Western Australia. Are they the best courses in the country?

Dave and I are just back from WA after taking a group away for golf and tuition the "Absolute" way and boy what a trip. 20 - 22 degrees every day, shirt sleeves up until dusk and this is in the middle of July. Everywhere you turn around there is a great course just lurking over the next hill.
We arrived on Monday at 9.00am and by 9.40 we were on the road with Rod and Shirley in the bus with us and we headed down the freeway to Mandurah to play The Cut. This is an 18 hole facility with ocean views, undulating fairways and some of the wildest rough i have seen for a while. It was a tough course to play for the first time as you really need to know where you are going to play there well but it was a fun golf course as it took a bit of thinking to play, you cant just stand up and blast away if you want to find your ball or have a decent score (which did seem to be the theme for the week). We got the most magnificent day 22 degrees and a slight zephyr to keep us honest. Dave started the day with a birdie but it was all down hill after that but the best player on the day was Jeff Williamson with a fine score who had the most control of his shots all day, but even he couldn't get around without losing a ball. After golf we headed to our accommodation for the first leg of the trip which was the Sebel at Mandurah. Over looking the canals it really was a beautiful place. Dinner this night was at Sunbreakers a nearby restaurant where the speciality of the house was the mussells. It was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other and talk about the activities of the day. By the time we got back to our rooms it had been a long day and we were all grate full to hit the sack.

12 hole at The Cut Golf Course.

The second day was another cracker it started with breakfast in the hotel restaurant (where David had his scrambled eggs with 13 eggs - so did the rest of us) and our golfing destination was at The Links at Kennedy Bay. just minutes away. This is a spectacular course and although just a short distance away from the course the day before and still classified as a links, very different from the day before. We started this day with a pitching clinic which went very well, these guys really ate up the tuition and were getting better right in front of us. Then we headed out for our golf. This day i started off with a birdie and like David before me it went to mud. This is a great golf course. Perfect condition, wide well bunkered fairways with elevated greens designed to make you think. Everyone agreed they loved the course and as unbelievable as it was to imagine it was even better than the day before. The post round drinks were spent discussing the round, telling stories and generally relieving what had been a wonderful day. Tonight's dinner was at the guest discretion with everyone heading there own way. Dave and I headed to Murphys Irish Pub for an old fashioned Pub meal and a chance to catch up with Craig Tapp. An old mate of ours from Sydney who now teaches out West and is actually the head pro at The Links at Kennedy Bay. It was great see him and meet his wife Jo and talk about old times and what lies on the horizon.

Day 3 started in the hotel Restaurant again with breakfast and we headed up the road to our golf school destination at Whaleback Golf Club. This is an 18 hole public golf course with a two storey driving range, chipping green, bunker and putting green. It is run by a friend of ours Peter Hopkins who is a golfing legend in West Aus having been a club professional, teacher, player and administrator for years and years and it was very kind of him to have us at his facility allowing us to do what we do. This facility really is as good as anywhere i have been. It was clean, tidy, modern, roomy. I mean it was awesome. Nothing like anything we have in Sydney and a credit to all involved. Dave and i started with a putting clinic in the morning which ran for about two hours and then we had lunch. After lunch we took the group for a one and a half hour session on the chipping green and worked on the short game. After a coffee break we went to the range for a final session working on any golf swing issues we had noticed over the first two days, it was a great day. After the school we were meet by Pat our non golfing participant for a casual dinner overlooking the course and it's facilities recapping the days activities. After golf it was off to the second leg of our trip which was up north at the vines resort up in the WA hills. We were greeted by a magnificent resort which was to be our home for the next two nights. After checking in it was back to the bar to watch the State of Origin with our new friends and anyone else who was interested. The perfect finish to a great day.

Day 4 we had a late start for golf so David and I headed out to tour the facility what a great place. This was the venue for the Johnny Walker Classic for a few years in the late 2000's and it would prove to be a test for all of us. We started the day with bunker clinic at the clubs first class facility and a warm up before our round. The wind had got up a little today but most notable the terrain had changed. The first two days were seaside with saltbush and pot bunkers now we were in the foothills with gum trees, black boys, heaps of bunkers and  lots of water. What a contrast. What a great course, Undulating fairways, strategically placed bunkers and greens like i have never seen before. The big winner today was Rod who drove the ball very impressively and kept his ball out of the bunkers the best of all of us. You can see why this was chosen as a tournament course for those years, but it does amazes me how good these guys score, because we weren't even in the ball park. Dinner again tonight was at the guests discretion and they chose to eat together (which was nice) Dave and I went to catch up with some family which was great fun.

The 3rd hole on the Quarry Course at Joondalup

The last day we travelled to Joondalup which for me was the highlight of the trip. Joondalup is the #1 golf resort in the country and #18 on the Australian rankings and the quarry nine was something i had heard a lot about and was ready to witness. The whole course winds through the quarry with some being filled with water (the lakes nine), some they have mounded up (the dunes) and some they have left natural (the Quarry) and the whole golf course was a great experience. like nothing i have played in Australia before. The big winner today was Shirley who cleaned all the boys up with her straight driving and improved short game. After the round we had a farewell dinner at the members clubhouse at Joondalup and all sat around talking about the great trip we had been through together. These were a great group of people, fantastic accommodations, gorgeous weather and some of the best courses i have ever played and it was all over. Special thanks to all the clubs for making their facilities available to us with a special thanks to Peter Hopkins who really opened up his doors for us. To all the Professionals for allowing David and I to access your facilities it was very much appreciated and all the hotel staff for looking after us so well. Last but not least our travelling companions for being such great sports, trips like these never go without a hitch and you guys were easy to deal with and a pleasure to spend time with and we are very happy you were there with us and to my old mate David whom with out all his help we could definitely not have done this trip in the style that we did. Thanks mate. By the way our side bet was each 9 hole and 18 hole score and over the 8 nines Dave won 1 and I won 6 and we tied 1 and I won all four 18's. It will be all on again in the states in September.

If you would like more information on our US trip coming up in Sept go to http://www.absolutegolf.com.au/ or contact us. Times running out and we only have a few spots left.

See you on the course.
Jeff Mansfield