The Sands Torquay Golf Course

The course is a unique links style course that meanders through environmentally sensitive residential and golf club areas. The course has been carefully cared for to ensure that this precious waterfront location is protected and maintained. A lake system nourishes the wetlands, which have been dried out by the ongoing drought, while careful planting maintains the course's coastal feel.

A landscaped rainwater harvesting area at the entrance to the property conveys rainwater to the extensive lakes that dot the Torquay development. These lakes are not only decorative but are also used to irrigate the course, which is kept in top condition throughout the year thanks to the use of local recycled water.

The course's landscaping is both creative and environmentally friendly, complementing the coastal landscape. The tees and fairways are planted with Santa Ana dogbane, while the tee edges and long grass areas are fescue, and the greens are planted with morning glory. A special feature of the course is the attractive bunkers. Filled with locally imported sand, smooth bunker edges protect the greens, while fairways are lined with bunker barriers ready to intercept careless golfers.

Each green has been carefully designed with the flexibility to adjust flagstick positions to suit a variety of golfing and course conditions. The greens are perfectly manicured and spacious: the 9th hole is one of the largest at nearly 900 square metres, and the average size of the greens at The Sands is around 650 square metres - enough to accommodate a spacious house and its garden.

There is no shortage of bunkers, although there were initially 138 when the course opened, but the number has since been reduced to improve playability and encourage more ground play around the greens. The front nine is certainly enjoyable, but it is the back nine that really excites golfers, and the four holes between the 477-yard 11th (the longest par two on record) and the par four 15th are undoubtedly the best on the course.