Plaaying every golf course in Melbourne Australia Rd 5: Riverside Golf and Sports Centre

Are coloured golf balls better than white? I picked up a sleeve of yellow/orange Srixon Divides on my way to play 9 holes at Riverside Golf course in Melbourne Australia. As you know I am playing every course in Melbourne to find the best one, so if you know a better course then this one let me know in the comments and I’ll play it.
Hole 1 is a 238m Par 4. Personally, I was hoping that the yellow/orange ball would be easier for the camera to catch the ball flight, which is why I picked it over the yellow/blue version. So, let’s see. I decided to play it safe and hit a 5-iron from the Tee. I caught it fat and it went about 120m. I hit an 8-iron from 120m because it was an uphill raised green. It should have been a 9-iron because it rolled over the back. I chipped it well and left myself with a tap in par.
Hole 2 is a 295m Par 4, dog-leg-left. I love these because it’s perfect for my shot shape. I hit it well and it left me with about 40m to the green. I hit a sand wedge and it landed within 10m of the hole. I’ve yet to sink putt from this distance, but I am happy if I can two putt for par from anywhere on the green. As you will see shortly it not always the case.
Hole 3 is a 393m Par 4, Index 3. I try to block out the distractions in front of me but I push my drive behind a tree to the right of the fairway. I was too confident after two pars in a row and I try to fade a 4-iron around this tree. Obviously, it doesn’t come off and I end up in the bushes. I recover by hitting the green with my sand-wedge and have a 15m putt for par. It’s a decent effort but I close out this hole with a bogey.
Hole 4 is a 129m Par 3, Index 16, it’s one of the easiest holes on the course, allegedly. I hit a 9-iron but it comes up short of the green. My chipping is normally decent, but I somehow blast this to back of the green. No harm, I think to myself, I normally two putt on every green so I will save a bogey here. I had a good line, but the speed was off, and it ran past the hole. I miss a tap in for bogey and then followed it up with a terrible miss for doble bogey. I leave one of the easiest holes on the course with a triple bogey.
I need to recover on Hole 5, a 500m Par 5. Thankfully, all is right when I smoke my drive 250m straight down the middle. The same cannot be said for my hybrid play however, and I nearly hook it straight into the pylon. But it just misses it and leaves me a sand-wedge to the green. I make it to the green in three shots, but just barely. I’m eager to two-putt here so I can spook the ghost of Hole 4. I give myself a decent chance at par, hitting it dead centre at the hole, only for it to roll off at the last second. I take a bogey knowing it can always be worse.
Hole 6 is a Par 4 439m. My drive goes straighter then normal and again, I’m slightly to the right of the fairway. I’m not trying that fade again and I decided to hit my regular shot here. It gets very lucky, because it goes straight through a gap in the trees and doesn’t hit a branch. It leaves me with 50m to the green. I go high side with my pitch and it lands close. I’m thinking forget about two putting here, just try and sink this for a birdie and claw back a few shots, because lofty goals are better than setting limiting belief on yourself. It comes close and I take another bogey.
Hole 7 is a 148m Par 3. I hit a 7-iron of the tee. I caught it a bit fat and it came up just short of the green. I hit a good chip, straight at the hole and nearly holed it out. It was a touch too fast and it just didn’t drop. Someday these will drop and I’ll be scoring birdies for days, but for now I tapped in a par.
Hole 8 is a really short 247m Par 4. I hit a driver off the tee and it went straight down the middle and rolled off into the rough. I miscued my chip and it came up way too short. What was a promising birdie chance suddenly looked a lot my difficult from here. Thankfully, I hit my birdie close and I managed to tap in my fourth shot for par.
Hole 9 is a 144m Par 3. I hit it straight at the flag and got an unlucky bounce which pushed it towards the back of the green. This is the run in to the final hole. I am chipping from the fringe and it doesn’t land as close to the hole as I planned, leaving me with a putt for par. It comes close, but not close enough and I tap in for a bogey on the last.
I finished my round with +7. That’s 41 shots on a Par 34 course. Outside of the triple bogey I was happy enough with my round, and I was pleased that I didn’t let a bad score on one hole impact the rest of my round. So, what do you think? Is this Melbourne’s best course? And should I keep playing with the yellow/orange Srixon Divides? Personally, I think I will be back to Riverside to try and best this score. And although I do like visuals of the yellow/orange ball in flight, a lot of the courses I have played have a similar hue to their grasses and rough areas, so I think I will try a different colourway next time.

[@aaronmax5440]

Keep up the good work 👍

[@lifewithg7139]

Thanks, will do!

[@jonnykaplan2815]

Play Malvern Valley golf course!! Best public course in Melbourne :)

[@lifewithg7139]

I will definitely look into this one 😊

[@jkturtle6384]

Hey G. What day/time did you play here? Keen to try it out but wanna avoid the busy times.

[@lifewithg7139]

Hey 👋🏻 I play on a Tuesday around midday. One thing I’ve noticed about golfing in Australia is that there’s always someone in front of or behind you regardless of day/time. But Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is quieter than the end of the week.