On the world's longest golf course, the fairways are rough and the dog-legs might be dingoes'

Nullarbor Links is the world’s longest golf course, stretching 1,365km across ancient, arid desert in outback Australia. The 18-hole, par-72 course runs from Ceduna in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing flat limestone bedrock and requiring substantial driving between holes. Play occurs on sand greens in Ceduna and manicured lawns in Kalgoorlie, while the in-between terrain is rugged and wild, with scrubby dirt and worn astroturf. Players navigate airstrips and avoid snakes, spiders, wombats, dingoes, and camels. The annual 10-day Chasing the Sun tournament brings 25 participants, some camping instead of staying in roadhouses, and includes players from multiple countries.

"They're playing the Nullarbor Links, the world's longest golf course, which runs for 1,365km (850 miles) across ancient, arid desert in outback Australia. Other than the game itself, it has nothing whatever in common with its famous counterparts or any other golf course in the world. Of the 25 participants, a few opted to camp rather than seeking a warm roadhouse bed each night. The 18-hole, par-72 course starts at Ceduna in South Australia and crosses the flat limestone bedrock to reach Kalgoorlie in Western Australia."

"Needless to say, there's a lot of driving between each hole. Players scrap it out on scrubby dirt and worn astroturf, from behind shedding gums and across airstrips, dodging snakes, spiders and wombats along the way. Map showing the location of the Nullarbor Links, the world's longest golf course Graeme and Bea Wilmot organise the annual 10-day Chasing the Sun tournament, which wrapped up on Saturday."

"They play on sand greens in Ceduna and manicured lawns in Kalgoorlie, but in between it's a different story. Anything between the tee off and the green is wild outback. There are lots of snakes, lizards, spiders, wombats, dingoes, camels. Bea Wilmot says. Alan first drove across the Nullarbor Plain in 1974 with a mate in a beat-up Holden HR ute, when the road was unsealed."

"Then, he was moving from Nowra in NSW to Perth for work: now he's back to make the roadtrip with a set of clubs. He won the Hackers' trophy. They've had people from Germany, Vietnam, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa play, along with a fair number of Australia's grey nomads. Wilmot reluctantly went on her first tournament with Graeme in 2017. He was the golf fanatic and I was the golf widow."

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