As the Great Ocean Road is such a spectacular part of the world for a golfing holiday, I asked my friend Glenda who is a keen golfer (shown here with her new puppy Scully)to give me a tour of her favourite courses and some tips for golf travellers.

Not only can you play golf on some of the most picturesque courses in the world, but you can also drive along the Great Ocean Road with all the beaches, food, art and nature then return home truly satisfied.

1. LORNE is Glenda’s favourite course because “it is like paradise”, especially the views from the Club House on the top of the hill overlooking the pier. The course itself is challenging due to the hills and Glenda advises, “Do not expect your balls to land where you think you aim for. The hills are tricky.” She asks, “Do you hit straight? Because accuracy rather than length is the value of this course. It is all about placing your shots.” It is a nine hole course so when you play the full eighteen you will get a second chance to look at the views. The other lovely thing is that in some places you will be amongst the bush, which is also gorgeous. While Glenda has not ventured beyond Lorne for golf she has had the Port Fairy course recommended as highly enjoyable to play.

2. THIRTEENTH BEACH – The Beach Course. “There’s not a bad hole on this course. The fairways are undulating so you will not be able to see where you are hitting until you get close to the green. The greens are wonderfully consistent for putting. “There is an advantage in being a female golfer at this course because the men’s course is longer and tougher,” advises Glenda. She also mentions that any golfer must take into account the WIND at 13^th Beach where it can be a “4 club breeze”. The Creek Course is not as pretty according to Glenda and has some water so shots need to be given more thought. Glenda prefers the Beach Course to the Creek course but would never pass up the opportunity to play either.

3. ANGLESEA - Glenda’s home club, is a very challenging course, and Glenda would rate it the hardest on the coast because the hills make the fairways seem longer. Glenda also suggests that you will need longer clubs than you might usually use. For example the Par 3 16^th hole is approximately 110 metres from the ladies tee but the front of the green slopes away so you will need a club that will take you plus 10 metres. Female players who are unfamiliar with this hole will frequently under-club Glenda has observed.

KANGAROOS – are fellow residents of the Anglesea Golf Course and must be given due respect. October is the best time to see the new joeys (baby kangaroos) trying out their feet. They have been known to approach quite close to golfers. HOWEVER it is a strict rule that no golfer approaches a kangaroo as they are wild animals and can be dangerous. Glenda advises that if you just play as usual they will go about their business accepting you as part of their habitat. TOURISTS are not allowed on the golf course but can view from the car park or the Pro shop.

4. TORQUAY is a very accessible and easy course. There are views of the ocean on some holes particularly the par 3 17th hole which overlooks Jan Juc beach as you will see on the website. This course does have some tricky spots but it is also a great course for juniors to develop their skills. If you are planning to play a round during the summer holiday season it is important to phone ahead as this course is very popular with visitors.

5. THE SANDS is the most heavily bunkered course in the district so it is very challenging. Glenda advises that this is a course where course management is essential. The fairway bunkers are deep and Glenda likes to avoid them so she will often take an extra lay-up shot to ensure that she gets to the green via the fairway rather than through the sand.You may need to take 2 shots to get to the green to avoid the bunkers and if you find yourself in a bunker it will be very difficult to recover, as they are deep and sandy. Glenda likes this challenge and if you are a thinking golfer you will too. While this is a private golf course anyone with membership at another club can organise to play.

I hope that this will pique your interest in packing the clubs, bringing some friends to travel the Road stopping off to sample the courses and little towns along the way. Maybe you will see Glenda on the course – say “Hi” to her and thank her for the tips.

Some clubs you might like to try along the Great Ocean Road and on the Bellarine Peninsula:

• Portarlington 445 A9 MELWAY map
• Clifton Springs 456 J4
• Queenscliff 487 A7
• Barwon Heads 497 A5
• 13^th Beach 496 D1
• Curlewis 470 B1
• The Sands 506 G1
• Torquay 505 J9
• Anglesea 196 B6
• Lorne 518 G4 Phone: 03 5289 1267 has no website.

Still on the first of our two-day trip along the Great Ocean Road, we’re an hour out of Lorne driving west.

The most wonderful vistas have continually begged us to stop and take yet another photo of the most fabulous beaches, but we have pressed on to our lunch destination.

We have a very soft spot for the brilliant fresh food served in the spectacular Chris’s Beacon Point Restaurant up the hill at Skenes Creek. Impossible to drive past here without sampling something – and the view is to die for too.

Today I have blue eye fillet on mash with red wine jus. Mmmmmm! Tim has calamari with blue cheese and walnut dressing and a Greek salad.

This restaurant was rebuilt after being totally destroyed by a bushfire four years ago. The refurbishment has ensured that every diner has access to that spectacular view, yet they have managed to maintain the warm feeling of a Greek taverna that it has always had.

Chris is 70 now, having migrated from Greece as a young man, and he still pops into the restaurant every day. The next party of diners arrives as we leave. Any weekend and all summer this place is packed to the rafters day and night.

There are cottages right outside the door if you don’t want to drive after your delicious meal. (Contact us for more information.) We, however, are on a mission and must press on – without dessert.

