The Forest Resort at Creswick near Ballarat is a resort course that was designed by Tony Cashmore, with input from Robert Allenby, on the site of the former Creswick Golf Club. One nine occupies land that once housed old Creswick GC holes, with the remaining parts of the old site converted to housing and the newest holes built higher into the region's hills.

In terms of terrain, the back nine here is fine but the front half is very steep. So steep in some places that maintenance staff have had to change mowing patterns and introduce cross-fairway rough areas to keep balls in play.

Of greatest concern right now, however, is the general conditioning and maintenance of the playing surfaces and the fact that environmental restrictions seem to prevent the removal of a number of tall trees that intrude too far into the playing corridors. The one saving grace here are the greens, which needed to be built on the small side and were nicely shaped with breaks that effectively tie within the surrounding landscape. The roughed-up bunkering, on the other hand, neither fits the nature of the design nor does it work well visually on this particular property.

Despite having potential, without an increased maintenance budget and a series of destructive electrical storms it’s hard to see golfers in the immediate future being able to enjoy the Forest Resort as architect Cashmore would have wanted. The good news is that the current owners of the property (RACV Resorts) seem more committed than the initial developer to bringing things up to speed. We expect there to be improvements and will watch development closely.

Visit the RACV Goldfield Resort website for further information about this golf course.