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“Beware snakes seen in area,” warns the sign next to Port Fairy Golf Club’s first tee.
And just to prove the management isn’t kidding, it has published a YouTube video of a venomous copperhead slithering near the clubhouse.
Viewing Australian wildlife had been a theme of our trip but we weren’t that keen to add a Hissing Sid to kangaroos, koalas and emus.
Nevertheless, my driver deserted me so badly on the first tee that I found myself traipsing through the rough, having misfired TWICE!
Thankfully, the drama at Port Fairy was reserved for the magnificent views, the very fierce wind and, dare I report, some tidy golf for the remainder of the round.
Mrs W and I broke off from a holiday exploring Southern Australia’s fabulous coastline after a round was recommended at this public links.
And it was undoubtedly worth the £41 fee.
The golf club is just outside the gorgeous, old-world seaside town which bears its name.
We played on a Sunday afternoon following a storm, so there was barely a soul around, and we were allowed to go straight on to the tee.
And for a little while, I confess that we wondered what the fuss was about. Sure, the fairways were lovely and tight, and the greens were admirably true, but the first seven holes had little to trigger a long-lasting memory.
The real fun begins on the eighth, a par-three from an elevated tee with the wind blowing sideways.
I thought that I had struck the perfect eight-iron into a tiered green, only to see the ball blown into a deep bunker. My escape flew across the putting surface, and a blob ensued.
It summed up an opening nine where the ball had regularly trickled into sand, and I had scored poorly.
However, Mrs W (who notched an admirable 17 points) and I were inspired by the wow factor holes on the back nine.
Our springboard had been the tenth (a bending par-four) and the 11th (a devilish par-three to a perched green).
Pars were snaffled against the wind (Mrs W just missed a birdie on the latter), and then we moved out towards the sea.
The stretch from 12 to 16 justifies a visit to Port Fairy.
With waves lapping into gorgeous golden sands to our right, we took on the 550-yard par-five 12th with gusto and reached a green surrounded by scrub in regulation.
Incredibly, my heavily wind-assisted drive to the 307-yard par-four 13th was just 40 yards short of the target and a clip towards the flag was followed by a handsome putt to record a birdie.
The blow-away hole was the 14th – a 450-yard par-four with a blind tee shot and green framed by the sea. Its backdrop is stunning and up there with any we have played this year.
It was followed by a long par-three adjacent to the beach and equally pleasing to the eye.
Our match was interestingly poised as we took on the 16th, whose rolling fairway drifts along the bay before turning towards a green that falls left to right towards a cunningly placed trap.
The big driving final two holes played into the wind, rendering them very tricky.
The long par-four 17th is alongside a road that is out of bounds, with the greenkeeper’s complex hidden by a big tree on the left.
I admit that the par-five final hole was a disappointment. It was as if I was driving into a wide-open field, and excitement only comes at the end with a chip over a stream and a St Andrews-style bridge.
Nevertheless, Port Fairy earns a deserved place in the hearts of Australian golfers.
Not every hole is a classic, but it was well worth a stop on the road from Melbourne to Adelaide, accompanied by a stay in arguably the most charming town on our tour.
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