Nine years to build a golf course and six holes still not finished?
Alf Caputo, project manager of the Nullarbor Links in Australia’s southwest, has some explaining to do.
“The logistics of actually building these holes with such an amazing distance in between each one and bringing products to each site has been an experience all of its own,” Caputo said.
PHOTO: AP
He has a point — 1,265km separates the first from the 18th hole on the Nullarbor Links, the world’s longest golf course.
A round of golf on a course that stretches along the Eyre Highway between seaside Ceduna in South Australia and the historic gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia takes four days.
Players — Caputo is hoping for 26,000 in the 12 months after the Aug. 15 opening — will pass through two time zones and a landscape so desolate and featureless that most travelers only bother to stop for gas.
Bob Bongiorno, former manager of the Balladonia Road House on the Nullarbor Plain, dreamed up the idea as a way of slowing down the 250,000 motorists who make the Ceduna-Kalgoorlie trip each year.
“Most people like to travel across the Nullarbor as quickly as possible,” Bongiorno said. “I wanted to create awareness of its magnificent geographical features and rich history.”
Some of the holes are dedicated ones on established courses along the way — Ceduna, Norseman and Kalgoorlie — while others are purpose-built at hamlets like Cocklebiddy and Widgiemooltha.
The idea is that motorists stop at one hole then drive on to whichever town or road house hosts the next one. They stay the night, perhaps at a sheep station, then drive on to the next hole. Driving time between the holes varies from 45 minutes to nearly 3 hours.
The Nullarbor Plain is an unforgiving place — barren, flat, dry as a bone. The purpose-built holes will also be testing. The greens will be synthetic, but all the browns and reds will be authentic natural rock and sand.
“It’s not just a game of golf, it’s a true Australian experience,” Bongiorno said.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS