvas at their disposal and began to improve the whole complex – stroke by stroke. It’s fair to say that the 19th Golf Driving Range is now widely regarded as western Sydney’s newest […]
Most golfers are in two minds when asked what they would prefer . . . a hole in one, or a par round during their golf careers. But there is another ‘Holy Grail’ in golf and usually it is far beyond the likes of most golfers. That is breaking your age around a golf course. […]
As you drive into Dunedoo, a tiny town west of Sydney with a population of about 800, the sign says: ‘Where the people make the difference’. And that was tested to the utmost when their golf course was ploughed up by a vandal on a tractor one night recently, destroying the nine-hole golf course. Enter […]
IT will forever go down as a time when survival suddenly became far more important than golf for a few days in Sydney’s north-west. When torrential rain flooded Sydney and the Warragamba Dam overflowed, a game of golf was probably the last thing on anyone’s mind. Yet saving their golf courses still became a priority […]
PERHAPS the only thing missing from Nelson Bay Golf Club’s storied history is recognition outside of one of the most popular holiday spots in our country, Port Stephens. Just about everything else has been squeezed into its 60 years. There’s been fires, floods, name changes, birthdays, anniversaries…you name it, and it has probably happened in […]
CRUISING up the Pacific Highway in New South Wales on a Sunday afternoon recently only made me certain that On-Pin should almost be mandatory at some golf clubs in this country. With the sun shining and perfect spring weather forecast, you would think golf courses would be packed with youngsters, beginners, veterans – you name […]
WHAT’S the hottest topic on the balcony after your golf round? Don’t answer that question, because I think I already know the answer. Slow play continues to be the bane of all golf clubs these days…and it is costing golf clubs a percentage of its members. We’re all too time-poor these days, so to stand […]
It wouldn’t be fair to say it’s business as usual at Pennant Hills Golf Club these days. That’s because it’s a heck of a lot more than that, following major construction works to the tune of around $7.0m, giving the whole club a new, much-more-modern look. The old pro shop, down near Copeland Road, for […]
YOU’VE got a bucket list, right? Let’s face it, most of us do. Well, give some serious thought to adding to it. You just have to include a golf expedition to the famous Mission Hills in China somewhere on that list … and mark my words, you’re doing yourself, and your golf experiences, a dis-service […]
