The Graham Marsh-designed par-72 Kalgoorlie golf course has the potential to be a world class desert golf course.Driving passed the “welcome to Kalgoorlie-Boulder” sign, the red ochre soils of the surrounding outback landscape give way to a wide main street that is home to some grand historic buildings and pubs, most of which date back to the gold rush era. I pulled into the iconic Exchange Hotel and the cold beer arrives swiftly along with a welcoming smile and a bit of chat. For my short stay in Kalgoorlie I was to find this kind of welcome is the norm everywhere from the pubs, to the golf course to the service station on the edge of town.
The three-levelled 9th-green is a memorable conclusion to the front nine. Photo: Brendan James
Lying at the heart of Western Australia’s Goldfields region, a bit more than six hours’ drive east of Perth, Kalgoorlie is a twin city with Boulder and both towns warmly embrace their gold mining heritage. Gold was first discovered in the area in 1893 and gold mining remains the major industry of Kalgoorlie, employing about a quarter of the local workforce. In fact, the concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original find is often referred to as the ‘Golden Mile’, and is considered to be the richest square mile of earth on the planet.
The twin cities boast a wide range of historic, scenic and natural attractions but the local council has set its sights on golf to add further depth to the region’s appeal.
A proposal to develop a world-class golf course in Kalgoorlie first emerged in 2002 and, three years later, a developer was appointed to turn the vision into reality. The plan included the merger of three golf clubs in the area – the Kalgoorlie, Boulder and Hannans Golf Clubs – to form the Goldfields Golf Club at a new Kalgoorlie Golf Course.
The developer ran into problems not long after construction started so the Kalgoorlie-Boulder City Council took over the development of the $18.5 million project, which recently saw stage one – the opening of the Graham Marsh-designed layout – completed.
The Wintergreen Couch fairways are like an oasis in the desert. Photo Brendan James
“The council took on the project and now that the course is complete we can look forward to adding the elements around it,” Kalgoorlie-Boulder council CEO Don Burnett said. “It’s exciting for golfers but also for non-golfers, local businesses and tourism as we move ahead with plans to develop a clubhouse, resort and some outstanding facilities.”
From a golfing perspective, Western Australia’s newest course will not have too many problems attracting players, either locally or from further afield.
I have to admit I didn’t know what to expect before I arrived at Kalgoorlie. The high standard of presentation of the playing surfaces at such an early stage of development certainly did surprise.
Course superintendent Alan Redmayne (formerly of Marsh’s home club, Cottesloe, in Perth) still has plenty of work in front of him to see the playing surfaces through to maturity, but the high quality of maintenance is already evident. I was particularly impressed with the grass cover and true roll of the G2 Bentgrass greens, which are really still in their infancy.
Marsh’s unkering throughout the layout is dynamic. Photo Brendan James
While the condition of the layout surprised, the quality and creativity of Marsh’s design didn’t. This is a true desert-style course where manicured green fairways and greens are bordered by one cut of semi-rough and then the next step wide is on the ochre-coloured loam beneath the desert scrub and clumps of wattle and gum trees. On several holes, Marsh has even used these rough edges to isolate tees or cut through a fairway to make longer hitters think hard about hitting a driver from the tee. Bunkering always tends to be a major feature of Marsh designs (Secret Harbour and The Vines in Perth as well as Twin Creeks in Sydney are fine examples) and at Kalgoorlie it is no different. He has combined deep greenside traps with strategically placed expansive bunker schemes, while also incorporating areas of sandy wasteland that seem to extend into the playing lines from the surrounding rough.
He also uses bunkering to visually intimidate players and force them into second-guessing their club and/or shot selection. A fine example of this can be found at the long par-3 8th where the expansive bunkering short right and to the left of the putting surface have the effect of making the tee shot look even longer than it is. From the championship pegs, it is a punishing 218 metres to find the centre of the massive putting surface. One club short or long of the correct one can easily lead to a dropped shot here.
