Longyard Golf features an 18 hole course designed by Bob Harrison and Greg Norman. The course is a Par 72 and is 6,239 metres for men and 5,339 metres for ladies. The course is just a few minutes from the heart of town and is located conveniently just off the New England Highway. According to Australian Golf Digest judge Phil Heads, the course is an under-rated treat.

Heads says, “The Longyard at Tamworth is a Bob Harrison design that has quite a different character to most country courses, very few trees and much larger greens (bent) than you’d maybe expect to encounter.

The course usually plays firm, given the links-character and the dry and hot conditions up there … and the design is sympathetic to that. Most of the greens have a bump and run entry channel, with trouble if you misplace it. The course has a bit of rise and fall like the pastoral land on the southern edge of the city.

The standout holes for mine are:

The third is a mid-length par three, with a hybrid or iron tee-shot that starts out over water and must avoid a large, lone tree. The green is two tiered with a gum protecting the left and a pot protecting the front right from a short iron approach. There's a creek across the front and more water short and right.

The 10th is No.1 on the index. It’s a 400m+ par four that plays tough. The fairway has a distinct step up about 210m out that punishes a fade, making the approach longer at the tabletop green. It has a bit of a switchback feel. A draw off the tee and a fade approach.

And the run home of 16, 17 and 18 is interesting. 16 is a short downhill par three with water right, a two-tiered large green and a family of bunkers on the right. 17 a birdie-able par five that requires a long carry to get over a hill. The green is open to fairway wood or long approach that can chase up the rise at the front of the green. And 18 is a strong par four where any drive pushed right must then contend with a long water carry.

The Longyard presents enough challenge and variety that it is worth a visit if nearby. Just not in the height if summer when it's 40+C.”