This trip was our first since Covid-19 entered our lives. The sheer number of registrations was overwhelming and an indication that we are all feeling rather cooped up with our travel wings tightly clipped.

Planning a trip in the current environment takes special care and effort. We worked closely with the golf courses and the resort to ensure that we were all complying with the required safety measures. We also had to consider border closures are we had registrations from interstate.

Some started their trip a day early with an overnight stay in Newcastle. The weather was perfect and the beach very quiet relative to Bondi on the day. We discovered a magic spot for dinner and a drink, Babylon on King Street, a short walk from the hotel. Located in a heritage building that has gone through a number of incarnations, including the old Mission Theatre. It was the perfect place to be transported back to the 20’s with plush booths and an opulent bar.

The courses we played were very different. The most acclaimed in terms of design is Newcastle Golf Club, a favourite within golf architecture circles; especially the 5th, 6th and 7th holes. The Par 5 5th hole is regarded as one of the best twenty holes in Australia. The Par 4 6th is ranked in the top 500 golf holes in the world and only one of 16 holes from Australia to feature. The Par 3 7th hole continually wins design acclaim and is ranked as one the best 18 holes outside of the US and Britain. Truly a hidden gem in regional NSW.

Hunter Valley Golf makes good use of water in its layout. Clever club selection was crucial. The unpredictable bounce of the hard fairways didn't help golf balls drawn to the water! 

The Vintage was all class; a bold and beautiful Greg Norman design with signature Norman bunkering. The water hazard on the first made for a difficult start off the red tees but the ladies tackled the first shot of the day with good humour. 

We will continue with self-drive trips in regional NSW until state borders are opened permanently, and once we can we’ll take to the air again: we have a number of trips planned from South Africa to Vietnam, China and Fiji and the US Masters. Our next trip is to Port Stephens. This trip is capped at 40 golfers, not limited to women only and the format will be more relaxed with 2-person team events each day. Early 2021 will see us venturing to the South Coast and to Orange.