Day 3 - Day of Disaster Take 2

The day started well enough at Madura. A lovely 125 metres uphill par 3. Aim the trees, aim left of the flag and it will be OK. Two putts later I had a par to start the day and things were looking brighter.

Mundrabilla is halfway along the Roe plains and there is the Watering hole. It stared well enough, I saw the ball go left of the fairway, hit a rock and bounce at right angles on to the fairway. Well, that's what I thought. Being careful I played a provisional. It was a great shot and it was needed. After searching for a while and not finding my first shot I know why the guy drove his buggy into the old swimming pool!

Ah Eucla. Halfway along our journey and on to a real golf course. Another easier hole, with wide open fairway and a little bit of a head wind. No long grass to hide you ball, not scrub left of right, just a couple of bushes on the fairway. A duck hook left meant it was in the sparse but long grass. We found 6 balls - we did not find mine! With the provisional ball another shot was dropped as well.

Now the Euclascourse has some of the friendliest flies around. Despite all her efforts and almost constant movement Beth did not walk alone!

At Border Village, just a 12 kilometer drive we found another par three. It was not as frightening to look at as Balladonia, nor was it as long but when your tee shot goes right under a tree it can still be a problem.

The final hole for the day was a Nullarbor Roadhouse. A par 5, and the chance to get a par. Yeah right! Military golf ended my day - left, right, left. Add a penalty and some into the wind shots that didn't make the distance and the day finished with a triple bogey even though I did not loose a ball.

Maybe things will be better tomorrow. Surely they couldn't be worse.

Day 2 - Day of Disaster

Were it not for the Nullarbor Golf Experience we would not have gone in to Fraser Range Station.

A delightful spot about 100 kms east of Norseman this would be lovely place to stop for a few days. Their hole is short downhill par 3, and easy little hole. Warning - do not overhit! My tee shot did not go into the dry creek at the back but stayed in a pile of dirt. Once I got to the green it was easy except for the pace of the artificial green. A 1.5 metre downhill putt became a 2 metre uphill putt which I missed.

On to Balladonia with one of the more challenging par 3's you will find anywhere. The 175 metres of fairway, and then a gentle approach. Don't be too long, there's salt bush. Don't lay up (unless you are dead straight) there's dead trees and dirt. Oh- avoid being left of right there are trees and scrub there too.


Having struck my tee shot long and left the first challenge was to find the ball. Here my photographer came to the rescue, and we managed to escape with a bogey.


Caiguna offered some respite, a short par 4 dogleg left. How far to the turn? No idea. Solution, a little draw. Problem it went straight - and about 40 metres through the fairway into the scrub. At leas I found it, and managed to get closer to the hole, but not close enough. Another chip and I was on the green, but two putts was satisfactory.




Cocklebiddy looked scary, but there was little scrub, more like a runway than a fairway. The challenge was to clear the 180 plus metres of natural grasses to reach short stuff (or the absence of stuff really). At least here I avoided the long stuff and managed the fairway and my first par for the day.

Kangaroos, ants and a dancing hottie!

Our journey east is to be shaped by Nullarbor Golf. Our experience started at Kalgoorlie. After paying the fees at the visitor centre we got the card and mat then headed for the first holes.

Overnight we had witnessed a sound and light show, and when we entered Kalgoorlie the newspaper headlines cried "Night of Drama for Kalgoorlie". When I signed up for the round I signed up for more drama. Kalgoorlie had been the venue of the sound and light show, with a thunderstorm that stirred things up a bit.

On the golf course it was warm and a little steamy, but it was good to be out on the fairway with a few locals.

We discovered more than a few however. The storm had stirred up the ants who were out in force on Hannans Golf Course.

The first two holes were Hannans 10th and 18th, and my photographer was gracious in giving her time. What she did not do was put shoes on, preferring thongs (a.k.a flip flops). Apart from learning how to take photos on a golf course, she was also distracted by the kangaroos that grazed or rested nearby.

It is remarkable how hard it is to concentrate with a photographer who pauses for a few seconds to take a photo and then starts dancing around. To not be distracted by a women hopping from foot to foot, stamping and jumping and offering expressions that are not to be repeated here was a great achievement.
Pause for five seconds and the ants were on you, crawling over shoes or unprotected feet, with no regard for your sense of personal space!

My golf was passable for a change. While there is a temptation to offer a blow by blow description I will refrain, even though it is hard. I managed to play five holes (2 in Kalgoorlie, one in Kambalda and two at Norseman), scrambling pars and only dropping a shot on the last when my drive went too long for the line I selected.

Considering how it began, and with Beth dancing around each time she stopped anywhere on the course at Hannans, it was a great effort to be only one over par.

Beth is right though. There were more ants on Hannans in Kalgoorlie that course than I have seen in one area in my life. Stop, and they started their exploration of this new territory.

The ants may have been annoying, but on a steamy day in Kalgoorlie at least it gave me a header for this post. And she was wearing a red singlet top too!

Connecting in Perth

It was good to spend a few days catching up with people we have shared with in previous days.

Connections WA was a great opportunity to touch base with some of the officers I had taught when they were in college, and to catch up with some who have worked nearby in various appointments.

Perth is an interesting city with the coast nearby, and the coastal plains stretching east and north.
I'm not sure how you make a city livable without creating miles and miles of suburbia. The City of Perth is certainly making an effort to retain open spaces, with many bushland reserves along the coast, and lots of bike trails for the energetic. We were energetic on Saturday morning and rode about 10 kms. It was good that we took a break for coffee at North Beach, about half way through our ride.

We did enjoy connecting, and the meeting on Sunday gave food for thought, but more of that some other time,