THE world's longest golf course has officially opened in Australia. The Nullarbor Links will test the patience and stamina of everyone who plays it - because it stretches along 1367km between Ceduna and Kalgoorlie.
The holes are positioned near petrol stations and motels along the mostly deserted and featureless highway.
Few people bother to stop unless they have to; tourism officials hope there are now 18 more reasons to do so.
But if you like to play your golf on carefully-manicured greens and pristine fairways, this course is not for you.
There is hardly any grass, just dirt and stones. The greens and tees are artificial, and some aren't even green.
Because of a lack of water for irrigation, some putting surfaces are made from sand mixed with diesel.
Alfie Caputo, the course's project manager, acknowledges it's hardly in pristine condition.
He says the world is full of courses like that, but his is different.
”I think people are looking for an adventure, and an experience,” he said.
”This is the real Australia, it really is. They'll never play anything like this anywhere in the world.”
And as they've had 1.7 million hits on their website, it would suggest that there's been huge international interest in the new course.
The holes include Dingo's Den and Border Kangaroo.
The Wombat Hole at Nundroo is so called because the area contains around 2.5 million hairy-nosed Wombats.
Road signs warn motorists to beware of stray kangaroos and wild camels which roam the area.
Two of the holes are on the Ceduna Golf Club, which was founded in 1928.
Nullarbor Linksarticle sourced from news.com.au
Nullarbor Links
Nov 1 2009, 06:07 AM
