The Tura Beach Country Club Story

By Peter Thomson

In the earliest days of golf course development here in Australia, entrepreneurs would go in search of suitable land - land with some kind of resemblance to the seaside links of Britain perhaps, where all construction with horse and scoop would be relatively easy and the end product would look more or less like a golf course should, according to the taste of the times.

It was this form of motivation that created the 'sand belt' courses of Melbourne and the Royal Sydney and Australian Clubs in New South Wales.  Sand was the medium that made golf courses special.

In more recent times, with the invention of modern massive earth moving equipment, it is no longer so necessary to search too far for the prized land.  Golf courses can be built almost anywhere to a very high standard.  Some of the world’s best courses are 100 miles from the seaside.

In selecting Tura Beach for the site of a golf course, A V Jennings has made a unique combination of the old and the new.  Part of the course bears a striking resemblance to the great classical seaside courses of Britain, while other parts of the course take in the almost unbelievable beauty of the Australian forest area.

The end resemblance is something quite special that will in time take its place in rank amongst Australia's prestige courses.

The first nine holes take us down to the beach, where the great Blue Pacific rolls with a roar and spray.  From the 3rd green we can take in its breathtaking view before tackling the rest of the course as it rises steadily from the marshland back to the starting point.

The second nine holes takes on a tour of the tall forest, with its sound of birds and scent of eucalyptus.  These nine holes will remind world travellers of great inland venues of the U.S.A., such as Pinehurst and Augusta National.

Altogether the whole course is likened to a world tour of golf.  The challenge is unsurmounting, the beauty outstanding, the reward satisfying.  To play golf at Tura Beach is for golfers a memorable experience.

In designing and building Tura Beach, Mike Wolveridge and I have set out to create a course that means all things to all manner of golfers.  We have tried to provide in the one construction a great championship golf course of which Australia can be proud, while at the same time offering to those many thousands of enthusiastic club and players a happy and enjoyable passage around and past hazards and obstacles that stimulate without intimidating.

We hope we have succeeded in our task.  Tura Beach is in perfect harmony with A V Jennings' tradition of excellence.

See also the Course Tour and Pro Shop.