ONE of the great joys of golf is the ability to get out of big cities and metropolitan areas and discover and play some of the fabulous golf courses scattered around regional and country areas.
If you already reside in a regional area you are probably well aware that one of the additional benefits of country golf is that green fees are usually significantly more palatable than many of their city cousins.
Here the team at Golf Australia Magazine has put together a list of the best golf courses you can play throughout regional Australia – including cities with a population under 200,000 – where the green fee presents a real bargain.
To qualify for the list, a course’s most expensive green fee was not to exceed $50. Golf Australia Magazine editors and Top 100 ranking judges poured through their notes and observations to come up with the courses they believed “present great, enjoyable golf at a price that won’t break the bank for an afternoon of fun”.
The green fees listed are the rack rate for visitors and the GAM team prioritised the courses in order of their lowest green fee available across the week.
$50-$46
ALBANY GC
Albany, Western Australia
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Albany is not only the oldest town in Western Australia; its golf club was one of the first formed in the state. From nine-hole beginnings in 1898, Albany did not become an 18-hole layout for more than 50 years and today is one of only a few true links courses found outside Britain and Ireland with such a long history. Thick woolly-bush and peppermint trees line most of the naturally undulating fairways, which run predominantly in a north-south direction parallel to Middleton Beach, about three kilometres from the town centre.
It is not a hard course in sublime weather conditions, but it bares its teeth when the wind whips in across King George Sound. Once you’ve played Albany you’ll understand why Tour pro Craig Parry rates it as one of his favourites in Australia and is widely regarded as one of the best valued golf experiences in the country.
BRIBIE ISLAND GC
Woorim, Queensland
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Bribie Island is one of the biggest sand islands of Brisbane’s Moreton Bay and this sandy base has given rise to a wonderful course that is ranked in the Top-100 Public Access Courses in Australia.
This is evident from the 1st hole with Melbourne Sandbelt-style bunkering lining the edge of the fairway.
Bribie Island has some memorable holes with the 172-metre par-3 16th being one of the best. Played across the edge of a lake and a sandy wasteland, the only place to miss this green and still save par is from the front right of the putting surface.
BUSSELTON GC
Busselton, Western Australia
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Busselton Golf Club dates back to 1907 so it’s not surprising the course winds between beautiful redgums and peppermint trees.
Extensively redesigned in 1979 by Murray Dawson, Busselton is widely regarded for having some of the best playing surfaces in regional WA.
A feature of many holes is Dawson’s green complexes, where the putting surface is protected by sand and is angled to your approach. One of the best examples of this is on the 169-metre par-3 6th hole where the green, sitting beyond two bunkers, lies at almost a 45-degree angle to your tee shot. The right-hander who can fade the ball has a distinct advantage here but it’s still a precise shot to leave yourself a putt for birdie.
CLUB CATALINA
Batemans Bay, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Natural water hazards, well-placed bunkers and tree-lined fairways offer an enjoyable challenge at this 27-hole layout. Club Catalina is an established course with some of the finest playing surfaces in regional New South Wales, where the scenic views of Batemans Bay and its surroundings add to the round.
In recent years, the club commissioned acclaimed course architect Harley Kruse to develop a 27-hole masterplan, which has already yielded improvements with the redesign of several holes and the implementation of a tree clearing program.
COFFS HARBOUR GC
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Coffs Harbour is one of the most challenging and best-maintained layouts in regional NSW.
Heavily tree-lined fairways, punctuated by clever fairway bunkering or one of the many water hazards scattered throughout, cover a good mix of undulating and easier-walking flat areas.
Last year, the club enlisted former PGA Tour player and course designer, Craig Parry, to create a masterplan that will elevate the course further over the next decade.
www.coffsharbourgolfclub.com.au
HORSHAM GC
Horsham, Victoria
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
No course in this country has undergone as much unplanned change in the past dozen years.
But the bounce back after the devastating Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 has been enormous. More than 90 percent of the mature trees on the course were destroyed and as a result what was a narrow, tree-lined layout has now become sparser. But the layout is no less challenging or enjoyable thanks to a masterplan prepared by course designers Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford.
