Binalong set to tee off for the Men's World Sand Green Championships

The tiny village of Binalong will stage a world-first when the first golfer tees off at the Men’s World Sand Green Championships on 27 September, vying for a $140,000 prize purse.

Many of the country’s top golfers have already signed up for the event, including PGA member Matthew Millar, from Canberra’s Federal Golf Club as well as golfers from Korea and Scotland.

Supported by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, the 36-hole championship at Binalong Golf Club in the NSW Southern Tablelands is a first for professional men’s golf in Australia and globally.

Golf NSW spokesperson Dave Tease said Binalong was chosen for the inaugural event because it was one of the best courses of its kind in NSW.

“The Binalong course was chosen because of the quality of it, the engagement of the local community in putting something like this on and because, for a course like this which is manned by volunteers, it’s one of the best there is.”

He said sand greens were more common in rural and regional parts of the country where they were mostly cared for by volunteers. Sand was utilised as a base for the course if, as is often the case in drought-hit areas, grass can’t be kept up to it.

“This event at Binalong has created lots of interest,” he said. “The support from the local community has already been fantastic and we have sponsorship for almost every hole.”

Two weeks out from the championships, Mr Tease said more than 140 entries had already been received for the three-day 36-hole event.

Day one will be more of a social event, with sponsors invited to play with the pros, with an 18-hole pro-am, followed by the main event over the following two days.

He said sand greens golf played an important part in Australia’s golfing landscape, especially in rural communities, with the Binalong event the perfect place to showcase this side of the game.

“Playing and putting on sand is quite a different experience for many players. There are fundamental differences between landing approach shots and knowing how to ‘smooth’ a putting line. If a player has doubts on what to do, plenty of locals will be ready to offer free advice on the correct way to chip, smooth a line, and even hole a putt.”

President of the Binalong club, Michael Brayshaw, said the inaugural event “was a massive deal” for the small group of volunteers who ran the club.

“It is a credit to them and very well deserved that we have been chosen for this … like a reward for keeping it going despite issues like COVID,” he said.

Mr Brayshaw said Binalong successfully hosted the NSW titles of the sand contest in 2022 which he believed put them in good stead for the inaugurual world event, a great honour for a club which was run by “about half a dozen volunteers”.

He paid special tribute to Chris Glover and family for their long connection to the club and to Denis Williams, the head green (sand)keeper for keeping the ground in such immaculate condition.

“As it gets closer to the date, it becomes more real,” he said. “But we had this massive working bee in April, we got lots of people and bulldozers in, and that helped us to get where we are today.”

The three-day event is already a boon for the Yass Valley economy with many motels and hotels booked out and local cafes and restaurants gearing up for the hundreds of spectators expected.

The Binalong Golf Club, which was founded in 1857, was originally nine holes, having been carved through the middle of a now-defunct horse racing track.

At 500 metres above sea level, the 18-hole, par-72 course is considered one of the best examples of a sand greens layout in regional NSW. It is about an hour’s drive from Canberra and three from Sydney.

More information about the event is available on the Golf NSW website.

The event will also be broadcast on 7Plus on the Channel Seven network and the Sports Entertainment Network, SEN.

Original Article published by Sally Hopman on About Regional.