AUSTRALIA’S golfers are blessed that the vast majority of the country’s 1,500-plus golf courses welcome non-member visitors.
Our golfers are also blessed that there are so many top quality – indeed world class courses – where they can rock up and get a tee time.
Every two years Golf Australia magazine pays tribute to our top courses by organising the judging and announcement of the Top-100 Public Access list.
The task proved much more difficult than usual in these Covid times with the GA mag organisers having to add to the usual number of independent judging panel members and tweak the methodology rules.
“Significant periods of the past 10 months have proven challenging in terms of judges seeing courses, particularly outside of their own states,” Golf Australia magazine Editor Brendan James said. “But I have to applaud the panel for getting out to look at as many courses as they could within the confines of the government-imposed travel restrictions of their state.”
“They played courses, mostly covertly, paying green fees and then noting any significant changes to the design as well as the conditioning of each course they saw.
“I cannot thank them enough for the effort they have put in.”
To be included GA used the definition that a public access course is one that offers tee times for visiting golfers at least five days a week. Courses attached to resorts, where non-member tee times are primarily set aside for hotel guests, were not considered for this ranking.
In the end GA announced the Top-100 list, gave special mention to another 30 courses that narrowly missed inclusion, and also commented on two courses whose recent renovations will likely see them in included in the 2023 list – Lonsdale Links on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula and Sandy Links (formerly Sandringham).
As in 2019, Tasmania’s “new” courses Cape Wickham, Barnbougle Dunes and Barnbougle Lost Farm filled the top three places unchanged while notable movers were Victoria’s St Andrews Beach jumping into the top-5 and the magnificent Newcastle Golf Club climbing back into a top-10 spot. Out of the top-10 was Bonville on the NSW north coast.
2021 Top 20 Public Access Golf Courses
- CAPE WICKHAM LINKS
King Island, Tasmania
NO CHANGE
-
BARNBOUGLE DUNES
Bridport, Tasmania
NO CHANGE
- BARNBOUGLE DUNES
Bridport, Tasmania
NO CHANGE
- BARNBOUGLE LOST FARM
Bridport, Tasmania
NO CHANGE
- ST. ANDREWS BEACH
St Andrews Beach, Victoria
UP 2
- BARWON HEADS GC
Barwon Heads, Victoria
NO CHANGE
- OCEAN DUNES
King Island, Tasmania
DOWN 2
- THIRTEENTH BEACH LINKS (Beach Course)
Barwon Heads, Victoria
NO CHANGE
- THE DUNES GOLF LINKS
Rye, Victoria
UP 1
- NEWCASTLE GC
Fern Bay, NSW
UP 4
- LINKS KENNEDY BAY
Port Kennedy, Western Australia
DOWN 2
- BONVILLE GOLF RESORT
Bonville, NSW
DOWN 1
- BROOKWATER G&CC
Brookwater, Queensland
DOWN 1
- JOONDALUP RESORT (Quarry-Dune Course)
Joondalup, Western Australia
DOWN 1
- PORT FAIRY LINKS
Port Fairy, Victoria
UP 7
- HAMILTON ISLAND GC
Dent Island, Queensland
DOWN 1
- MOONAH LINKS (Legends Course)
Fingal, Victoria
DOWN 1
- THE CUT GC
Dawesville, Western Australia
DOWN 1
- NAROOMA GC
Narooma, NSW
UP 4
- PORTSEA GC
Portsea, Victoria
NO CHANGE
- MOONAH LINKS (Open Course)
Fingal, Victoria
UP 3
For the full Golf Australia magazine list and story click here