The sand base is one of the key aspects to be incorporated into the redesign with ‘new’ bunkers being a feature of the work.
MURRAY DOWNS G&CC
Murray Downs, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Set in the heart of the historic Murray Downs sheep station on the NSW side of the Murray River, the Geoff and Ted Parslow-designed course opened for play in 1989 and has been ranked one of Australia’s Top-100 Courses ever since.
Man-made lakes were included to help with irrigation and drainage, and a mass of mature native gums now line all fairways. Throw in some strategic, well-sculpted bunkering – featuring its spectacular ochre red sand – and water hazards on many holes and it is no wonder Murray Downs has been so highly acclaimed.
TURA BEACH CC
Tura Beach, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Elevation changes and a stunning, oceanside setting are hallmarks of this early Peter Thomson-Mike Wolveridge design on the Sapphire Coast of NSW.
Regarded by many as the pick of the region’s courses, Tura Beach uses its sloping, fragmented piece of land to full effect and delivers 18 holes that provide a serious test for golfers of all standards.
The early holes move onto the flatter terrain closest to the beach and include the very good par-5 4th hole, which features staggered fairway bunkers in the driving zone forcing players to make a strategic decision on the tee. Having successfully found the fairway of the 474-metre hole, players then need to avoid another trap in the middle of the fairway, in the typical lay-up area, en route to the bunkerless green.
www.turabeachcountryclub.com.au
YAMBA G&CC
Yamba, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Yamba is one of the great hidden gems among the courses showcased in the rankings.
The course lies close to the centre of town, with two loops of nine holes stretching out from the clubhouse and several holes lying within earshot of the breaking waves on nearby Pippi Beach.
Yamba is an easy-walking journey but there are few flat lies to be experienced with most of the fairways featuring a natural ripple above the sand base below. A lot of work has been carried out in the past decade or so with more than half the greens re-built to create large, undulating putting surfaces surrounded by quality bunkering. The changes have been superb.
The holes nearest the adjoining bushland – the 4th, 5th and 6th holes on the front, as
well as the 15th, 16th and 17th holes on the inward nine – offer a sense of isolation from the rest of the course and are a real highlight of the round.
HALF MOON BAY GC
Yorkeys Knob, Queensland
Green fee: $49 (seven days).
Great views and challenging holes are the memorabe aspects you can take away from a round at Half Moon Bay.
It’s not a long layout but there is plenty of trouble to be found wide of the tree-lined fairways with water hazards and out-of-bounds (OOB) coming into play on several holes.
WARRNAMBOOL GC
Warrnambool, Victoria
Green fee: $49 (seven days).
Set in and around the sand dune landscape so common on Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast, the course is enjoyable for golfers of all standards. But the accurate ball-striker will excel here as most of the fairways are lined with ti-tree, some thick rough and sandy wasteland.
BAIRNSDALE GC
Bairnsdale, Victoria
Green fee: $46 (seven days).
From the beautiful rotunda in the main street of town, it’s about a 15-minute drive south to Eagle Point where you will find the Bairnsdale Golf and Bowls Club.
Nicely maintained couch fairways and some of the best putting surfaces in all of Vicroria’s Gippsland region make Bairnsdale a must for any golfer visiting the area.
The two par-4s leading away from the clubhouse ease you into the round, before the first significant challenge presents on the 491-metre par-5 3rd hole. There is out-of-bounds well off to the right of the fairway, which will only hinder wild hitters. Of more concern are the fairway bunkers – one on the right of the driving zone and another on the left of the popular lay-up distance from the green. Avoid the pitfalls en route here and you can have a good shot at an early birdie.
The 3rd is followed by arguably the prettiest of Bairnsdale’s holes – a 134-metre par-3 played over the edge of a water lily-filled lake to a large green protected left and right by bunkers and featuring a ridge running through its heart. It’s a good test of your iron play early in the round.
$45-$40
CLUBARHAM G&SC
Barham, New South Wales
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
Any golf course which has a hole named “Gallipoli” must be worth a look at.
