12 GOLF ITEMS ON THE COMMON MAN’S BUCKET LIST

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1. Play a round with blades and persimmon woods

Anyone can play golf with today’s oversized drivers and forgiving, cavity-based irons. If you want to test your mettle, put a set of hickories in your bag and see if you can break 80. Bonus points if you use a featherie or gutty. We recommend giving Ratho Farm, down in Tasmania, a crack. www.rathofarm.com

2. Play a competitive putt-putt match vs a friend


Those windmills and waterfalls look cute now. See if those sentiments remain if you have to bank one off Stone Mountain and through sand traps to beat your buddy.

3. Host a charity outing


Golf? Great. Golf outings? Greater. Golf outings whose proceeds go to a good cause? Simply the greatest, my friend. Go to http://celebrityclassic.jacknewtongroup.com to see what we mean.

4. Night Golf

Detractors look at night golf as a gimmick, yet I don’t know a single person who’s tried it and come away with a negative impression. The balls don’t go as far, and – spoiler alert – it’s not exactly easy to play in the dark. But night golf isn’t about shooting the lowest score; it’s adding a new dimension of interest to the game. And in that regard, night golf soars. Check out lightitupgolf.com.au/

5. Pilgrimage to Scotland

This seemingly breaks our “everyman” tenet of this list. However, the great thing about Scottish golf is that, unlike the rest of the world, the sport is a game of the people. Young and old, rich and poor, women and men all congregate on the golf grounds. Each links has enough history to fill volumes of a library, and most are easy to traverse. Better yet, most of the courses – including the Old Course if you time it right – won’t put a dent in your wallet. There are countless options available through Aussie tour companies.

6. Build your own backyard hole

Our man Tony Zebeck did it, you can, too. To hell with council regulations or landscape aesthetics. You don’t have to be Alister Mackenzie to construct a makeshift green or hole. Trim your grass at a slightly lower blade level, dig a hole and you have a place to chip. For those without the space, strip out carpet in one of your rooms, lay down some turf and voila! – your own putting surface.

7. Successfully execute a Happy Gilmore swing

It’s a goofy movie; you can even argue it’s not that good. But anyone who claims they haven’t tried, at least ONCE, the trademark golf swing of Adam Sandler is a stone-cold liar.

8. Get into a contentious match play event

If you’ve ever been accused of knocking someone’s fortitude or mental toughness on the golf course, put yourself in a heated match play battle against a friend or foe (or both), and see if your psyche remains unscathed.

9. Try to get in as many holes in one day as possible

You don’t have to run between shots, like Mr. Spieth here. Instead, tee off at the crack of dawn, and don’t leave the course til the sun dips out of sight. Your minimum should be 54 holes. And yes, feel free to take a cart.

10. Enter or qualify for a tournament

Chances are you won’t be taking home hardware. But playing an entire round where you aren’t given any putts, are playing by the rules and putting yourself in a “me against the world” mentality is an oddly-compelling endeavour.

11. Experience King Island golf

You’ve read about. You’ve heard about it. Chances are you’ve seen it. Now make sure you experience it. Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes have put King Island on the golf map – and they’re waiting for you. See www.oceandunes.com.au or capewickham.com.au

12. Make a hole-in-one

This is the hardest item to check-off, as many golfers spend their entire lives chasing an elusive ace. But that makes catching this proverbial white whale all the more satisfying.