A few photos from a recent golf trip to Barnbougle Dunes

Few things in Australian golf are as good as a golf trip to Barnbougle Dunes.

I was lucky enough to get back to Barnbougle Dunes last weekend for a golf trip with a load of other golfers. We never tire of seeing the place, and we could play here all day, every day, for the rest of our lives.

We did our best to squeeze in as much golf as we could over the three days – playing four and a half rounds of golf, experienced a plague of cockshafers (I kid you not) and solved one of the great mysteries about the place. Why there were so many unreplaced divots on the fairways of Barnbougle Lost Farm?

We managed to catch a crow in the act of flipping over the replaced divots in search of food. Something the Barnbougle greenskeeping staff didn’t seem to be aware of.

Watch a crow unreplace divots at Barnbougle Lost Farm: video

Bizarrely, the courses are often criticised for being poorly maintained. Apart from one particular crow, the ground staff do a superb job despite very little rain falling over the past six months. The fescue greens are superb – very true and perfect speed for links golf, not too fast without compromising on the roll.

The par-3 5th hole at Barnbougle Dunes View out across Barnbougle Lost Farm from outside the sports bar.

The fairways were also in great condition. Yes there were lots of divots but that’s to be expected on a popular course during the summer months. And besides, a local rule allows one to move the ball out of a divot if you happen to find yourself in one. After five rounds, I never found my ball in a divot.

View down the 5th fairway, from the 4th tee at Barnbougle Lost Farm The par-3 4th hole at Barnbougle Lost Farm View from the 18th fairway at Barnbougle Lost Farm

I get a huge kick out of seeing a bunch of new faces experience Barnbougle Dunes for the first time. It’s one of the few Australian golf courses where golfers can acknowledge the beauty and quality of the design even after a poor round.

If you haven’t made your way down to Barnbougle yet, book it in.