The hole in question is the 383-metre par-4 5th at cluBarham Golf & Sports Club. One of the deepest and largest bunkers of any course on the Murray River guards the entire front of the small elevated green and it is not uncommon for players to rack up big numbers trying to extricate their ball from the sand.
The par-72 course is carved from natural bushland and a stream winds its way through most of the holes, while majestic river gums and cypress pine trees line many of the holes. Top players consider the best way to play Barham is hold your score around the front nine and make your score on the inward half which consists of three par-5s, with two under 450-metres in length.
Renowned architect Ross Watson has redesigned some holes – the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 9th holes are of note – but the majority of the routing remains unchanged from its humble beginnings nearly a century ago.
COBRAM-BAROOGA GC
Barooga, New South Wales
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
Cobram-Barooga GC offers one of the best value golfing experiences along the great Murray River.
The 36-hole complex, incorporates an Old and West Course, which are always in very good condition.
Both courses present differing challenges but the more mature Vern Morcom-designed Old Course – the host of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s TPS Murray River tournament won by Hannah Green earlier this year – is the pick of the two.
In recent times, the course has been renumbered and several holes redesigned by course architect Ben Davey (Contour Golf Design) as part of the clubhouse’s relocation to the adjoining Barooga Sports Club. These new holes have certainly added some depth to the quality of Morcom’s original creation.
COUNTRY CLUB TASMANIA
Prospect Vale, Tasmania
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
The gambling golfer will fit right in at Country Club Tasmania – not just in the resort’s casino, but also on the Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge-designed course.
The course, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, features the Thomson and Wolveridge trademark risk-and-reward options on many holes. The pair crafted the layout with a priority on course management. If you think your way around this course you will avoid the water that comes into play on 12 holes and the bunkers spread throughout.
www.countryclubtasmania.com.au
HAWKS NEST GC
Hawks Nest, New South Wales
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
This seaside hideaway at the southern end of NSW’s Great Lakes region lies between the beautiful Myall River and the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean.
Hawks Nest is deceptively tough from the back markers while offering an enjoyable challenge to the high handicapper or novice from the front tees. In recent times, the club commissioned former Tour player and course designer Craig Parry to create a masterplan for redesigning the course to fulfil its enomous potential with an emphasis on encouraging a variety of shots and playing lines on each hole.
LEONGATHA GC
Leongatha South, Victoria
Green fee: $45 (seven days)
Carved from magnificent bushland, Leongatha is the highest ranked course in Victoria’s Gippsland region.
The Vern Morcom-designed par-70 layout covers idyllic rolling terrain with fairways flanked by majestic trees, some of which are clearly more than a century old.
Morcom took full advantage of the topography, creating some truly memorable holes that dogleg left and right and across varying terrain. These risk-reward holes also feature smallish greens, which place a real premium on finding the right spot in the fairway from the tee and accuracy from the fairway.
MORUYA GC
Moruya, New South Wales
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
The high-quality design and presentation of the Moruya layout is such that it has become the home of the South Coast Open, which is a qualifying event for the Australasian PGA Tour’s NSW Open.
The 485-metre par-5 1st is a terrific opening hole that gives you the opportunity to score well straight out of the blocks, that is if you can avoid the out-of-bounds left and the creek that cuts through the fairway about 180 metres from the green.
This long, straight three-shotter is not indicative of the remaining holes in the round, with all, except the par-3s, doglegging left or right between tee and green. This is a wonderful feature of the design as you are forced to answer numerous questions about club and shot selection during the round, adding to the overall enjoyment.
MOSS VALE GC
Moss Vale, New South Wales
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
Located in the heart of the picturesque Southern Highlands, Moss Vale Golf Club is widely regarded as one of the prettiest layouts in regional New South Wales.
The overriding challenge at Moss Vale is keeping your ball in play between the seemingly endless rows of pines, elms, eucalypts and claret ash trees that line every fairway. There is also a creek, which meanders through the course, that must be crossed 12 times during a round.
From the clubhouse, the Moss Vale course appears hilly with several holes sweeping down from a nearby hill to greens near the clubhouse. But the majority of the course is gently undulating and makes for a pleasant walk.
