BRISBANE, Australia — Hit a few loose shots or three-putt the first green at Nullarbor Links and you will have plenty of time to think about your errant ways before teeing off at the second.

That's because hole No. 2 is 42 miles down the highway.

Billed as the world's longest golf course, Nullarbor is set to open next month — an 842-mile trek through the desolate Outback of Australia's Nullarbor Plains, starting at Ceduna in the state of South Australia and finishing in the mining town of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

The course is a novelty, for sure, but its organizers reckon the par-71 layout, which includes holes borrowed from existing courses and others built from scratch near motels and tourist attractions, is certain to bring out the adventurous player.

"I don't think there is any two ways about it, it will be unique," Alf Caputo, the course's project manager, said from Perth, where he is organizing the finishing touches on the course for a planned Aug. 15 opening. "The scenery along this stretch of the Eyre Highway is unlike anywhere else in the world."

Ditto the golf course. The seven holes taken from existing courses include some with sand greens that are raked, oiled and rolled to maintain their smoothness.

The first two holes are among them, and they have natural-grass fairways, but the 11 holes that are being built for Nullarbor Links will have synthetic tees and synthetic greens — the most workable plan from a maintenance standpoint because of the lack of rainfall in the flat, dry area.

"In between the tees and green, we'll leave it as natural terrain, although we'll clear the debris," Caputo said. "We'll leave trees and natural hazards there, because we don't want to do anything to affect the beautiful scenery."

The cost of the course came in at $640,000, with about a third of the funding coming in a grant from an Australian government department that promotes tourism.

"It sounds like a bit of a pipe dream, but when we checked it all out, it was so basic," Caputo said. "It doesn't involve any million-dollar spending. We had the infrastructure at some of the holes already, and we'll pass along proceeds from the green fees to the roadhouses and motels to ensure that maintenance is kept up."

Greens fees will be $40. A certificate will be issued from tourism centers in Ceduna and Kalgoorlie to those who have their scorecards stamped for all 18 holes.

Bob Bongiorno, a former roadhouse/motel manager in Balladonia, which will host one of the holes, came up with the idea for the course.


"I first thought about it nine or 10 years ago," he said. "I had lived on the Nullarbor for 10 years, and I always felt that people just connected east and west along our highway, and traversed the distance quickly. They endured, rather than enjoyed, the trek. They missed what I called a lot of the 'self-find' stuff along the way. The whole idea was to try to create something to slow people down, and make it part of the holiday."

Caputo and Bongiorno sat in a bar and brainstormed "over a glass or two of red wine," Caputo said.

"All good ideas come out of a glass of red, don't they?"

Caputo said an average group of golfers will take about four days to complete the course. He said a British travel promoter wants to put together a 10-day package that includes Nullarbor and top-level courses in Adelaide and Perth.

Included on the Nullarbor journey is the longest stretch of straight road on any highway in Australia.

After golfers leave the par-4, 340-yard hole at the Caiguna roadhouse, they won't have to turn their steering wheels for 90 miles.

When they arrive at the next hole at the Balladonia Motel, they can take a side trip to an area commemorating the July 1979 fall to earth of the NASA research laboratory Skylab, which landed in fiery chunks around Balladonia. President Carter is said by locals to have phoned the motel's manager to apologize, and the area's ranger, David Somerville, was photographed giving a NASA official a littering ticket, which the council later waived.

And don't forget Caputo's and Bongiorno's favorite hole — the 19th.

"We've got a great bar at either end, in Ceduna or Kalgoorlie, but the beauty of this course is that every hole has a 19th hole," Caputo said. "Some just steps from the green. How good is that?"

<<"All good ideas come out of a glass of red, don't they?">>

Your kind of guys, right Hips? :-}

Later,

Gotta be nuts,,,,,,,,,,,

Wouldn't that be the road trip of all road trips or what?

Hmmmmm....... Bucket list?

Wondered how long it would take for someone to find the red wine connection

You teed it up, it was my duty to hit it. :-}

Later,

Like I said, I knew someone would find the right tee box

Got to love those Australian people.They can come up with eye catching ideas.

I just hope that gasoline is cheap there,or that could prove to be a mighty costly round of golf.

"VERY COSTLY",,,,,,