Sydney was hotter than a Two Fat Indians suicide curry today. 36 degrees, give or take. The westerly wind ?? which blows off a great big desert ?? decided to rear its ugly head, and make life difficult for us cold blooded Kiwi creatures. I??ve sweated less in fully cranked saunas than I did trudging around 18 holes at Bonnie Doon this morning. Thank goodness we teed off at 9; a midday start would have been prohibitive. It reminded me of one new year??s day ?? some 5 years ago ?? when we played at New South Wales (a stone??s throw from the course we played yesterday), in 42 degrees. After 4 hours?? sleep. Not ideal.
Anyway there was more to today than suffocating heat. Bonnie Doon is a cracking course located in Pagewood, Sydney. Mike and I have played it a few times before (through a reciprocal rights arrangement with our old club, Russley) - so we knew more or less what we were in for. Big white bunkers, gum trees, rolling fairways and pockets of tussock/scrub characterise what is a pretty tight track. From the 2nd tee you can see right across to the City, and down to neighbouring courses like The Lakes. You get a few other glimpses of the outside world, but for the most part I felt like we could have been anywhere.
BD??s greenkeepers should take a bow; each hole was as immaculately groomed as the last, and the greens, in particular, rolled beautifully. I reckon the design is pretty good too. The par 5s on the front nine (1 and 4) are a bit short, but there are plenty holes that can undo the good work of any birdies they yield. Take the 17th: a 295 metre par 4. It??s mildly uphill, and doglegs slightly to the left. Standing on the tee you think ??birdie?, and that a simple blow with a 3 iron will set up the approach nicely. However. Miss the fairway and good luck landing your 2nd on the tiny green, which by the way is guarded by a raft of (deep) bunkers. Other holes, like the 7th and 10th, look innocuous enough but can make you look the fool. The trick, I think, is to know where you can miss the greens ?? because the fairways and semi cut are so well presented, you can find yourself with pretty straightforward chips if you??ve run off the side of the green. Off the tee the fairways tend to be wider than they look, so hitting the ball with confidence and that in mind will keep you in play on the whole.
Any gaps in our quasi-local knowledge were filled by Matt Cleary, our journo mate and playing partner for the day (see also Day 51 blog). We??re probably the only blokes this side of the Danube that play more golf than Matt, so he??s a valuable resource (not to mention good for a bit of a laugh). With just the 3 of us in the group, we played some ridiculous format that Matt suggested (whereby, roughly, the honour rotates, and the first player to tee off decides whether to take on the other two or team up with another against the third). It took the best part of the front nine for us all to be on the same page about what was going on; it must be one of those haggles that you get craftier at playing after a few attempts. We also entered in the club stableford comp, but wouldn??t have won any of the spoils (with 29, 26 and 24 points ?? myself, Mike and Matt respectively ?? it wasn??t even worth putting our cards in). Mike and I can??t hand in handicapping cards here anyway, so are just keeping them for our own records.
I had my first encounter with Australian wildlife today, having come across a few geckos in the thick stuff. Wired little chaps they are. Thankfully I didn??t meet any snakes ?? although surely, with the amount of golf we??re playing, and the hours we??ll be spending in the Australian scrub over the next 80 days, it??s only a matter of time. It??ll be the rural courses that are the death traps; in the metropolitan areas I reckon you??d have to be unlucky to get bitten. Touch wood.
One final thing to report. Just as Kinloch had the best showers in New Zealand, Bonnie Doon has ?? for the moment ?? the corresponding honour in Australia. The pleasure was probably enhanced by the fact that it was 36 degrees. But I could happily have 3 showers a day in these cubicles, just for the sheer enjoyment of it. The old school locker rooms were great too, with bryl cream and shaving foam available to those hoping to pick up in the bar. Being something of a nostalgic I??m a sucker for such idiosyncracies.
Anyway my laptop is about to melt, a process which will leave molten aluminium on my upper thighs. So I??m heading down to Coogee for another swim. Then we??re having a BBQ this evening back at Matt??s, with a couple of the chaps we met on Saturday. Should be good value. Off to The Australian tomorrow (ranked 11 in Oz) and St Michaels (ranked 58) on Thursday ?? so a great golfing week ahead, suitably kicked off at The ??Doon this morning. Glorious.
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