NSW - Elanora Country Club
Review of Elanora Country Club Golf Course
Last night we had dinner with two Sydney friends in Double Bay. They are members at Elanora Country Club, and gave us some advice on how to play the course. Whilst rain was predicted, it turned out to be a humid 26 degrees, mostly overcast, and the sun even peaked out a couple of times during the day. Wind was 5.5km NE.
A bit of history
According to the website, Elanora is an Aboriginal word meaning "home by the sea", and it certainly feels like this. The Elanora Country Club was established in 1929, and its elevated location 10 min inland from Narabeen beach overlooks the ocean and surrounding hills. Walking down the 10th hole you are greeted ahead by ancient rock formations, and surrounded by Australian native bushland. We instantly fell in love and felt lucky to be spending the next four hours on this beautiful country.
Course Review
The Stats
Condition 17.5/20
We were told that the course was in great condition, and it did not disappoint. The second nine especially, the fairway felt like spongy green carpet, and the rough and bunkers impeccably maintained. In fact, I've never seen such pristine bunkers - white sand like a tropical island. Fairways didn’t run very far and the greens were quite slow given the morning's rain.
Biodiversity /20
All you hear are sounds of the Australian bush - birds and cicadas, and frogs in the pond on the right of the second green.
Vistas /20
Magnificent, inside and out. The rock formations were a stand out for me, and the views of the ocean were still beautiful (I imagine even more so on a clear day!)
Organisation 14/20
Great organisation and apparently quite a small membership - no practice fairway. Didn't try the food or drink.
Challenge /20
It felt like quite a long course, and there were a couple of long par 5's uphill. The blues play off 6142m and the red off 5322. Good diversity of challenges, of note were the different kinds of rough. Lots of hills, rocks, water, bunkers, and rough cutting into the fairways - all surprises to new players. In terms of balance - we found some holes quite easy and some holes super hard.
Can you hear the Whipbird?
Highlights and Hazards
One surprise: the short rough that cuts into the fairway, not always obvious from the tee, and difficult to hit out of with irons (try a rescue).
One birdie: channel-billed cuckoo (my first sighting, although I have heard them before in Queensland) and of course the quinntessential whipbird heard in the above video…
Biggest challenge: long part 5's uphill. And finding your way around (continue straight on 8th and 11th - not left, thanks to the members for alerting us)
Favourite hole: Sarah: 15th hole for birdies and view: I hit my ball into the right fairway bunker before the creek, but relatively easy shot out nearly onto the green. Michael: 18th walking down towards clubhouse with big overhanging rocks.
Suggestions and Strategy
Something the course taught you: on apron of greens, we had more success with 58/60 degrees, than chip and runs - good practice at judging bounce and distance and trying out different clubs.
Some advice: Try keep out of light rough on fairway and you should save some shots. Members also recommend playing in order 1-18 (we started on 10th) to get full experience.
Mental focus: Bodily awareness of sensations of emotions. And gratitude for playing this beautiful game in this beautiful place on a Tuesday morning!
Overall review
Our review of the course on this specific day.
