Tamborine Mountain Golf Club

The jewel on the mountain

Wow, you gotta love golf on days like this. I driven past this course on many occasions but was scared off by the hills. I thought it looked like a bit of a mountain track and not for “real” golfers. How wrong could I be.

These are some of the finest greens I have ever played on (and I’ve been lucky to play Muirfield, St Andrews, Royal Portrush, Royal Melbourne and many more of the world’s best). The bent greens perfectly suit the mountain climate. They get dew in the early mornings even in summer, creating the perfect growing conditions for bent grass.

The putting green is an outstanding entrée to what is to come…

Congratulations to the green keeping staff…love your work!

The icing on the cake today was the Jacarandas in bloom.

This is a hilly course. I chose to walk mainly to see if I could do it, so as to give a fair yardstick as to the degree of difficulty. In comparison to the flat layouts recently of MeadowPark and Chinderah rating a 1 out of 10, I would put Tamborine up at 8. It could be even higher in mid-summer if the temperatures are up. I think there were 4 to 5 holes with steep climbs and conversely 4 downhills as well. if you are not up to it, then book ahead to ensure the availability of a cart.

The second is an elevated tee shot to a narrow landing area followed by an uphill approach

The second as seen above is a typical drive where a generous fairway narrows around the 200 metres mark requiring precision with your placement for the optimum approach to the green. Over the years the trees have matured to present an additional obstacle that wasn’t an issue 20 years ago.

The greens as I have already said are a delight to out on and I found that the ball pulled up quite quickly. That seemed like a bonus during these drought conditions that most of the Gold Coast area has been suffering this Spring.

The 2nd green with those beautiful Jacarandas

The course starts and ends with par 5’s. The downhill first is a pleasant start but the uphill 9th demands accuracy all the way. In between we have a mix of Par 3’s and Par 4’s making the first nine a Par 35 total. It is a 9 hole course, should have mentioned that earlier but with two direct sets of tees for each nine that adds quite a bit of variety if you decide to play 18.

I got caught out with the wind on the short Par 3 5th hole from what I thought was a well struck 9 iron. I caught the bunker at the front left and when I got to the green I noticed the wind blowing that wasn’t evident on the tee.

The 5th green is protected by the bunker on the left and a steep drop off to the right.

The 6th is another Par 3 of around 170 metres for the first nine and almost 200 metres for the back nine (where I was standing when I took this image).

The two-tiered 6th green is a challenging Par 3

The 7th is a short par 4 of just under 250 metres across a valley to an elevated green. This is a hole to literally and metaphorically get your breath back after a run of challenging holes.

A carpet of Jacaranda flowers on the 7th tee.

Looking back from the 7th green to the tee up by the Jacaranda tree

The 9th is an uphill par 5 with a possible choice to drive left or to the right a a clump of trees that bisect the fairway. I chose left , not sure if that is the best way but wasn’t in too much trouble. A reasonable fairway wood from the tree line got me back in the middle and I used a couple of clubs extra for the 120 metres approach steeply uphill. When I got to the top there was no sign of the ball that I thought looked not too shabby when I hit it. I did find it after a couple of minutes. It was in the hole…as you do!

If it is not too obvious so far, then please add this course to your bucket list. I thought it was GREAT. And a nice cappuccino and a chat with the friendly staff and a couple of members made me feel very welcome. That’s not always the case at other venues, despite what the signage may say about Visitors. At $17 for nine holes I believe this will give you top value in the Gold Coast region (at about 35 minutes drive from Nerang I believe it is well worth including in the “local” circuit).