The same can be said on the next hole, where the wrong club for the final approach into the green can be very costly. Marsh has never been afraid to be imaginative with his bunkering or greenscapes and he has certainly let the creative juices flow on Kalgoorlie’s par-5 9th. This is a genuine three-shotter of 538-metres from the back markers and features a fairway that doglegs slight right. Long hitters can be hamstrung here as the fairway is cut in two by a wasteland area at about the 280-metre mark.
The wide 9th fairway rises gradually to the front of green, which lies diagonally to the angle of your approach and is cut into the side of a small hill. Two steep tiers cutting through the putting surface create three levels on the massive green, which is guarded by a bunker halfway along its front edge and another sand trap to the right of the bottom level of the green. A putt from one level to another on this green is a real test of nerve, especially from the higher levels, and distance control to avoid having three putts or more. That said, it is an exciting and memorable green that players will either find enjoyable or frustrating.
The short par-4 12th is a test of sound strategy and good shot execution.
Marsh has designed Kalgoorlie to be played by golfers of all standards. The course stretches to a lengthy 6,768 metres from the championship markers making it the longest course in Australia, which is not entirely surprising given the fairways will generally play hard and fast.
There are, however, four sets of tees on each hole and the public layout is still a testing 5,933 metres. While Kalgoorlie is a long course, Marsh’s design is very much about strategy and approaching the big greens from the right place in the fairway to leave the most makeable putts on the often dramatic putting surfaces.
The back nine, which was only officially opened for play last month, is fantastic and, for mine, offers the greatest variety of holes. In fact, it provides a mix of tree-lined holes as well as more sparse links-style holes that close out the round.
Despite the length of the layout, Marsh has managed to include a very good short par-4 in his design with the dogleg left 12th hole. It measures between 280 (white tee) and 321 metres (championship tee) making it easily reachable in two hits for most players. But only a few will conquer this diminutive hole with a birdie three, as the green is one of the smallest on the course and its guarded by bunkers and a wasteland and / or water hazard (depending on rainfall) short of the putting surface.
The red desert soils provide a colourful aside to many holes including the long par-3 17th.
Kalgoorlie’s most spectacular hole is the long par-3 17th, which is played across a ridge on the highest point of the course. The four teeing grounds (stretched between 118 and 202 metres) are cut into the side of the hill and demand a tee shot to be played across a small gully to the green, which is perched on the edge of the ridge. Ringed by bunkers and wasteland, the wide green is receptive but only to a correctly selected club. This is a dynamic hole that provides a memorable conclusion to a round and will certainly contribute to players wanting to play this course again and again.
FACT FILE
LOCATION: Aslett Drive, Karikula, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
CONTACT: (08) 9026 2626.
WEBSITE: www.kalgoorliegolfcourse.com
HOW TO GET THERE: From Perth, Kalgoorlie is nearly eight hours’ drive east of the West Australian capital. There are several QantasLink flights daily between Perth and Kalgoorlie. Skywest also operate direct flights to Kalgoorlie from Melbourne and Adelaide.
DESIGNER: Graham Marsh.
PLAYING SURFACES: Wintergreen Couch (fairways and tees); Penn G2 Bentgrass (greens).
GREEN FEES: $55 (18 holes); $75 with cart.
THE CLUB MEMBERSHIPS: The Goldfields Golf Club calls the new Kalgoorlie golf course home. The club currently offers three memberships categories: ordinary member, ordinary junior member and corporate member. Members’ privileges include free access to the course at anytime subject to available time slots, reduced bar prices and entitlement to play in competitions organised by Goldfields Golf Club.
CORPORATE DAYS: Prime Golf, who manage the Kalgoorlie course on behalf of the council, can arrange corporate events of all sizes.
FACILITIES: A temporary but full functioning clubhouse is in operation but there are plans to build a clubhouse and resort adjoining the course.