New Town Bay Golf Club
Par 64, nine holes
I'm currently a member at New Town Bay Golf Club (a.k.a. E.Z, Risdon, Pasminco) and it was also the first course I ever joined as a junior, so it makes sense for this course to be the first cab off the rank on my journey around Tasmania's golf courses.
The course is quite small and only consists of par 3's and 4's which are almost all reachable depending on wind direction. Despite it's low par, the four par 3's make low scoring difficult. A couple of these (6th and 9th) are of quite considerable length (around 200m each) and the greens are quite small. You can make shots up on the short par 4's - in particular the 8th/17th and 14th (the 5th on the second nine) are driveable on most days - which you'll have to do if you're not hitting your irons well on the par 3's.
Par 3, ninth
My biggest frustration with New Town Bay is the need to play dinky chip and runs when you inevitably miss the greens. I personally like to pitch or lob the ball, but the older and craftier members have shown me that this is not the most effective scoring method.
Example of dinky little chip shot to 8th hole
It's wise to check the ego occasionally and resist the urge to knock it on the green using the driver - the penalty can be too severe with out of bounds present on many of the holes. It's also a good idea to stay out of the bunkers which can prove difficult to get out of.
Given its proximity to Hobart and the low green fees/memberships, I think New Town Bay is an extremely under-utilised golf club. It's particularly good for junior golfers to learn on, speaking from experience.
The round
Date: Saturday 30 May, 2009
Score: 63
As I'm a member here I didn't need to make a special trip to this course to do a review so I'll describe the last round I played here - coincidentally this was also my best.
I only played as a warm up for next Saturday when I'm playing at Barnbougle Dunes, so I was just trying to blow off the cobwebs after a few weeks off. Starting off double bogey, par, bogey was not part of the plan and I wasn't feeling very confident at all at this stage. Luckily I started a run of 3's from the fourth to the seventh. I turned in 1 over. After birdieing the 11th, I promptly bogied the 12th (see below). I had an identical putt on the 13th that I did the first time 'round(4th). I played the same amount of break and was legitimately shocked that the tectonic plates hadn't shifted in the hour and a half between nines (I once again missed 6 inches the left). I hit the par 4 fourteenth in one and two putted for a birdie. I then hit my best shot of the day on the 15th to get to 1 under. By the time I got up near the 17th green after my drive, I was up to my old tricks of figuring out what total score I might get. I tried to play a dinky old man chip and was lucky to two-putt for par. I played a shocking 5-iron down the last but luckily it is downhill all the way and I ended up near the green. I managed to get up and down for par and a 63.
The best:
I actually didn't make any birdie putts of length during this round. I knocked it inside 4 feet for birdie four times for and two putted for the other one. The pick of these was on the 15th where I knocked in a full blooded 3 iron to about 3 feet.
The worst:
I'd discussed with my friends on Facebook whether I should play a hybrid club or four wedges (PW, 53, 56, 60). In the end I ditched my four iron so that I could get some practice with the hybrid in preparation for Saturday. I decided to play a "safe" hybrid down the 12th so that I didn't reach the trees just short of the green. I didn't expect to bring the tree into play that is about 80 metres off the tee, 40 metres to the right. Thankfully the ball plopped out the other side and I was able to make bogey. Needless to say, confidence is gone with that club for now.
One of my playing partners said to me at the end of the round,
"I haven't played with anyone who has had a 63".
Well, neither had I - and I probably never will again.
Patto
Note: description of round may vary from playing partner accounts. Any resemblance to real events is purely coincidental.
