#58 Web TV: Nullarbor Links - The World's Longest Golf Course, Australia - Day 1

Nullarbor Links - The World's Longest Golf Course, Australia - Day 1

This week's tip I am going to share with you the longest golf course in the world called "Nullarbor Links".

We decided to drive from Sydney across to Perth in our car and play the Nullarbor Links along the way...

The 18 hole par 72 course is approximately 1,365 kilometres long. So you could definitely say Wow!!!

Of course you won't be walking between each hole, as it would take a mighty long time to do that. Once you have played each hole you do jump back into the car and drive to the roadhouse. The distance to each roadhouse does vary so you could travel anything from 60 kilometres to 180 kilometres.

But what an adventure it is!

The course is set up along the Eyre Highway at each participating roadhouse plus you do play a few holes at a few golf courses too!

All of the holes are unique and an amazing experience. It is a great way to drive across Australia and see the country in a unique way.

So here below I have our first day.

We started at Ceduna Golf Club, South Australia...so enjoy the our first day below. I have some photos for you to enjoy plus remember to watch the video above of each hole.

Now the holes are actually numbered from Kalgoorile in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia but because we are driving from Ceduna to Kalgoorlie for the Nullarbor Links I will be numbering them from where we started.

So here we go...

DAY 1

We teed off at Ceduna Golf Course.

Hole 1 - Oyster Beds - Par 5  -485m
Hole 2 - Denial Bay - Par 4  - 370m
 
Teed off on the first hole straight down the middle of the fairway. The fairways are made up of dried out grass and dirt. So there are no even lies.

Both fairways are pretty straight, so it really depends on how far you can hit the ball.You don't need to tee up along the fairway here but you do get uneven lies.
 
When you get to the green, it is made up of black sand, so you need to rake a smooth path for your ball to putt. You then hit the ball hard up the sand as the sand grabs the ball and doesn't run much.
  
There are 150m distance posts so you get an idea how far you are from the green...well, the black sandy green.

Back into the car for the 73 kilometre drive to the next hole at Penong.

 
Penong Roadhouse 
Hole 3 - Windmills - Par 4 - 260m 
 
We went to the roadhouse to get our card stamped, then we turned right off the highway & drove to this hole.
 
You stand on a synthetic mat & hit the ball straight up the middle over the top of the trees. The trees are right down in the middle of the fairway...well dirt & dry grass, so it does become a challenge if you don't hit the ball up over the trees. They are about halfway towards the hole.
 
You have to tee up all the way along the hole to preserve the natural environment. Once you get to the green it is synthetic grass, so best to let the ball run up onto the green as the ball will stop.
 
If you play onto the green, which my husband (Ian) discovered, that the ball just runs off.
 
Great to putt on though, nice & quick and keeps it line. A bit different from the previous hole.

 The next hole to follow is hole at Nundroo which is 78 kilometres from Penong.

Nundroo Roadhouse
Hole 4 - Wombat Hole - Par 5 - 520 metres
 
Teeing off a synthetic grass mat. It was a bit tricky to work out where to hit the tee shot, so looking at the map at the side on the sign made it easier to work out. It was a bit difficult to work out initially.
 
The fairway once you work it out does stand out as it is a bit of a brown tinge. There are two distinct trees on the right hand side which help. Plus there are white driving posts like on the road on either side of the fairway.
 
You are teeing off blind even though you can see where the fairway is...you can't see the hole as it dog legs up and over the hill left.
 
So the first shot is easy to see we it went. For the second shot you really need someone at the top of the hill because you are flying blind...and what we learned after playing the second shot was that it was difficult to find the ball.
 
However we did find the balls...so we teed up the next shots and played them down to the green.
 
The green is synthetic so best to chip & run it onto the green. Putting is pretty straight forward on the hole, they are quick, but on this green the hole is slightly raised so as the ball does approach the hole it may veer off.

 From Nundroo to Nullarbor the drive is 145 kilometres...

Nullarbor Roadhouse
Hole 5 - Dingo's Den - Par5 - 538m
 
When we arrived at the Nullabor Roadhouse to fill up the car with petrol, before teeing off we went in to get our cards stamped...the guy at the counter mentioned that had been quite a number of brown snakes (western brown snakes) seen out on that hole. It made me a little nervous, as I am not fond of snakes .
 
On the info it said to beware of a crow who flies down and takes the balls...not today, there was no crow but I walked pretty quick between shots.
 
The tee is a synthetic grass mat, the hole doglegs to the right, so if you get a good tee shot down to the corner you can then play straight up the fairway to the green.
 
The fairway would only be about 20 metres wide so accuracy is a must. Numerous bushes on either side of the fairway, plus the huge wombat holes that the snakes tended to reside.

So we teed up all the way to the green as the fairways are dry with perhaps a bit of grass here and there. It took 3 driver shots and a pitch shot to get on the green for four...as there was a strong headwind we were playing into.
 
The green is tiered and the hole was at the back on the synthetic grass green. Was simply amazing to look out from the tee to the green as there was just nothing but blue skies and flat terrain.
 
A house behind the tee, and the roadhouse...people were even setting up camp in a tent along with numerous caravans setting up for the night...

It was an amazing site!

After playing this hole it was now onto the Border Village Roadhouse to play the next hole...it is a 187 kilometre drive...
Border Village Roadhouse
Hole 6 - Border Kangaroo - Par 3 - 160 metres
 
This hole is right near the big roo just before the border into Western Australia. So you can't miss it!

Now the hole is a challenging one. We arrived later in the afternoon so the wind was blowing across the green to the left.

The fairway itself was quite narrow would have been no more than 10 metres in width which was just dirt. The tall trees were along the fairway on both sides.

The plan here was to hit the ball over the trees on the right about 10 metres to the right of the green and allow the wind to bring the ball back to the green. If you can't hit the length just play the ball right up the middle.
 
The green was narrow and long, it had a slight downhill slope so if you are the back of the green be careful when putting as the ball takes off quickly with a slight tap.
 
Luckily for me I hit the ball right of the green, pin high and chipped it in for a birdie which was exciting after a bit of a drive at at the end of the day.

From here it was just a short drive from Border Village to Eucla only 13 kilometres...

So that was the end of the first day. I hope you enjoy our first day of our Nullabor Links trip.