Giant golf course to open in Australian outback

[Richard Pascoe]

Covering roughly the same distance as Land's End to John O'Groats, it is a golf course that requires a driver at every single hole.

Australia's Nullarbor Links is the largest course in the world, crossing two time zones and encompassing some of the flattest, driest terrain on the planet. It spans two states, stretching 848 miles from Ceduna in the south to the old gold mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

The holes are so far apart that players will have to be bused from one to the next and are likely to encounters some native Australian wildlife, including kangaroos, bush turkeys, emus, snakes and, of course, flies, on their way.

Alf Caputo, who has managed the construction project, said the idea was to attract tourists and golfers who want to experience "the real Australia".
"There's some absolutely amazing scenery out there and before Nullarbor Links there was no magnet to bring people out there to have a look at these beautiful things," he said.

As well as its size, the course boasts some rather unique sights.

"One of the holes is right smack bang in the middle of a sheep station," Mr Caputo said. "You can actually see the sheep, you can see the shearing shed, you can imagine international tourists will have never seen anything like it in their lives.

"There's also a wheat farming area – people would have never seen anything like it."
Construction on the course, which has taken five years, will finish next month and its first tournament will be held in October.

Some 250,000 tourists travel the Eyre Highway each year, and it is hoped the venture will draw more than 26,000 visitors from England, Japan and China annually to bolster the region's tourism market and its economy.

The course, which was part-funded by the Australian government, is expected to take between three days to one week to complete, with players staying in roadside motels en route. Driving time between the holes varies from 45 minutes to two and a half hours.

Mr Caputo said he believed the launch of the links would not be affected by the global downturn in travel.

"This is a course that backpackers can do, you can stay in caravan parks and drive yourself around," he said.

"It is also so unique, and that's the difference, you can go to the Sydney Opera House 30 times and nothing changes, but there is nothing else like this in the world.
"It's not just a game of golf, it's a true Australian experience."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/5818105/Giant-golf-course-to-...