Devil Ball Golf - Golf

So you think you're a big-stick driver, huh? You laugh at 600-yard par 5s; your ball's still going up when it hits the treeline at your local driving range. Saddle up, chief, because the greatest longball challenge in the world now awaits you: Nullabor Links in Australia, a course that stretches nearly 850 miles.

Yes, you read that right -- miles. Or, if you prefer, 1,365 kilometers, whichever sounds easier.

A round at Nullabor takes at least a week and takes you through two of Australia's states, from Kalgoorlie, West Australia to Ceduna, South Australia. Along the way you'll see everything from dingoes (presumably not the baby-stealing kind) and wombats to a huge scar in the ground where Skylab fell to earth in 1979.

The fairways are desolate desert, while most of the greens are synthetic. Par on the course is 72. (And for the very literal-minded among you, most of the distance is between the holes, not the holes themselves.) You can drive the holes in either direction and get your card stamped at each green to certify you've completed the whole beast. (Interestingly, one of the sponsors on the official website is a towing company. Make of that what you will.)

Also, there are obviously some high-end tourist packages that will keep you wrapped in Aussie comfort for every kilometer of your journey. A five-day jaunt costs about $2,000 per person, not including airfare or extra balls. Of course, you can also play the course yourself for just $50 ... plus the cost of gas and lodging. Don't know about you, but I'm ready to go golf gypsy and live in my car for a week.

What are you waiting for, hammer? Get swinging Down Under!

Nullarbor Links [Official site]
Bring your driver: World's longest golf course opens in Australia [USA Today]

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3 Comments

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  1. Roscoe Raider
    1. Posted by Roscoe Raider Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    Already played it; shot 59. Yawn!!!
  2. Smart arack
    2. Posted by Smart arack Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:51 pm EDT

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    I drove from Perth to Darwin and Darwin to Sydney. I sailed the Barrier Reef from Cairnes to Bowen. I fished from Cape Reinga to Invercargill in New Zealand but I never played golf in the Nulabor.
    I was going to drive it in 1980 but back then you needed three of every part your car had just in case you broke down and of course you had to know how to install it.
    I owned a 64 Toyota Crown and it looked like the old Chinese limo Mao used to be carted around in.
    Couldnt take the chance.
    Aussie has sure changed since those days. Back 30 years ago if you visited Australia you swore it was the US,but the US back in the 50's. Now I see its voted the 2nd best country to live in.
    I guess I shoulda stayed there.
    By the way,I had a job as a golf pro for a very short time at a course on Dunk Island which was famous for a James Mason movie filmed on it years before that.............
    my small Australian claim to fame?
  3. tsylvia
    3. Posted by tsylvia Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:29 pm EDT

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    I'd play it, but too hilly for me. No caddies, no cart girl, no golf.

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Jay Busbee

Devil Ball is a golf blog edited by Jay Busbee. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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