They were playing for the Mulligan Cup - a year-long tournament where they play a round a month, and they'd saved Barwon Heads for the finale. With a cash prize and a blazer on offer it was intense as I happened across the three players still in with a title chance. Adam Scott seemed more relaxed a few days later at Royal Melbourne and he was playing for a lot more.
The area is well-suited to a lads' weekend or a golfing-mad couple - just a short drive from Melbourne there are golf courses galore which can be played all year round. With so many courses close by it's easy to get two rounds in a day but a longer day awaited me.
I was up early to catch the short ferry ride from Queenscliff to Sorrento on Mornington Peninsula - home of the Cups Region where there are 19 courses within 30km of each other.
It's at Moonah Links that I'm reminded of snakes again. It's not hard, as there's a warning on every golf cart with pictures of the ones to avoid. Stay on the fairway.
Moonah is grand. That's the only word to describe it. A huge clubhouse greets you with two 18-hole courses on offer - the Open, designed by famed golfer Peter Thomson, and the Legends. Despite the ever-present snake message, a cart is advised on the large Open course. Peppers Moonah Links resort next door holds 92 deluxe suites.
As I leave Moonah a sign reads "Your worst day on the golf course is still better than your best in the office". Too true. But there aren't snakes in my office.
Leaving Moonah, I head two minutes up the road to The Dunes - one of the top-rated public access courses in Australia. The immaculate course is a true links, and something you won't find on this side of the Tasman. Set on 120ha of gently rolling sand dunes, the 27 holes are all strikingly designed.
The final stop is a round at the Portsea Golf Club, which has just undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation and looks well ... a million dollars. Bordering Point Nepean National Park, there are a lot more trees but they don't block the panoramic views across Port Phillip Bay.
The bell-ringing to advise players behind you that you've played your second shot on undulating holes is a nice touch. It must have helped to ward off those snakes as well.
THE CUPS RUNNETH OVER
It's called the Cups Region for a reason, with 19 courses within 30km of each other. Here are our top picks.
Bellarine Peninsula
A spectacular opening six holes greet you at Barwon Heads Golf Club, a links course with open fairways and long, grassy rough. It's ranked number seven of Australia's top 100 public-access courses.
Other courses close by are Thirteenth Beach Golf Links and The Sands.
Mornington Peninsula
Moonah Links is home to two 18-hole courses, The Open and the Legends. The Open is a true links course and was designed specifically to challenge players in the 2003 and 2005 Australian Open.
The Dunes Golf Links is one of the top public-access courses in Australia. The Scottish-style links course achieves the difficult objective of being a challenge to the low marker without being a monster for the higher handicapped golfer.
Portsea Resort and Golf Club adjoins Point Nepean National Park, with accommodation that looks out over the course to Port Phillip Bay.
The National club is close by, including a course designed by two-time Open Championship winner Greg Norman.
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Qantas flies daily from Auckland to Melbourne. Pick up an Avis rental car at the airport and drive to Bellarine Peninsula and Mornington Peninsula.
Accommodation: Bellarine Peppers resort in Torquay is on the same site as the The Sands course.
The writer travelled as a guest of Tourism Victoria.
