13th Beach (Beach) - Victoria - Australia

‘The Beach’ at 13th is a brilliant course that will surely become an icon of the area.

A number of holes at the beach are both beautiful and well designed, combining playability with strategy. Landing areas for the shorter golfer are wide, but fairways narrow where one really wants to play from. This thoughtful placement of hazards makes the course play a bit longer that its numbers reflect, with the obvious play regularly being less than driver.

Stand out holes are numerous here, but the par 3’s (bar the 3rd) are hard to go past. The 7th and 12th are similar yet share a winning theme; mid length and downhill to greens perched in dunes. The 16th is also familiar; a short hole to a small green surrounded by shocking trouble. While being variations of common themes, these 3 holes are stunning and penal; a contrast to the general playability of the course.

The beach also boasts strong Par 4’s, short, fun Par 4’s and a range of Par 5’s. One of these Par 5’s is and will continue to be quite controversial, for it essentially has to be played in three. The indignity some golfers seem to feel at having to play to a green in three shots must be experienced to be believed. I feel for them. However, I couldn’t disagree with their sentiment more; the 6th hole is a great levelling hole; we need more of these holes, not less.

The beach does have some significant flaws. The first 3 holes and the 14th do not compare with the rest and sit out like ugly ducklings. The 18th is interesting but confusing, especially as a finishing hole; coming down the stretch and needing to score on this hole would be akin to a roulette spin. The maintenance of the course is good, but a step below the best. Here in lies my biggest complaint for ‘The Beach’ - the missed opportunity. The 13 (or so) amazing holes speak to how surreal this course could have been. That said it’s still very good and accessible, with the public welcomed to the course.

Located on the Bellarine Peninsula near Barwon Heads, 13th Beach Golf links boasts two championship courses and world class facilities.

In 2013 13th Beach became the venue for a revamped Victorian Open- a joint championship which crowns both the men's and women's champion at the same time at the same venue. Although they are separate championships they have equal prize money. The men's tournament is co sanctioned by both the European Tour and The PGA Tour of Australia. The women's tournament is co sanctioned by the LPGA and ALPGA tours.

The Beach Course covers some interesting land with roughly a third of the terrain relatively quiet farming land, another third of the course in dramatic dunes by the coast, and the remaining holes transitioning between the two.

As a general statement the more memorable holes are located in the dunes. The par 3's at hole 7, 12 & 16 are world class, and the rolling par 5 eighth hole is impressive. The bunkering throughout the course has that wild and natural look that defines the modern links like courses. The clusters of bunkers on holes 5 & 17 (amongst others) are good examples and can't help but draw your eye.. The greens are firm and true, but not too fast- they can't be given the propensity for windy days!

Notable holes include:

- hole 4, which plays as the closing hole in the Victorian Open
- hole 5, a short par 4 tucked in between water and dunes- you need two accurate shots to get home
- hole 7, an outstanding par 3 in the dunes
- hole 8, a par 5 with character!
- hole 12, another brilliant par 3 in the dunes
- hole 16, a 'postage stamp' type short par 3 which demands accuracy and nerve.
- hole 17, a longer par 4 dominated by some amazing bunkering

Having seen the professionals play the course in the Vic Open, it is fun to play the same holes yourself, albeit off a shorter tee (for most of us) In decent weather the course is quite playable for club golfers off the appropriate tee, but can still challenge the pros off the back markers. That is a sign of good design!

The Beach is a quality course and should be on every travelling golfer's bucket list

Peter Wood is the founder of The Travelling Golfer – click the link to read his full review.

The first four holes on the Beach course take the golfer away from the clubhouse in a loop of sorts across fairly benign land before retuning to the clubhouse again and heading off to the better dune based area of the course for most of the remaining 14 holes.

The short holes here are certainly a standout, the downhill 7th and 12th before later playing the uphill and into any sort of wind at the 16th.

I found the Beach course in excellent condition, greens were running true and bunkers were well presented, this is due to the recently played Victorian Open that the course was looking so sharp.

Tyson.

The Beach Course at the 13th Beach Golf Club is certainly nearer the beach than the other course (the Creek Course), on the complex. Though Beach by name it is by no means entirely a links course. The first four holes run out and back amongst some sparsely built out housing blocks. Holes 5 -9, run out and back to the clubhouse along a stretch of sand dunes to the East of the clubhouse that protects the course from the surf of 13th Beach. Likewise holes 10 – 13, 16 & 17 play close to the dunes (this time to the West of the clubhouse) but the 14th and 15th wander off a bit back towards the housing on some fairly flat uninteresting land.The 5th 312m par 4, the 6th 511m par 5 and the 311m par 4 13th hole were my favourite holes, each requiring strategy and placement on each shot. There are other holes that are longer or that require a straighter hit but I thought these holes were more complete packages.We played in January 2016, just 3 weeks before the course was to host the Victorian (State) Open Championship. Fittingly the course was in very good condition.Having played here previously on a Public Holiday it was a less than pleasant experience on that occasion. The pace of play was funereal and the shirtless antics of some drunken patrons ahead of us just left a bad taste in the mouth. This time we played on a Friday and whilst better, play was still slow and just doesn’t seem to be monitored. It seems the clubs practice is to play their Members on one course and leave the public to their own devices on the other on any given day.All in all, a couple of top quality holes and some very likable holes over some great terrain, but it is let down by a couple of weak ones. The whole experience would be so much more enjoyable if the Proshop took an active role in policing the course.It is hard therefore to know how to rate the course. As a golf course it’s a solid 4 balls for me tending toward 5 but not quite making it. As an experience I rate it less than 3. Don’t play on a Public Holiday or busy time is my advice.

Recently spent two weeks golfing in Victoria and liked this exhilarating course very much indeed. I played with a high handicapper who found the going too tough in what was a stiff breeze. The rough was pretty brutal when I was here and the little room for error off the tee. It’s close proximity to the beach is part of its allure and enjoyed many of the holes especially the tempting 5th which asks you to have a go at the green and the SI 1 17th. The huge greens were very slick and found myself struggling to get down in two on many occasions. Very good course for sure.

Thirteenth Beach, (the Beach course), has some truly wonderful golf holes amongst a collection of consistently excellent ones. Yes there are one or two that need something to lift them but overall I have no hesitation in rating this a better course than many of the famed sandbelt courses of Melbourne. If you are a fan of those courses you will not be disappointed with 13th Beach. It will probably never outpoint Royal Melbourne or Kingston Heath but those two aside this is a course well worth a visit. When the wind doesn't blow it is not particularly difficult. Quite manageable for the average golfer but be warned strong winds are not uncommon and a 420 meter par 4 into the teeth of a gale is a tough ask as is the tiny par 3 of 110 meters set on top of a rise. If the wind is up finding the green is a serious challenge. It is a very fine golf course.