Always be cautious playing the back nine first. Despite the club pro suggesting it was a good idea, I still felt strangely awkward about it. Especially not knowing the location of the 9th green.
The back nine is actually a back eight at
Wentworth Falls Country Club and as my golf senses told me, there was a foursome coming through and we were told by members to shift out of the way in a fairly unfriendly manner. This is not unexpected given the apparent lack of respect we'd displayed but we were left disgruntled at the club pro and the 20 minute wait on the first tee.
The inauspicious start gave way to a nice day at this quaint Blue Mountains golf course. As expected given the topography of the Blue Mountains, the course is not overly long. It contains some underwhelming par-3's but some overwhelming, stunning par-4's.
It is not until around the fifth that you get a good feel for the course but it is a hole (in the opinion of
Aussie Golfer) that should be banned. Professional golfers should be expected to shape the ball each way but amateur golfers should not and courses should be built to cater for this.
The offending par-3, 5th. Trees block the right hand side of the green.
*Par-3's with trees blocking a line in to the flagstick should be banned. I don't object to them when it is a par-4 or par-5. Knowing this in advance, a golfer can attempt to position the ball in a part of the fairway where the tree does not obstruct a line to the flagstick. On par-3's, a golfer has no choice but to play from the tee box and should not be penalised if a large fade is their standard shot.
Despite my old age rant, I was soon after greeted by a classic Wentworth Falls par-4. The 392m, 7th hole is a fantastic switchback golf hole. A faded tee shot to the right hand side of the fairway then a draw into the green is required. Once again tall trees guard the green, this time on the left hand side and slicers will have trouble getting close if not positioned on the fairway. I loved this hole so much I decided to have as many golf shots as I could. It must have been the rant.
The back eight begins with a routine, but long par-3 and then follows on with another par-3 with yet more trees guarding the green*. On first impression, the ideal shot would seem a slice around the first tree then, in mid-air, a draw around the second.
Once again though, Wentworth Falls throws some amazing holes at you soon after. The 12th is a tough big dogleg left par-4 followed by a great long, winding par-5 on the back boundary of the golf course. But it is 16 and 17 that will leave you wanting to come back.
The tall tree halfway down the 16th stops anyone from cutting the corner.
The 16th and 17th are the best back-to-back golf holes in the Blue Mountains. The 16th is the hardest hole on the course. A 408m par-4 with a strikingly large tree on the inside of the dogleg to ward off anyone attempting to cut the corner. A straight drive is required or you're toast. The par-5 17th is probably the signature hole for the course. Again a long, winding hole that requires pin point placement to avoid danger.
After a tough walk back up hill on 18 to the clubhouse, the tree guarded par-3's seemed like a distant memory and I could only think back to the unexpected, fantastic golf holes this golf course contains. If you're in the Blue Mountains, you must check out Wentworth Falls golf course, if only to play the 16 and 17.
The view from the 18th tee.
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