In the swing at Chateau Elan and The Vintage Golf Club
Take the rough with the smooth at a resort that combines pampering with some tough golfing challenges.
A large billboard bearing an image of Greg Norman greets visitors as they turn into a sprawling complex of fairways, lagoons and new residences. Two shiny red Ferraris cruise past and, just at the top of a nearby hill, a helicopter lands. A newly married couple steps out, and the chopper’s blades create havoc with the bride’s hair while dispersing a herd of kangaroos that have been sunning themselves among the tussocks. This is the heart of the Hunter Valley, and Chateau Elan, surrounded by The Vintage Golf Club, is bustling with activity.
For several months last year, the 150 vineyards that populate Australia’s oldest and most-visited wine region were shut. Behind closed doors, the winemakers stayed busy preparing delivery packs for locked-down customers. The Vintage Golf Club, however, was one of the few places in the region to remain open. Unlike in Victoria, NSW courses were able to keep their fairways open during the pandemic. The sport became something of a lifeline for many tourist areas, wine regions no exception.
“The course was so busy during lockdown someone complained to the cops,” says a golfer in the pro shop with a nervous laugh.
“Golf certainly took us through that tough period last year with it being considered a ‘safe activity’,” says Jodie Staples, director of sales and marketing for Chateau Elan at The Vintage. “We had the strongest year we’ve had since opening, with 35,378 rounds played last year. By comparison, in 2019 we did 26,439 rounds.”
Social distancing and golf have always gone hand-in-hand. More so at The Vintage where the fairways are wide but the rough is merciless and the water hazards omnipresent. The Norman-designed course opened in 2003 and remains the toughest golfing challenge in the area, a step up in difficulty from the nearby Cypress Lakes and a couple of grades up in class from Crowne Plaza’s Hunter Valley Country Club.
The adjacent hotel was built by American pharmacist Don Panoz, the late US billionaire who invented nicotine patches, and opened in 2010. (Panoz’s original Chateau Elan is outside Atlanta, Georgia.) It has 100 guestrooms, offering a variety of options from one and two-bedroom villas that line the course to suites that offer easy access to the complex’s award-winning spa; it’s one of the best spots for pampering in the Hunter.
A wine region without a golf course doesn’t seem complete these days. The Hunter has a few of them but The Vintage, last year ranked at No 51 in the nation’s top 100 courses by Australian Golf Digest, remains the main attraction.
This isn’t a place for beginners, and once-a-year players should look elsewhere, unless they’re gluttons for punishment. A slice or a hook from the tee at most courses means you’re chipping back from an adjacent fairway. At The Vintage there is no such respite. Not one of the 18 holes is bordered by another. Spray your tee shot and your ball is almost certainly lost in impossibly thick rough or sinking in a swampy grave. Hook your shot at the 7th, rated the easiest hole on the course, and you risk the wrath of the grape pickers at the neighbouring Bimbadgen Estate winery.
The first hole is enough to scare off many. A huge water hazard lies in wait for that duffed first drive so it’s best to oil up a rusty swing quickly. The signature 8th hole is an unnerving par 3 with a lagoon down the entire right-hand side of the hole. Accordingly, we pay our respects to golf’s water gods by sacrificing a couple of brand new balls before trudging on more than a little defeated.
We can see our digs from the 10th fairway. A large, comfortable villa with a gas fire that matches perfectly with cheese and a Hunter shiraz in the cooler months and a balcony made for sipping a local chardonnay or semillon while watching fellow players begin their attack on the course’s slightly kinder back nine.
Norman, Australia’s greatest golfer, was the first to play the course in 2003 but today we spy some well-known faces from another sport. Cricket’s first couple, Mitchell Starc and Alyssa Healy, are being shown around the outdoor dining area adjacent to the clubhouse. The pair are well-known golfers and Healy is said to be the better player. They are clearly VIPs but otherwise it’s difficult to gauge the “average” tourist at Chateau Elan. Sitting next to us at dinner the night before were the aforementioned newlyweds from the helicopter. At a guess, those red Ferraris were part of a fantasy driving weekend experience for cashed-up city folk. In summer the large swimming pool will be filled with boisterous children.
Many of the golfers are locals who have made the growing residential zones surrounding the course their permanent home. But it’s a weekend and Staples tells us the course is more likely to be taken over by Sydneysiders, who play a Saturday-morning round among the kangaroos, followed by an afternoon tasting wine or having a spa treatment.
I’ve played The Vintage a few times over its existence and the course hasn’t changed much. Five years ago, Beijing-based Sunshine Insurance Group forked out $40m for the entire precinct. The company announced grand plans to build a second championship course and upgrade the accommodation. Locals who play the course every week complain progress isn’t happening fast enough – but complaining is a common ailment of golf club members.
Chateau Elan’s restaurant area, which serves both the hotel guests and the golf’s clubhouse, is the complex’s weak point. Executive chef Praveen Leelavathy was hired last year from Cypress Lakes and will reveal her much-needed menu makeover for the well-worn Legends Grill next month.
Catering for hotel guests and golfers is a tough task. Golfers want steak, spa types something a little fancier.
But whatever the future challenges, nothing is as daunting as that lagoon on the first tee.
Simon McLoughlin, The Australian’s deputy sports editor, was a guest of Chateau Elan.
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In the know
The Vintage Golf Club is two hours’ drive from Sydney in the Hunter Valley’s Rothbury region; bookings essential.
Chateau Elan has a one night stay-and-play package for $321, which includes 18 holes of golf for two players, including cart hire and driving range access. Midweek golf without accommodation is $109 a person and $134 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
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Five great golf courses in Australia
Hamilton Island Golf Club, Queensland
Here’s a championship course on its very own island. Take the shuttle ferry from Hamilton to Dent Island where you are greeted by one of the most spectacular layouts in Australia. Designed by five-time British Open winner Peter Thomson, it has water views everywhere.
Barnbougle Dunes, Tasmania
Once a potato farm on Tasmania’s northeast coast but now home to three amazing golf courses: the original Barnbougle Dunes, Lost Farm and new kid on the block Bougle Run. It’s an hour’s drive from Launceston but you could be in Scotland, the home of golf.
13th Beach and Barwon Heads Golf Club, Victoria
There are two sensational courses at 13th Beach, just up from the Great Ocean Road. One is always open to the public so you’re sure to get on. If you can find a tee time around the members’ schedule at the neighbouring Barwon Heads Golf Club, it’s also worth the effort.
The National, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Mornington Peninsula has 15 spectacular courses, seven of which are regulars in Australia’s Top 50. The exclusive National Golf Club has four of the best: The Old Course, Gunnamatta Course, Moonah Course and the Long Island Course. Victorians need an invite from a member to play; players from interstate need to show their membership from their home course.
The Links, Lady Bay, South Australia
Wine tasting in McLaren Vale and golf at a true St Andrews-style sand-based course. That’s what’s on offer at The Links, Lady Bay. An hour’s drive south of Adelaide, Lady Bay is rated the No 1 resort course in South Australia.
