Nullarbor Links

{{Short description|Golf course in South Australia and Western Australia}}

{{Infobox golf facility

| name = Nullarbor Links

| image = Rooey II, 2012.JPG

| imagesize =

| caption = Hole 6: Border Kangaroo,
Border Village, South Australia, 2012.

| pushpin_map =

| pushpin_mapsize =

| pushpin_map_caption =

| coordinates =

| location = Eyre Highway, Australia

| establishment = {{Start date and age|2009}}

| type = Public

| owner = Various owners

| operator = Eyre Highway Operators Association

| holes = 18

| tournaments = Chasing the Sun

| website = [http://www.nullarborlinks.com/ Nullarbor Links]

| course1 =

| designer1 = Robert Stock (consultant)

| par1 = 72

| length1 =

| rating1 =

| slope1 =

| record1 =

| image2 =

| imagesize2 =

| caption2 =

}}

Nullarbor Links{{cite news |last1=McInerney |first1=Sarah |title=Golfing heads to the outback |url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/golfing-heads-to-the-outback-20090910-fiqj.html |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=10 September 2009 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Collerton |first1=Sarah |title=Don't let Aussie outback putt you off |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-10-13/dont-let-aussie-outback-putt-you-off/1101818 |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=ABC News |date=13 October 2009 |language=en-AU}} is an 18-hole par 72 golf course, said to be the world's longest, situated along 1,365 kilometres of the Eyre Highway along the southern coast of Australia in two states (South Australia and Western Australia), notably crossing the Nullarbor Plain at the head of the Great Australian Bight.{{cite news |last1=Hamilton |first1=Jodie |title=Australia's roughest golf course comes with wombat holes and ball-stealing crows, but these golfers love it |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-02/nullarbor-golf-course-roughest-in-australia-attracts-tourists/101461656 |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=ABC News |date=2 October 2022 |language=en-AU}}

History

The idea for the course came from Alf Caputo and Bob Bongiorno, both active in the Eyre Highway Operators Association, over a bottle of red wine at the Balladonia Roadhouse. The course was seen as a way of breaking up the long drive across the Nullabor, reducing the dangers of driver fatigue, and increasing revenue for the roadhouses.

A feasibility study was completed in September 2006, and public play began in August 2009.{{cite web |title=The World's Longest Golf Course: Nullarbor Links |url=https://nullarborroadhouse.com.au/the-worlds-longest-golf-course-nullarbor-links/ |website=Nullarbor Roadhouse |access-date=2 October 2022 |language=en-AU |date=20 August 2015}} The course officially opened on 22 October 2009.{{cite web |last1=McInerney |first1=Sarah |title=Golfing heads to the outback |url=https://www.traveller.com.au/golfing-heads-to-the-outback-fiqj |website=Traveller |access-date=2 October 2022 |language=en-au |date=10 September 2009}}{{cite news |title=Golfers tee off on world's longest golf course |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-10-22/golfers-tee-off-on-worlds-longest-golf-course/1113080 |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=ABC News |date=22 October 2009 |language=en-AU}}{{cite news |last1=Riviera |first1=Gloria |title=World's Longest Golf Course Open for Play |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/worlds-longest-golf-open-play/story?id=8889924 |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=ABC News (USA) |date=22 October 2009 |language=en}} {{As of|2022}}, more than 20,000 travellers had officially played it, and bought a scorecard for stamping at the roadhouses en route. Course officials have estimated that nearly as many travellers had played the course without paying any fee.{{cite news |last1=Lucas |first1=Jarrod |title=World's longest golf course — all 1,365km of it — has just turned 10 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-04/nullarbor-links-celebrates-10th-anniversary/11079450 |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=ABC News |date=4 May 2019 |language=en-AU}}

The course

The course begins and ends (depending on the direction of crossing) in the goldmining town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and the coastal town of Ceduna, South Australia. Professional golfer Robert Stock, from Manchester, England, consulted on the design that incorporates 7 holes from existing courses and 11 holes created at roadhouses and roadside stops.

The purposely constructed holes have tees and greens that use artificial grass, with natural desert land between. The average distance between holes is {{convert|66|km}}, with the largest gap being almost {{convert|200|km}}.

