Moving to Sydney

I'm an 18 year old university golf player and I'm taking a year off to travel in Australia. I currently live in Montreal, Canada. I'm probably going to be living in Sydney (haven't decided fully) and I'm leaving this coming April. I was wondering if anyone on here has had experience playing amateur events there or are familiar with any courses there that could be potential employers. I am getting my papers done through an agency affiliated with my university (McGill) so I won't have to worry about much other than setting up some interviews once I arrive. I'm hoping to improve my game while I'm there so I can compete back in North America in Canadian and American national events. Any insight and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

There are some fabulous courses in NSW, a great place to play golf... however it is VERY "hectik" (fully sik OMG Kebab style for those that love Fat Pizza!) traffic is super busy and that can make travel to and from courses/work a lot more time consuming. (2+ hour commutes to work are not uncommon)

Brisbane/Gold Coast/Qld has just had some of the worst floods in 100 years, the weather can be terrible at times and traffic is as bad if not worse than Sydney/NSW.
The courses are not kept in as good condition as those in the rest of the country either,

Victoria has a great "sand belt" and the courses in this area are great, some of them are a little difficult to get a round on or expensive but in general the standard of golf is very good.
Melbourne has a much better traffic/road network than either Sydney or Brisbane so commutes are not so bad but it is still a big city and that has its advantages and disadvantages.

I can't speak much for Tasmania and South Australia apart from feedback that I have recieved from friends/family/colleagues who have spend time there.
South Australia has a nice wine region, very good golf coursesand the city is much smaller... BUT the local beer is disgusting and the water is foul too. (Half the reason why the beer tastes so bad!) It is known as the "City of Churches" and aparently the architecture is wonderful... it is also easy to go to confession/mass/chapel if that is your thing too.

Tasmania has some beautiful natural scenery, some AMAZING golf courses but is very much a "backwater" from what I have been told by those who travel there... if you liked the 90s then Tasmania might be for you!

Perth/WA is my home state so I am a little biased however it has quite a few things going for it... Some AMAZING golf courses, basically all of the courses are built on a "sand belt" and tend to be kept in great condition.
Traffic is virtually non existant meaning commutes to work and getting to golf courses is easy, I can play 99% of the best courses in the state within an hours drive from the city.
Again WA has two great wine regions, plenty of micro breweries and some of the best beaches on the plannet but if museums and art galleries are your thing Perth is lacking these... it has them, but they are not as good as the ones in VIC, NSW and QLD (If it hasn't literally washed away!)
Western Australia has a labour shotage and to go with it the highest average income, if you need to work to support yourself whilst you are here it would be a great place to do it to earn some $$$!
The downside to WA? Well if there is one it is that eating out/pubs/clubs etc are more expensive than the other parts of the country, partly due to the inflationary pressure put on prices by the high incomes and partly due to prices not being subsidised by legal gambling/poker machines.

I have worked/lived in both QLD and WA, there is no doubt in my mind that I would reccomend WA over QLD for a balance of golf and lifestyle.
Victoria is a tough one, probably my second choice after WA with NSW being third.
SA and TAS I cant speak for but I would assume better than QLD.

PM me if you like and I can shed some further insight on my experiences traveling and playing golf in our big brown land.

There are PLENTY of amazing "hidden gems" that you wouldn't stumble over unless you had a little advice as they are not well publicised!

Adam

[quote name='HISPL' timestamp='1294835779' post='2890863']
There are some fabulous courses in NSW, a great place to play golf... however it is VERY "hectik" (fully sik OMG Kebab style for those that love Fat Pizza!) traffic is super busy and that can make travel to and from courses/work a lot more time consuming. (2+ hour commutes to work are not uncommon)

Brisbane/Gold Coast/Qld has just had some of the worst floods in 100 years, the weather can be terrible at times and traffic is as bad if not worse than Sydney/NSW.
The courses are not kept in as good condition as those in the rest of the country either,

Victoria has a great "sand belt" and the courses in this area are great, some of them are a little difficult to get a round on or expensive but in general the standard of golf is very good.
Melbourne has a much better traffic/road network than either Sydney or Brisbane so commutes are not so bad but it is still a big city and that has its advantages and disadvantages.

I can't speak much for Tasmania and South Australia apart from feedback that I have recieved from friends/family/colleagues who have spend time there.
South Australia has a nice wine region, very good golf coursesand the city is much smaller... BUT the local beer is disgusting and the water is foul too. (Half the reason why the beer tastes so bad!) It is known as the "City of Churches" and aparently the architecture is wonderful... it is also easy to go to confession/mass/chapel if that is your thing too.

Tasmania has some beautiful natural scenery, some AMAZING golf courses but is very much a "backwater" from what I have been told by those who travel there... if you liked the 90s then Tasmania might be for you!

Perth/WA is my home state so I am a little biased however it has quite a few things going for it... Some AMAZING golf courses, basically all of the courses are built on a "sand belt" and tend to be kept in great condition.
Traffic is virtually non existant meaning commutes to work and getting to golf courses is easy, I can play 99% of the best courses in the state within an hours drive from the city.
Again WA has two great wine regions, plenty of micro breweries and some of the best beaches on the plannet but if museums and art galleries are your thing Perth is lacking these... it has them, but they are not as good as the ones in VIC, NSW and QLD (If it hasn't literally washed away!)
Western Australia has a labour shotage and to go with it the highest average income, if you need to work to support yourself whilst you are here it would be a great place to do it to earn some $$!
The downside to WA? Well if there is one it is that eating out/pubs/clubs etc are more expensive than the other parts of the country, partly due to the inflationary pressure put on prices by the high incomes and partly due to prices not being subsidised by legal gambling/poker machines.

I have worked/lived in both QLD and WA, there is no doubt in my mind that I would reccomend WA over QLD for a balance of golf and lifestyle.
Victoria is a tough one, probably my second choice after WA with NSW being third.
SA and TAS I cant speak for but I would assume better than QLD.

PM me if you like and I can shed some further insight on my experiences traveling and playing golf in our big brown land.

There are PLENTY of amazing "hidden gems" that you wouldn't stumble over unless you had a little advice as they are not well publicised!

Adam
[/quote]

This is a huge help, thanks so much. It's a dizzying process but this gives me a good start.

If you have tertiary qualifications I expect that you will be able to find work without too much of a problem, as far as improving your game goes I know there is an excellent standard of pennant golf in WA, VIC and NSW.

This will be an experience you will not forget, make sure you take some time to travel to some places that are "off the beaten track" so to speak which is Australian vernacular for finding places that are out of the way that most tourists would not make their way to.

If you do end up in Sydney I would suggest that you take the trip to Bonville International which is about 5 hours drive from Sydney in Coffs Harbour. Quite often you can get a flight special there so it might be worthwhile flying to, it is an excellent golf course and I enjoyed the lunch there too it was lovely.

The social atmosphere is also quite different not only between clubs but between states, Perth in WA is very social and a lot of people catch up to have lunch before the game and a round of drinks after the game, I have found that it is not uncommon to do so in Melbourne VIC either.
Sydney NSW is a little less social than Perth/Melbourne from my limited experience however the people are lovely and it wasn't too hard to twist their arm to stay for a chat over a drink at the end of the round.
I found QLD to be far less social, verging on antisocial at a number of courses that I have played there. It seems to be that a majority of the members who play in QLD get out on the course to play their game and go home without socialising afterwards.
I must say though that the members and staff at Arundel Hills on the Gold Coast to be far more welcoming than other courses that I experienced when I was living there.

I know people who work at some courses in Sydney and Melbourne. Leave me a message when you know what area you are headed and I can try and point you to some of the better tracks.