STEP aside Amen Corner and The Bear Trap, there’s a new stretch of iconic holes in world golf and it’s called The Bull Ring. Part of the new must-play Black Bull Golf Club, on the banks of Lake Mulwala in the Victorian town of Yarrawonga, this is a fantastic new course.
Just when you thought The Murray River region couldn’t get any better for bargain golf, a potential Australian Golf Digest Top 100 layout arrives that you can play for under $50 … no bull! Well, actually, there is a bull and his name is Charley – a big, masculine, bullish statue set to become the centrepiece of a course designed by Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett, and managed by the legendary McCully family – owners of the longest running privately-owned residential golf school in the country.
This exquisitely landscaped layout wraps around the waters of Lake Mulwala and has clearly been designed to excite the imagination and test players of all levels.
Formerly home to some of the best Black Angus cattle money could buy, this flat piece of land has been transformed into a little slice of Murray paradise that will soon be accompanied by a $35 million Sebel hotel and marina precinct.
“Golfers will be able to arrive for their round in style, hopping off a boat and being driven straight to the driving range or first tee from the marina,” says club pro James McCully.
“I can’t think of too many golf courses that offer that.”
While the luxury hotel and marina set-up will add some serious wow-factor, golf at Black Bull will be all about The Bull Ring. Players literally enter ‘the arena’ under an arch made from old Port Melbourne pylons at the 15th tee. From here, it’s three holes of red flags and torturous golf if your game is off.
“What we’re trying to do is create some fun and give golfers a lasting memory that will bring them back,” says McCully. “Purists won’t like the novelty of The Bull Ring, but the amount of people who have to take a ‘selfie’ before they walk onto the 15th tee is exactly why we’ve done it. It’s creating a fun, bucket-list item that people can tick off.”
The 180m par-3 15th is tough, particularly if you disobey Thomson’s advice to not miss the green short, left or right. The par-4 16th has hazards everywhere ready to ruin your day, while the par-4 17th is 400m from the tips and more than likely straight into the teeth of strong winds.
Australian Golf Digest columnist Andrew Daddo recently visited Black Bull and was impressed to say the least. “Black Bull was one of those really great golfing surprises – a bit like finding a $20 note blowing across the sand at the beach,” says Daddo. “You think you know what’s going to happen when you visit the Murray; there’s an expectation of the courses you’ll play, and then you get to Black Bull and you’re even more pleasantly surprised than you could have imagined.” So the question is – are you game enough to enter The Bull Ring?
BLACK BULL GOLF CLUB
1 Phillip Hyland Drive,
Yarrawonga VIC 3730
Phone: (03) 5744 0044
Email: [email protected]
www.blackbullgc.com.au
18 holes: $45
