I had waited some two years firstly to revisit my younger brother and his family, including niece Nikki and nephew Jamie, but also to step back out onto Bathurst Golf Club.

The attraction to again tee-up at Bathurst Golf Club, and a course I had been present in the early 1990s to report on the New South Wales, was in every part down to John Payne.

I was very fortunate to bump into John and his son on Boxing Day 2013 and since then he and I have stayed in contact regularly.

In fact, John contributed greatly to a feature article I had written on my visit to the course now over two years ago.  Here is the link to that story:-

Bathurst Golf Club. A Truly Australian Rural Golfing Gold Nugget.

Fast forward to November last year and it was a pleasure indeed to catch-up with John when again visiting Bathurst and on this occasion in the week following the Australian Open in Sydney.

It was during the Australian Open that defending champion and World No. 1 Jordan Spieth personally autographed a commemorative poster for eight-year old Jamie.  And thanks to the local Western Advocate newspaper they ran a story on Spieth signing the poster for young Jamie.

On arrival in Bathurst I learned John had kindly arranged for me to play in two of the club’s competitions.

However in contrast to late 2013 when I clearly had one eye and my two ears in soaking-up some history and observing various features of the course with a view to researching what I would eventually write, this latest visit was purely focussed on enjoying the course and getting to spend some quality time with John and some of his closest golfing buddies.

And thanks to John, he kindly introduced me to the Bathurst Club President, the Club Captain and also the Secretary so what more can I is express my appreciation to John.

Of course, I was not going to let the occasion again tackling Bathurst, and one of the finest rural courses in Australia, pass without taking a few photographs as you will see in this article.

And quite bizarrely, upon leaving Sydney last month and bound for Kuala Lumpur and the EurAsia Cup,  our Air Asia flew flight right over Bathurst and from my seat I could look down upon the Bathurst Correctional Centre alongside the 11th hole at Bathurst Golf Club and from where Wayne Riley had chipped golf balls into the prison compound during that NSW Open Pro-Am, and along with identifying where my brother and his family lived.

In fact, it had been a 3-hour drive some days earlier from Bathurst to Sydney but my Air Asia flight had covered the distance in less than 30 minutes.

So here’s hoping John keeps well until the next time I find my back to Australia and then onwards to Bathurst to tee-up once again at the Bathurst Golf Club.

 

 

And just when I thought I had said ‘goodbye’ to Bathurst and my Air Asia flight to Malaysia flies right over Australia’s first rural city.