Barnbougle! What a place.

We got back from our annual trip to Barnbougle on Monday a little weary but a lot better off for the experience. The trip went fantastically with the golf courses being everything we expected plus more, the food being sensational and the group being a great bunch of guys.

The Barnbougle Gang in it's entirety.

On the practice range at Barnbougle Dunes

The trip started on Thursday with everyone flying into Launcestone Airport around Midday and being shuttled by two 20 seater buses to the city for lunch and a top up of ammunition for our four days of golf. Once everyone was in, watered and feed we headed for the hills on our way to Bridport, Tasmania,  the home of Barnbougle Dunes, the Lost Farm and our destination the Bridport Resort. After we arrived and settled in we headed off to the Pipersbrook Winery for our welcome dinner and tour of the facility. This is always a great night and quite an experience. These guys really know how to throw a dinner party. Sparkling wine and Canapes on arrival, (smoked salmon, King Island brie and Tasmanian trout, just to mention a few). Then we did a tour of the wine making facility going from the vats to the wine making lab and through to the barrels and the bottling. Very interesting for even a non wine drinking person like myself. After the tour we were escorted to our table for the evening which was set up down amongst all the wine barrels and was a perfect place for us for the night. We then had the first of our five courses which included local Tasmanian seafood, Quail, beef and lamb not to mention a real treat for the Americans, Pavlova. This was a great evening, Deon and the girls really looked after us well and it was the perfect opportunity for everyone to get to know each other.

All the coaches at the Pipersbrook Winery with our Deon.

The next day we awoke with trepidation, the sky was black and the wind was blowing. We had breakfast at the resort and headed off to the course about 9.30 for our clinic with Scott. The clinic went for about an hour and after a warm up on the range and a practice putt we headed out onto the course for our first round. This is really about the first time we have seen some true Barnbougle weather in three visits and although it was hard work it was also great fun. The wind blew about 45 KM/Per Hour and we only got about 10 minutes of rain for the entire round (although both times we got showers it did have sleet in it.), but all in all we got very lucky and everyone had a great time and David didn't loose his gold star for booking good weather for our trips. The superstars for the day were Hank Schumacher with 39 points and Mick Carroll with 35 points. Dinner that night was at the Bridport Resort and was fantastic as usual. Everyone had plenty of stories to tell, we all went to bed to warm up and get ready for what laid waiting the next day.

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise, clear blue sky and a slight zephyr. A marked improvement on the day before, still cold but much more inviting. The Lost Farm was in great nick. Really well grown in with another year of growth on the course. Paul's short game clinic got every ones attention with each attendee getting in front and centre to have a try. The breeze did get up a little in the afternoon getting up to about 25 KM/ Per Hour, but after the day before this was a doddle and everyone came off the course with huge smiles on their faces. The Lost Farm is an interesting facility as it has 20 holes, with two shorter extra holes for the golfers to play. The scores of the day went to Robyn Woellener with 50 points (that's right fifty). Even though this was over 20 holes this was a hell of a score and David, (Robyn's pro for the day) said it was as good a round as he has seen played for a long time. Hank and Mick had 40 points each with many more trailing nearby. That night dinner was especially tasty as we had played both courses and were enjoying the idea of backing up again in the morning.
The next day was even better. Clear as a bell, no wind, just the thought of getting some sort of revenge on the course that had kicked so many butts on the first day. Bob's GPS clinic was a real eye opener for the guys. The understanding that not everything that went wrong was there faults was a novel concept but they al got a great deal from his points. Today's event was a teams event with the best two scores on each hole counting and boy did i pick the right group. First day winner Hank, Michael Atkinson and Arun teamed up especially well with our team scoring 93 points (this time for 18 holes) this was 21 points over the average of two you should score. The boys combined fantastically scoring over 50 points on the front nine alone, what a day. After the round we sat in the clubhouse at Barnbougle and passed around stories of all the things that had happened and all the things that might have been. Tonight's dinner was at one of the local Hotels renowned for its fine cuisine and it did not fail us. The food and the wine flowed freely and we had a presentation for the first three days winners. Great fun.

Some local visitors in the bush.

The next day was an early start we had to pack the buses before our round so we could head off and get to the airport after the round. Breakfast was at the Lost Farm before our round and everyone was ready for a last run at this monster. The day was quite warm, although a little overcast and the same as the day before there was very little breeze. We had a great day, everyone was getting the handle on the course and the smiles on the faces were showing it. After golf we headed back to the airport to get the golfers on their way back to the real world and pass on their many stories of their trials and tribulations.
Specials notes for the weekend:

• Hank Schumacher breaking his handicap in each round during the trip (which he also did last year) 
• Robyn Woelleners 50 points at the Lost Farm on Saturday. What a score.
• Arun's two iron shots at the back nine par threes at Barnbougle on Sunday. All up the two putts wouldn't have been 8 feet if we added them together.
• Michael Atkinson lipping out on the 16th at Barnbougle on Sunday for a hole in one. It was a great shot.
• Warrick Bates making it around all four days (and playing some terrific golf on the way), it was great having you there mate.
• Stephan showing Scotty around the family inheritance on the first day. The summer house will make a great bachelor pad one day.
• Gabe Petri finding out that Arun was his surrogate son during the course of the weekend. Beautiful theings do happen (you had to be there)

This years trip was a little different from previous years as we took 5 pro's, not just the usual cast of David, Scott Davis and myself with guest coaches Bob Duncan and Paul Buchanan making there way with us this year and proving to be a great addition to our trip. This was the first visit for these guys to the apple isle and it doesn't look like it will be the last. The boys had a great time, loving the format and really fitting in well with the Absolute Golf way of doing things. Scott, Bob and Paul all played an integral part of the trips success and a special thanks goes out to them all for their involvement in the trip, the group sessions they each provided during the week and their level of commitment to ensuring each attendee got the most from the school.
Special thanks to Stephan for his efforts putting together the design and printing for our schedule and a lot of the hand outs for the trip. Thanks Steph.

Some not so local visitors in the bush.

And a special trip to my partner in crime David, who did a fantastic job putting together all the details to a fantastic trip. It would not be half the fun it is if he didn't do such a great job and i congratulate him for his marvellous effort. great job mate.
When all the photos come back (from Stephan and Robyn) i will post them for all to see. there will be some more on the websites and facebook for everyone to see.
Talk soon
Jeff Mansfield