Due to its location, the course has many unusual natural hazards, including crows, emus, kangaroos, three species of deadly venomous snakes, wedge-tailed eagles, and wombat holes. A further complication is that the ambient temperatures can reach over {{cvt|50|C}} during the day.

class="wikitable"

|+Nullarbor Links course layout

!Hole

!Name

!Length

!Par

!Tee name/dedication

!Location

Hole 1

|Oyster Beds

|{{convert|485|m|yard|0}}

|Graham Hoffrichter

|Ceduna Golf Club, Ceduna, South Australia

Hole 2

|Denial Bay

|{{convert|370|m|yard|0}}

|William McKenzie

|Ceduna Golf Club, Ceduna, South Australia

Hole 3

|Windmills

|{{convert|260|m|yard|0}}

|Pioneer Drive

|Penong Golf Course, Penong, South Australia

Hole 4

|Wombat Hole

|{{convert|520|m|yard|0}}

|Karinkabie

|Nundroo Roadhouse, Nundroo, South Australia

Hole 5

|Dingo's Den

|{{convert|538|m|yard|0}}

|Coral & Scobie Beattie

|Nullarbor Roadhouse, Nullarbor, South Australia

Hole 6

|Border Kangaroo

|{{convert|160|m|yard|0}}

|Don Harrington

|Border Village Roadhouse, Border Village, South Australia

Hole 7

|Nullarbor Nymph

|{{convert|315|m|yard|0}}

|Steve Patupis

|Eucla Golf Course, Eucla, Western Australia

Hole 8

|Watering Hole

|{{convert|330|m|yard|0}}

|McGill & Kennedy

|Mundrabilla Roadhouse, Mundrabilla, Western Australia

Hole 9

|Brumby's Run

|{{convert|125|m|yard|0}}

|Barbara and Brian Pike

|Madura Roadhouse, Madura, Western Australia

Hole 10

|Eagles Nest

|{{convert|347|m|yard|0}}

|Bindy

|Cocklebiddy Roadhouse, Cocklebiddy, Western Australia

Hole 11

|90 Mile Straight

|{{convert|310|m|yard|0}}

|Edward John Eyre & John Baxter

|Caiguna Roadhouse, Caiguna, Western Australia

Hole 12

|Skylab

|{{convert|175|m|yard|0}}

|Pat Prendiville

|Balladonia Roadhouse, Balladonia, Western Australia

Hole 13

|Golden Horse

|{{convert|385|m|yard|0}}

|Laurie Sinclair

|Norseman Golf Club, Norseman, Western Australia

Hole 14

|Ngadju

|{{convert|463|m|yard|0}}

|Mort Harslett

|Norseman Golf Club, Norseman, Western Australia

Hole 15

|Golden Eagle

|{{convert|110|m|yard|0}}

|George Lister

|Widgiemooltha Roadhouse, Widgiemooltha, Western Australia

Hole 16

|Silver Lake

|{{convert|392|m|yard|0}}

|Kevin Higgins

|Kambalda Golf Club, Kambalda, Western Australia

Hole 17

|Golden Mile

|{{convert|502|m|yard|0}}

|Bob Bongiorno

|Kalgoorlie Golf Course, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Hole 18

|CY O'Connor

|{{convert|356|m|yard|0}}

|Alf Caputo

|Kalgoorlie Golf Course, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Playing the course

The course can be played in either direction.{{cite news |last1=Hart |first1=Jeremy |title=Gone to play golf at Nullarbor Links. I may be some time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/nov/29/australia-golf-nullarbor-links |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=29 November 2009 |language=en}} A score card can be purchased in Ceduna or Kalgoorlie for A$70 (as of December 2023), plus an $8 maintenance fee. Players can either provide their own clubs, or hire them at each hole for a fee. To preserve the nature of the Nullarbor, players are required to tee their balls up on the course's fairways and are discouraged from driving vehicles on the fairways. On presenting the completed card they can claim a Nullarbor Links Certificate for playing "the World’s Longest Golf course".{{Cite web|url=http://www.nullarborlinks.com/downloads/Nullarbor-Links-Course-Information.pdf|title=Course Information|website=Nullarbor Links|access-date=24 March 2019}}

Tournaments hosted

The course is the host of the Chasing the Sun golf tournament, which was inaugurated in 2009. The tournament has been held every September since its inception, other than in 2020 and 2021, when it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |last1=Monck |first1=Carwyn |title=Chasing the Sun tournament returns to Nullarbor Links |url=https://www.kalminer.com.au/news/kalgoorlie-miner/chasing-the-sun-tournament-returns-to-worlds-longest-golf-course-c-7143621 |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=Kalgoorlie Miner |date=13 June 2022 |language=en |url-access=subscription}} The 2025 tournament is scheduled for 1{{ndash}}10 May.{{cite web|title=Chasing the Sun tournament returns to Nullarbor Links |url=https://www.nullarborlinks.com/news|access-date=17 December 2024|language=en}}