Think back to the last time the beauty of a golf course took your breath away, or at the very least made you stop for a minute to bask in the scene. If it was by the sea, discard that one because any course or hole, no matter how good or bad, can look world class and amazing with an ocean view.
Let your thoughts drift away from the ocean to lush strip-cut and undulating fairways – lined with majestic strands of flooded gums as well as vast areas of sub-tropical forest – and punctuated by white sandy bunkers. In the spring, blossoming azaleas and flowering natives add touches of pink, red, white and purple to the colour palette.
If you’re now thinking of Bonville Golf Resort, you’ve been fortunate enough, like me, to experience arguably this country’s most beautiful inland golf course. If you haven’t played Bonville, there’s never been a better time to experience what some are moved to describe as Australia’s Augusta National.
There is some resemblance to the famous home of the Masters Tournament and all credit must go to the designers, Terry Watson and Ted Stirling, whose brief from the original owners was to create a course like that found in Georgia. However, there is only one Augusta.
What Watson and Stirling did was create a distinctly Australian golf course that has some features Augusta is famous for, including great elevation change between tee and green on many holes, holes incorporating natural watercourses, and, of course, the azaleas.
