Opinion & Analysis

Exploring the majestic New South Wales GC

Published

8 years ago

Dec 6, 2018

Our Australian adventure comes to an end and we finish on a high note with the crown jewel: New South Wales GC.

One of the greatest golf architects ever, Alister Mackenzie (1870-1934), designed New South Wales Golf Course back in 1928. Laid out on a beautiful piece of land located on the east side of Sydney, this is an exceptional spot for a golf course with a roaring, wild coastline framing the playground. This project must have been sky high up on any golf architect’s wishlist at that time. While looking back at it and knowing our history, who could have done a better job than Alister Mackenzie?

The design is so pure and it has a lot of character, for example you’ve got some crazy, quirky holes that you never will forget about just based on how different they are — I am thinking of the blind tee shot on the dogleg at the third, and the 17th hole with an enormous hill that breaks the par 5 right in the middle.

Then you’ve got those majestic, scenic holes with views over the ocean to (almost) kill for. To mention just one: when you are walking up to the top of the hill on the par-5 fifth hole and looking down to the green and seeing the par-3 sixth running along the sea, it’s a real treat for your eyes and something you will never forget. Let the photo here below give you an idea.

5th Hole, Par 5 – New South Wales GC – Sydney / Australia – (C) Jacob Sjöman. [email protected]

We should not forget about the fun and short par-3 17th with a slippery dancefloor — a hole where it almost feel like you throw darts for the bullseye.

Add some good strategic challenges along the way, and together with the jaw-dropping tee shot on the sixth, you start to understand that you’ve ticked plenty of boxes for playing a fantastic bucket list course.

There isn’t a single part of me regretting I’ve played this course. On a clear blue sky day, we headed out and faced this big challenge, a bit of wind and looking out over the beautiful ocean on almost on every hole. It was clearly an emotional journey with a couple of double bogeys and one eagle (the short par-4 14th) and most importantly such an tremendous adventure that I will always carry with me as a sweet golfing memory.

So, if you are in Sydney, you should definitely try to get on here. In my opinion it’s a world golf bucket list course.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.