I had a trip to Albury recently for reasons other than golf but packed the clubs anyway. Stayed at the motel attached to the club and booked a slot in the Tuesday open comp. Fair to say that it wasn't the most convivial day. It had bucketed down the previous day and the morning temperature was barely above zero. My group of hardy souls and single figure members turned up and away we went.

I had played the course many times in the 90's and the course had remained the same. Slight change to the routing to ensure that the front and back nines finish at the clubhouse.It's an excellent, regional, parkland golf course. Pretty as a picture. The layout of tight fairways and small greens requires accuracy and thought to score well. The pro shop was welcoming to visitors and despite the cold weather and occasional shower I had a great time and would definitely play it again.

Here's an historical aside. Jack Nicklaus played an exhibition at Albury in November 1963. He was scheduled to play Bruce Crampton but he fell ill so Billy Dunk was the substitute. Billy took an early lead and a course record from The Golden Bear was required to get across the line. Check out the photos in the pro shop.