VORACIOUS golfer Andrew Lauder has always relished a golfing challenge so when his mates threw down the gauntlet he was quick to respond.
In the late-1980s, Andrew and his golfing mates enjoyed playing as many different courses as possible, but they accused him of ‘dragging the chain’.
“My golfing odyssey, or perhaps idiocy according to my golfing mates, began in the late-1980s when friends began a site detailing the number of courses they had each played,” he explained. “The leader was at 250-odd at the time.
“I was at around 125 then and the subject of ridicule, given I had been playing by far the longest, made me decide to give it a red hot go.
“So every Sunday I would take off early and play a couple of courses. One morning I left home at 2.30am, played 54 holes in the country, drove 1200kms and arrived home at 11.30pm – idiocy indeed.”
To date, Andrew has played 757 different golf courses in Australia and overseas. He doesn’t have an end number in mind but the 60-year-old plans to continue his journey before Father Time intervenes.
“I don’t have a final number in mind but 1000 is a nice round figure,” he said.
Andrew has played in all Australian states and territories reaching 742 layouts played with 14 played in New Zealand and one in India.
The numbers are: NSW/ACT 466; Victoria 139; Queensland 60; Tasmania 27; West Australia 25; South Australia 21, New Zealand 14, Northern Territory four and India one.
Andrew’s golf addiction dates back to 1974 when his mother suggested he attend a school-holiday clinic at Lane Cove. He was hooked and it was the start of his golfing adventure – albeit a slow start.
“I recall shooting 124 in my first ever 18 holes – not counting air swings,” he laughed.
For Andrew, who recently moved from Sydney to Eden on the south coast of NSW, it has been an enjoyable journey.
“During these sojourns I have met some wonderful people – especially in the country areas,” he said. “The people at these clubs were only too happy to show me around and in one case came to my rescue.
“They had to pull my car out of a bog on the side of a dirt road near the Queensland border after I was forced to spend the night sleeping in my car.
“I have played more than 120 sand scrape courses which I find a very different game. I have also played the Nullarbor course at the suggestion of my travelling companion which certainly broke up the trip.
“The two most interesting courses, in terms of fairways, were Broken Hill South where you needed to scrape away the blue metal to get to the hard clay and Coober Pedy where a coloured ball must be used to be able to find it amongst the blindingly white surfaces.”
The dollar amount Andrew has paid for green fees has been anywhere between $2 at a country course to $NZ220 at Jacks Point, which he says was “well worth it”.
Due to work commitments, Andrew took a break for “about a decade”, but now he is back in full swing.
“I am semi-retired now and have resumed the task – albeit at a more leisurely pace given some back issues and Father Time catching up with me,” he said.
“I also intend to keep busy with voluntary work. I have recently spent a second 12-month stint on the greens staff at Twin Creeks and a brief three week voluntary period on the greens staff at Heidelberg Golf Club.”
A life member at Chatswood GC, Andrew also has membership at Twin Creeks (he’s a foundation member) and recently he joined Pambula-Merimbula.
“I was honoured with life membership of Chatswood Golf Club in recognition of four years as captain and nine as president,” he added.
“I also played major pennants for the club and won the club championship, foursomes and mixed foursomes. At Twin Creeks, I have played masters pennants and a few years ago I won the seniors championship three years in a row.”
Andrew once fired a score of seven-under par at Twin Creeks and had his handicap slashed to +1. His current GA handicap is 3.3. Along the way he has recorded six aces – five at Chatswood and one at Cape Schanck.
Andrew describes his game as “streaky”.
“As my friends will attest, I am a scrambler with a reputation for finding the narrowest of gaps in the trees where I find myself in far too often these days,” he said. “And I’m a streaky putter who has more bad days than good with the flat-stick.”
“I will be adding eight US courses including Pinehurst No. 2 and Pebble Beach when my son Daniel and I travel to the Masters next year,” Andrew said.
Daniel said his father’s odyssey had inspired him to play more than 200 courses.
“Dad’s journey has taught me that some of the very best golfing and outdoor experiences in Australia come from places that are less exclusive and well-trodden,” said Daniel, who plays off single figures at Heidelberg GC.
Chief writer David Newbery has been living, breathing and writing and editing golf for more than 30 years. His extensive knowledge of the game comes from covering golf around the world. Hired by Inside Golf in 2009, David previously worked as the editor of The Golfer for 25 years and before that worked for numerous daily newspapers in Australia and overseas. The Brisbane-based journalist describes his golf game as “a work in progress”, but has had the privilege of playing golf with some of the game’s best players including nine-time major winner Gary Player. David enjoys travelling, reading, music, photography and spending time with family and friends – on and off the golf course. 
