COURSE LAYOUT
100 YEARS OF EXTRAORDINARY LIVING!
HOLE 1
Stroke 10
A relatively short and easy beginning to the course; try keep it left in the fairway to open up this long green which angles away to the right. Chance for birdie, especially if you warmed up with a bucket of balls on the range beforehand.
HOLE 2
Stroke 2
A long & fairly narrow par 4, with a “valley of sin” guarding the front left of the green that should be avoided at all costs. Take a 5 and run!
HOLE 3
Stroke 18
Par 5 dog-leg left with a wide fairway that slopes down from right-to-left. Keep the tee shot right to ‘open’ up the hole. Lay-up well short of the creek if you’re not sure of getting all the way home; that will leave you with a fuller shot for this uphill approach which will have more chance of stopping on this smallish raised green. Decent birdie chance!
HOLE 4
Stroke 4
Take a moment to enjoy the scenery from the high tee that overlooks the fairway, plus look behind you towards the clubhouse. Once you’ve negotiated the carry over the dam with your tee-shot, a narrow uphill approach to another raised green beckons. Anything long on this green will take some doing to get “up & down”.
HOLE 5
Stroke 16
A downhill and narrow fairway leads to a long steep uphill approach to another small & well-bunkered green. Avoid the cross-bunker about 40m short of the green, plus the greenside traps, at all costs. Always allow for the uphill when calculating club selection.
HOLE 6
Stroke 6
Slightly uphill along the access road, a short par 4 where once again, the fairway bunkers provide the biggest challenge. Keeping the tee-shot to the right side of the fairway opens up the rest of the hole.
HOLE 7
Stroke 14
A short hole with lots of carry across water to a diagonal and small green, and a small lone bunker guarding the right side for those hitting away from the water. Stay dry, and an easy par is on the cards!
HOLE 8
Stroke 8
A short downhill par 4 with a relatively wide fairway. The downhill approach shot needs to find the green, or the chances of making par disappear in the large front-right bunker. 4 is not bad on this one!
HOLE 9
Stroke 12
A beautiful short par 3 downhill over the access road, and with carry over water almost all of the way. One of the bigger greens on the course, but the twin dangers of water and sand lurk close by.
HOLE 10
Stroke 11
Please be careful of the cars on the right as you tee off, but a wide fairway beckons for this long par 5. A small green awaits, so make sure your 2nd shot stays in play so that your 3rd can be hit with precision from the short grass of the fairway.
HOLE 11
Stroke 5
The OB on the right and the long protruding fairway bunker on the left are the obvious dangers, but the green is well guarded by sand, making this shortish par 4 quite a challenge.
HOLE 12
Stroke 1
The toughest hole on the course, and the longest par 4 on the card. If you have the game, then you can take on the dam fronting the green, but if you can’t take on the hole, then play it as a ‘3 shotter’, take your 5 and breathe a huge sigh of relief.
HOLE 13
Stroke 9
Another shortish par 4, but getting safely onto the fairway is the #1 priority. The ring of bunkers that surround this fairway must be avoided; the reward being a short approach to a fairly well-sloped green.
HOLE 14
Stroke 15
A beautiful short par 3, sunk into an amphitheatre of pines and bluegums, but with a wickedly tiered green. Aim for the centre of the green, 2 putt, and appreciate your par.
HOLE 15
Stroke 17
One of the Houghton’s signature holes! A straightaway tee shot will leave you with a beautiful downhill 2nd or 3rd shot approach to a green guarded by water in the right & front. In the late afternoon with the sun behind you, take a photo in your mind of the walk down towards the green.
HOLE 16
Stroke 7
A medium-to-long par 3 with lots of carry over water, but once on board, a big ridge in the centre of the green provides the greatest challenge.
HOLE 17
Stroke 13
Another signature hole. The view from the tee looks is magnificent, but very sandy, so ….. ‘stay off the beach’. The large fairway bunker will wreck any hopes on this short par 4. The small raised green should be approached with a relatively short club, made easier if you’re coming from the fairway.
HOLE 18
Stroke 3
A tough closing hole! A dog-leg to the left with a very wide fairway, and the left side of the fairway is best as it will open up the approach to the green and take the big dam out of the equation. But the traditional error shot goes right and away from the fairway and green, bringing the water more into play, and making the big tree guarding the right of the green much more prominent.