OCEAN SHORES CC
Ocean Shores, New South Wales
Green fee: $45 (seven days).
Ocean Shores Country Club offers spectacular scenery as well as great golf. There are fantastic Pacific Ocean views from the clubhouse, while the Great Dividing Range forms a distant and majestic backdrop to many holes on the par-72 layout.
Designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge, Ocean Shores opened for play in 1972 and has withstood the test of time across half a century, which is testament to the quality of the design and foresight of advances in equipment shortening courses. This layout is a strong 6,359 metres from the back tips, while the well-manicured greens are some of the biggest and most challenging in New South Wales.
All that said, the club is embarking on a staged redesign of the course with acclaimed architect Richard Chamberlain overseeing the work.
QUEENSCLIFF GC
Queenscliff, Victoria
Green fees: $45 (weekdays); $50 (weekends).
Queenscliff is located on Department of Defence land Swan Island at the eastern tip of the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula.
The sandy site has some gentle undulations perfect for golf and a collection of gorgeous cypress pine trees that are hallmarks of some of the grandest venues in the game.
www.queenscliffgolfclub.com.au
DEVONPORT CC
Spreyton, Tasmania
Green fee: $44 (seven days).
Devonport has long been regarded as one of the best courses in Tasmania. A regular host of the Tasmanian Open and Amateur, it is an unpretentious beauty.
The club has completed an extensive $11 million upgrade of its clubhouse after the golf club merged with the Devonport Bowls and Croquet Club and Spreyton Bowls Club.
The new club features a state-of-the-art sports centre, an international standard indoor bowls area, four grass greens and a two croquet courts, while the acclaimed Vern Morcom-designed course also now includes a remodelled par-3 10th hole, crafted by course architect Graeme Grant.
The new hole plays shorter than the original, whilst covering the same terrain, and still has the tidal Mersey River as a backdrop to the hole. Grant created a new green complex, with a pear-shaped putting surface protected by three small pot-like bunkers and a more expansive sandy hazard. Narrow at the front and wide at the back, the green is only a few metres from scrub on the edge of the riverbank.
www.devonportcountryclub.com.au
MALENY GC
Maleny, Queensland
Green fee: $42.50 (seven days).
Designed by renowned architect Graham Papworth and inspired by the origins of the game in Scotland – covers about 25 percent of the Maleny Community Precinct, with the remaining land being devoted to other sports as well as heritage, walking paths, rainforest and wetlands
The par-68 course was built in stages – at an amazing cost of $1.6 million – with the first nine opening for play in 2015 and the remaining holes officially hosting rounds in early 2020.
Maleny opens with a cracking par-3. The 136-metre gem is played from an elevated tee over a deep gully to an angled green, which slopes markedly from right-to-left. The green is actually terraced into a hillside and a rock wall beneath the low side of the putting surface creates a steep drop-off and any ball finishing at the base of the wall will leave an almost impossible recovery shot. Not long after the full 18 holes opened for play, Adam Scott played the course and made a double bogey five at the first, en route to setting the course record of 62.
HERVEY BAY G&CC
Hervey Bay, Queensland
Green fee: $41 (seven days).
Golf has been played at Hervey Bay since 1945 but it wasn’t until the laste 1970s that the layout was expanded to 18 holes and its reputation as the finest course on Queensland’s Fraser Coast.
In recent times, the club has begun a program of green and bunker renovations, with noted deisgner Richard Chamberlain crafting the new green complexes.
The 295-metre par-4 8th was the first to undergo change with the green more than doubled in size and the surrounds given more definition with mounds and hollows as well as a deep greenside bunker. The new green opened four months ago and the Tifeagle surface is already beautifully smooth and rolling at a good speed, while the TifTuf surrounds provide a tight surface that offer a wide range of chipping options.
CAPEL GC
Stratham, Western Australia
Green fees: $40 (Mondays); $50 (Tues-Sun).
Blink and you might just miss it. Driving along the Bussell Highway, about 20 minites’ drive south of Bunbury, it is easy to miss the turn into the Capel course, which could prove disastrous for golfers as this is one of the best conditioned layouts outside of Perth.