Skene’s Creek is only 6 km from Apollo Bay, which we slip through today, but is worth a stop for the beach, the pub and La Bimba – a warmly welcoming café. And if you have very little time, this is where you can catch a plane for “flightseeing” over the Twelve Apostles with Apollo Bay Aviation.

We want to see how far we can comfortably travel today. Can we get to the end of the road, or even to Warrnambool or Port Fairy?

By the way, if you’re intending to drive to Warrnambool in winter, call ahead (1800 637 725) to find out if the southern right whales are swimming off Logan’s Beach. You can often see them just 100 metres offshore – a real treat.

Our drive now covers the wettest area of the state of Victoria, where rainfall is normally measured in feet rather than inches! And yes, it’s raining – and everything is green. Cows graze in the valleys, and eucalypts, ferns, beech and wattle line the roads, which are single lane with double lines frequently reminding us not to pass. There are plenty of rest stops so you can pull in and appreciate the scenery.

We pass signs for Mait’s Rest Forest Walk, which gives you easy access to wonderful temperate rainforest, Cape Otway Lighthouse and Johanna Beach (often used as an alternative to Bells Beach for the Easter Surf Pro Competition). These would all be worthwhile diversions with time to spare. Not for us today.

Pine plantations surround us as we head over the hills to Port Campbell. Gibson’s Steps provide our first opportunity to view the rocky outcrops that this coast is famous for – the Twelve Apostles – and it’s easy to see why everyone gets excited about them. Their naturally sculpted beauty is magnetic.

But once again, because of our mission, we decide to savour the Apostles on the way back, and instead we cruise past each outcrop to the “end of the road” at Allansford, and Cheese World – a free museum devoted to the dairy industry!

It takes us an extra hour of driving, including a stop to allow milking cows to cross the road, and it’s really only worth doing this last stretch if you have a particular interest in dairying or want to buy some delicious cheeses and chocolates for the return journey – as we do!

Next post: Overnight stop and The Twelve Apostles

Well, here we are driving our beloved Great Ocean Road once again. We are testing a two-day itinerary from our home in Torquay – at the start of the road – and we’re interested to see how far along we can get, comfortably.

Along the way, we’ll bring a few tips for places to stop, admire, photograph, shop, dine or sleep.

This first post sees us leave Torquay and make our way along the road (the B100) to the seaside township of Lorne - a stretch known as the Surf Coast.

Naturally we start by paying homage to the famous Bells Beach where a dozen or so keen surfers in thick winter wetsuits are making the most of some reliable waves.

The first tourist bus of the day has already departed ahead of us as we join the winding road through the Great Otway Park. It’s a quiet stretch, and we have to work hard to remember that some folks might need the other side of the road to come the opposite way. Luckily, regular signs remind us to keep to the left!

Most of the road is now limited to 80 kilometres per hour, and in many places we drive slower due to the curves and switchbacks. These are what make the road beloved by motorbike riders, who come in their hundreds at weekends. Their favourite haunt is the Arab Café in Lorne, where you will see every kind of bike lined up as the riders drink coffee and compare notes.

Today we slip past Point Addis and the Ironbark Forest Koori Walk, which we already know to have a spectacular cliff-top view over glorious beaches – worth a stop and an uphill walk on a fine day.

Anglesea, sitting at the join of the Anglesea River and the sea, is a big favourite with Melbourne holidaymakers. The heath-covered slopes provide a backdrop on one side of the road to the ocean on the other.

Today we are lucky to have few fellow travellers. The grey day is contrasted with the bright yellow of the first wattles heralding spring just around the corner. It has been a long, cold winter and we’re looking forward to some warm sunshine. The temperature today is predicted to reach about 14C.

We pass by Aireys Inlet Lighthouse as we have been there before. We used to holiday in this town prior to our move from Melbourne to Torquay, so we’re already familiar with the lovely view from the lighthouse down the coast to Lorne.

Instead, we stop in a parking bay to take pictures of the new Memorial Arch sculpture completed this year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the building of the Great Ocean Road by soldiers returned from World War 1.

There are a number of smaller commemorative plaques along the road. We stop to photograph one about a white man named Buckley who lived for many years with the Wathaurung Aboriginal people of this area.

I love the way the view of Lorne peeps out and then hides as we weave our way around the bends – this is one of my favourite views because we are right against a cliff face on one side with the swirling ocean on our other side. Awaiting us ahead are Lorne’s horseshoe shaped Louttit Bay, accessible sands and groovy shops.

The Visitor Information Centre is just round the corner after you cross the little bridge at the entrance to the town and is well worth a visit. We buy some souvenirs to take when we visit Canada later this year – a platypus, koala and kangaroo. Maps, DVDs, books and other information about the Great Ocean Road are available here too. And there’s a toilet.

Next, we climb up the VERY steep back streets of Lorne to visit Teddy’s Lookout (follow the signs and keep going to the end of the road). This is a lovely surprise - we stand as if hovering like birds viewing the winding road to the west (the photo at the top of this post is taken from the Lookout). Viewing platforms and tables for morning tea make this a delightful detour.

Next post: stopping for lunch and continuing on to Allansford.