One of Canberra’s favourite golf courses
One time, my late father and I were walking over Hill Reserve which looks down upon a golf course. As we were looking over it’s ponds and streams he asked “”what’s that golf course?” I replied “Gungahlin Lakes”. He gruffly said “Good name for it! “Lakes” as it is known locally is one of the few true wetland courses in the regions but it wasn’t always that way.
It started in a shipping container…
Gungahlin was identified as one of the upcoming town centres in the city plan of 1957. Until recently it was the fastest growing urban centre in Australia. However the area west of Gundaroo Dr had a problem. It was degraded pasture land that could not be used for housing.
It was below the level for a 100 year flood and deemed unsuitable for real estate. With five creeks running into the area, the ACT government thought that a golf course would be good use of the area and with the installation of dams could be used for flood mitigation downstream.
Construction of the course began in 1993 under the supervision of designers Jamie Dawson and Ted Parslow . The site only had 23 trees on it and it was planned that 6000 trees needed to be added to the site. It was also planned that houses would be along the boundaries. Holes for those boundaries were planned to be on a right hander’s hook side- the less prevalent of a golfer’s faults.
Over 250,000 cubic metres of fill had to be loaded onto the property to lift it out of the flood plain. This was shaped to provide undulations and drainage. Despite its location, “Lakes” is one of the best drainage courses in the area now.
The ACT government was paying the bill and wanted a quality golf course. This came into fruition in July 1996 when the course was open for play. However there was no clubhouse. The pro shop was the only structure and it was a shipping container.
Now a championship layout
The course has matured a lot in the 25 years since. Trees have grown and there have been course improvements. At one time 36 bunkers were built or rebuilt. The par 3 17th had trees removed and waste areas put in place giving ” views over the lakes and the Brindabellas.
However for a newcomer to the “Lakes” and an indication of why it is attractive for our clients, it is the first tee shot. A par 4 of a solid 360m it often plays into the prevailing westerly. The fairway is wide to the dogleg and at around 200m it narrows up considerably. This why it is popular with our clients. It gives the senior and shorter hitter a chance to play some short grass golf whilst the bomber has to be dead straight or dial it back.
What follows after the first hole, are a number of short par 4’s with water lurking and some long par 3’s . The pick of the early two shotters is the second with a redan shaped green backstopped by a deep grass bunker. The wrong angle on the wedge in and you will end up easily in “Horrible Hollow” as I call it, with little prospect of an up and down.
The course is characterised by some strong par 3’s, the best being the 165m 4th. A raised, sloping green with a creek running around it presents a challenge. Add to that winds that can change direction as they swirl around the hollow the course sits in.
The front nine finishes and another nine starts with the probably the most divisive hole in Canberra. The par 4 322m 10th. Once a straight hole until residents got sick of golf balls pummeling their roofs, a slight twist was put in 2003. A tee shot of 170m to layup before a bunker and water. Then an 8 iron or more across to a contoured green surrounded by bunkers and water. Some people like its funkiness, others think that it is “Mickey Mouse” (i.e. a bit silly). You be the judge.
The back nine finishes with some strong par 5’s with water carrys, the 13th and 16th with the latter being the pick. The 16th is probably where you might start to use your driver again, a long hole of 511m with a lake all the way down the left as your companion. You have to go over that lake sometime and if you are a bomber, you could go early and try to carry the bunkers as well and hold a down sloping green for the eagle putt.
If you are less brave you have tight second shot to a diminishing fairway that slopes into the water. Then a punch across the lake to the green. It is probably the best par 5 in Canberra.
The round finishes strongly with a short but tricky par 3 of 135m at the 17th and a demandingly long par 4 of 417m for the 18th. The trees here trap your ball on the left and a lake does the same thing but permanently on the right. It is only just behind the 18th’s at Federal and Gold Creek as the hardest finishing hole in the capital. The extensive clubhouse and its patrons take in the view over your progress.
Things have changed since the shipping container
The golf course was finished before the clubhouse was commenced. The Ainslie Group, the operator of the Ainslie Football Club (the junior home of James Hird and Nathan Buckley) had wanted to expand its operations into the new area of Gungahlin. The ACT government never wanted a golf club and its members to run the course and it was gifted to the Ainslie Group with rent to be paid . They have in turn built a multi-million dollar clubhouse and hospitality facility on the site. It is the most popular club in the area.
The course has not only grown but it’s conditioning has improved. In previous years the greens were considered by locals as too soft and bumpy. But under superintendent Shane Dawson the greens have firmed up, making them faster and truer surfaces to putt on. Also this has brought out the breaks in the greens, making chipping more interesting.
Additionally, in the last twelve months there has been a change in the proshop with West Australian Simon Houston taking over from long time club pro Murray Blair. Already members are noticing an improvement in the quality of stock in the shop and a greater service mindset from staff. Simon believes this has started to flow through the club with their first ever win in Division One Pennants this year.
Gungahlin Lakes has always featured on our itineraries for a Capital Bucketlist trip to Canberra. As one of the few wetland courses, west of the NSW coast, it adds to the variety to a golf trip to the capital. Check out how we fit it in with our itineries for Canberra golf tours.