It is also an easy walking par-72 layout, with relatively wide, nicely manciured fairways gently rolling between the thickly tree-lined edges. The subtle breaking greens are also generous in size.
All but three holes laid out predominantly north-east to south-west, which adds to the challenge of making a good score here as the ocean breezes blow across your playing line more often than not.
COOROY GC
Cooroy, Queensland
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
Cooroy Golf Clib is a hidden gem in the heart of the rolling valleys of the Noosa hinterland, about 25 minutes’ drive west of Noosa Heads.
What the course lacks in length (5,359 metres from the back markers) it more than makes up for in interesting holes as it plays nine holes out and nine back.
One of those holes is short par-4 9th alongside two lakes to the left is a narrow, but exciting, journey from tee to green, while the following hole, a 164-metre par-3, plays along the edge of the aforementioned lake in the opposite direction. It features a narrow green with a long ‘coffin-style’ bunker left.
GISBORNE GC
Gisborne, Victoria
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $45 (weekends).
Gisborne is widely regarded as the best course in the Mt Macedon Ranges region, about 40 minutes’ drive north west of Melbourne’s outskirts.
Designed by Vern Morcom in the late 1940s, much of his original work remains with only slightly alterations made at various times during recent decades.
Gisborne is typical of Morcom’s work –
no two holes present the same and the risk-reward elements dominate throughout.
And if that’s not enough to entice, there’s always the challenge of the tee shot on the par-3 16th across a lake to a heavily-bunkered green with Mt Macedon looming on high in the background.
HIDDEN VALLEY RESORT
Wallan, Victoria
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $50 (weekends)
Located less than 60 minutes’ drive from Melbourne’s CBD, Hidden Valley is set on 450 acres of rolling land surrounded by picturesque Victorian countryside.
The presentation of the par-73 layout has improved significantly in recent years, so it now complements the quality of Craig Parry’s design, which presents some interesting challenges during a round.
But, perhaps, the most interesting of all is left until last. The par-3 18th – with tees offering shots from 112 metres through to 166 at the very back – demands a full water carry to an island green where the putting surface lies beyond three bunkers. Once you have hit the green here, make the walk across the bridge with your putter in hand.
LAKES ENTRANCE GC
Lakes Entrance, Victoria
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
Lakes Entrance covers a wonderful sandy landscape with high dunes the only thing separating it from the beach and the waters of Bass Strait.
When the club moved to its current site in 1958, the land was a combination of swamp and undulating sand ridges covered with coastal banksias, wattle and ti-tree – the perfect land for a natural links.
The legendary designer Vern Morcom laid out the 18 holes simply by walking the land and driving pegs into the ground to mark the location of tees and greens.
The front nine runs closest to the beach and covers rolling terrain with several tees elevated on dunes to offer ocean views. Argubaly the best of these holes is the 418-metre par-4 7th, which follows the direction of dunes to the right and doglegs left around a pond that lies on the inside corner of the fairway. On final approach to the green, the fairway narrows dramatically between the ti-tree and the locals have dubbed this part of the hole “The Khyber Pass” because it is tight and treacherous.
LEURA GC
Leura, New South Wales
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $50 (weekends).
Leura has had a reputation for being a fine layout dating back more than a century.
The original nine holes were designed by Carnegie Clark in 1904 before overseeing the extension to 18 holes 20 years later. Part of that build included the introduction of bentgrass greens, giving Leura the distinction of being the first Australian course to have the pure putting surface.
Be sure to have your phone handy for a photo beside Leura’s 14th hole where the green is positioned just metres away from clifftops overlooking the majestic Jamison Valley.
LOXTON GC
Loxton, South Australia
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
The Loxton Golf Club was formed nearly a century ago but it wasn’t until the mid 1970s that it took a great leap towards becoming the best layout in the Riverland region.
After a major tree-planting program that saw eucalypts, casuarinas, melaleucas, bottlebrushes, wattles as well as Aleppo and Canary Island pines scattered around the course, all greens were converted to bentgrass and have flourished ever since. As have the very good couch fairways.
