Australia- Part II: Canberra & Adelaide
Canberra
Canberra Classic Tournament Recap:
Tournament #2 of my Australian schedule was the Actewagl Canberra Classic. It was a lovely three day event set at the prestigious Royal Canberra, which is a beautiful track with lots of wildlife. Most exciting for me were the kangaroos! I had never seen a kangaroo in the wild before, so it was both shocking and very cool to see them in person! Golf wise, I was itching to get back on the course and bounce back in Canberra, after a tough week at the Vic Open.
PC: Tristian Jones
I opened the day one with a nice two under (70), followed by a two over par due to a costly mistakes on the 17th hole. I made the cut for the final day, but really struggled off the tee with the driver, which put me in quite a bit of trouble. I fought to get it back, finishing –1 on my last three, but ultimately finished 4 over par on the day. You can catch the full results here! I did not capitalize on a lot of good opportunities and left feeling dissatisfied, but with lots still in the tank, I then headed for the Aussie Open qualifier in Adelaide, excited for the opportunity to compete in Australia’s biggest event.
Sights
My mates and I spent an afternoon exploring the nation's capital. The folklore is that Sydney and Melbourne couldn't decided who would be capital, so Canberra, the middle point between the two, was established as the Australian Capital Territory. It is a planned city, so the design of the area is really structured and organized (as you might be able to see from the picture below). The water that runs through the city, for example, was deliberately designed to stretch from east to west and divide the city in two. On one side sits the old and new parliament house and directly across is the War Memorial. We had a chance to visit all these sites, but the war memorial was particularly stunning. We spent the afternoon walking through the grounds, and learned about the wars Australia has fought in. Though Canberra may not be Australia's most exciting city, it was awesome to visit the nation's capital!
Mt. Ainslie
Cafe feature: Double Shot Deakin
As mentioned in my last blog, Australia is full of amazing cafes. We found a great one right by the course called Double Shot, and the space was beautifully designed, with hanging plants from the ceiling, nice outdoor seating and a big open window. Of course the food and coffee were delicious as well! The highlight of the day was a pulled lamb salad with roasted pumpkin, quinoa, greens and whipped feta! Yum!
Adelaide
Next stop on the Australia tour was South Australia. Adelaide was the site of this year's ISPS Handa Australian Open and I arrived in town to play in the Monday qualifier. I knew what I had to do, and was excited to get out there and compete. I actually hit the ball very well, but was not able to shoot the necessary number. I hit it inside 15 feet 10 times, which is an awesome stat, but I failed to execute on many of those opportunities. The experience was frustrating, but it was great to see some good ball striking, and I will take that confidence into the coming weeks!
With no tournament for me, I got to practice, support my mates and explore Adelaide. I also got to play some of the courses in the area, including Grange West, which is where the Australian Open will be next year.
Glenelg
During the trip, we stayed in a small beach town called Glenelg just outside Adelaide. There were tons of little shops and cafes just a short walk from our Air Bnb. Jenny and I also spent an afternoon relaxing at the beach, and had the chance to play beach volleyball with other travelers from France!
During my free time, I also ventured out of Glenelg and into the city! Adelaide is known for food and wine, and although I didn’t have time to go to the wineries, I did visit the Central Market! The market is a thriving hub for food and culture, and has been around for over 148 years. It is one of the largest covered markets in the southern hemisphere, with over 70 traders under one roof. With so many tastes, smells and options I had a blast eating my way through market.
Found some California Girls at the market!
Adeliade 36ers
One of my funnest memories of the past two weeks, was a night out spent at the Adeliade 36ers basketball game! The Adeliade 36ers are one of the best teams in Australia, and we got to watch them beat Brisbane right before the playoffs. We got to sit court side, right next to the action! A handful of other ALPG players went as well, so we got to meet several of the 36ers after the game!
My best mate Jenny and our other roomie Valdis qualified for the Australian Open, so I went out one afternoon to support them both. Jenny even got a hole in one, and won a car, which was incredibly exciting! On top of that, her caddie, Chris (pictured on the left) is a friend of mine that I met in San Francisco 2 years ago. I asked him to come out after remembering he lived in the area, and it ended up being a fun week for us all. It was great to connect with a friend across the world!
Another 2 weeks in Australia are in the books, and I can’t wait to be back again next year to play in the Australian Open. See you again next year Canberra and Adeliade!
Lots of Love,
Dre
Next Up--> Coffs Harbour