Kooralbyne

46 golfers showed up to play yesterday. The views of rural Australia from the drive out to the views on the course were spectacular. The lay our of the course is awesome. It is a very long course from the blue tees reaching 7000 yds. Their is a fair amount of water on the course as well as bunkers.

The weather was cloudy and rain threatened all day. We could see it off in the hill but we were lucky and did not get wet.

The course however was in very rough shape. They are not or do not have the money to put into maintenance. The greens were horrible.

However the purpose of the day was to see the farm country, the horse ranches, the rolling green hills, see some big kangaroos and have fun. This was achieved.

After the game we stop at one of my top 100 pubs in Rural Australia. The Cunnugra pub welcomed us and the staff wanted to know why so many Canadian were there. Twelve of us stayed for dinner and all reported that the meals were very good. The price for a good steak was $16.50 and every two people got a bottle of wine. So with all the wine on the table the 12 got a little noisy but no one seemed to mind.

Today we play at Royal Pines, some think it is the best course on the coast. This is where the LPGA tour stops each February. I will report on this complex tomorrow.

After golf Beth and I will take one of the couples to the airport in Brisbane as they are heading home after a month in NZ and a month in Australia. We will probably stop in Manley for dinner.