MARYBOROUGH GC
Maryborough, Queensland
Green fee: $40(seven days).
If you haven’t played golf on Queensland’s Fraser Coast you may not have heard of this golfing gem.
To give you an idea of the quality of the layout, it was originally designed in 1927 by Scottish expat Dan Soutar, who also has Kingston Heath on his architecture resume. While the course was upgraded in the mid-1980s, the bones of Soutar’s work remain.
The terrain varies from relatively flat to some interesting natural rolling topography towards the end of the round.
MT GAMBIER GC
Mt Gambier, South Australia
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
Located halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, Mt Gambier has gained a reputation for the best presented layout on South Australia’s Limestone Coast.
Recent upgrades to the agronomy and design tweaks under the guidance of Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford (Golf Strategies) in recent times have really enhanced that standing.
Mt Gambier boasts plenty of testing holes where the elevation change, from tee-to-green combined with a dogleg to make for a challenging shot-making experience from an uneven lie.
For example, the slightly uphill 500-metre par-5 7th offers a wide fairway but the ideal playing line from tee is to the right side before laying up to the left half of the short grass, to safely avoid bunkers short right of the small green.
NARACOORTE GC
Naracoorte, South Australia
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
Naracoorte’s par-72 layout was carved out of wild, thick scrub, wattles and bracken more than 90 years ago and today it is one of the prettiest courses in regional South Australia.
The course lies across beautiful rolling terrain and the deep sandy base beneath its fairways ensures the layout is playable year-round, while the bunkering is natural and easily maintained.
In fact, there are elements of the design and set-up of the course – like putting surfaces cut right to the lip of bunkers – that have obviously been influenced by the design of the great Melbourne Sandbelt courses.
RATHO FARM
Bothwell, Tasmania
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
Ratho is the birthplace of Australian golf. The nation’s oldest course, just a few minutes’ drive from small town of Bothwell, dates back to 1822 when Scot, Alexander Reid, played on Ratho with featheries and clubs brought from the home country.
Three generations of Reids followed in their enjoyment of the links. The great-grandfather of Greg Ramsay purchased Ratho in 1936 and in recent years Ramsay has been working with course designers Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford to restore the course to its true origins.
www.rathofarm.com
ROBE CC
Robe, South Australia
Green fee: $40 (seven days)
Robe Golf Club was founded 98 years ago but it has only appeared on the radar of travelling golfers in the past few years, thanks to the creation of six new holes.
Course architects Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford (Golf Strategies) were commissioned to design six new holes west of the clubhouse and heading off into spectacular duneland behind West Beach.
The new holes follow the natural contouring of the dunes, along the coast. The par-4 7th plays directly to the west and the green lies in a natural amphitheatre among the dunes. Two radar huts from World War II, once secreted deep in the scrub-covered dunes, were restored and are a feature of the hole.
The short climb to the next tee slowly reveals a wonderful par-3, played across the top of a dune and usually into the teeth of the prevailing south-westerly, which brings a lone bunker front left of the putting surface into play.
SANDY CREEK GC
Sandy Creek, South Australia
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $50 (Saturday); $45 (Sunday).
Sandy Creek, in South Australia’s beautiful Barossa Valley, covers unique terrain that varies from the dramatic to easy walking slopes.
The changing elevation has given rise to some of the course’s best and most fun holes with the uphill par-3 4th being the first of them. It’s a 174-metre one-shotter with a narrow, two-tiered green demanding correct club selection and precise ball-striking.
The 4th is the first of a stable of very good par-3s. If you drop a shot at No.4, you will have a chance to get that shot back with a solid pitch shot at the 117-metre 6th. For such a short hole, played even shorter because of the highly elevated tee position, the green here is massive. Bunkers ring the putting surface so the best play is to the middle of the green and you might just get close.
TANUNDA PINES GC
Rowland Flat, South Australia
Green fee: $40 (seven days).
The small town of Tanunda lies in the heart of the Barossa Valley and one of its star attractions is the Tanunda Pines Golf Club.
The club has improved its design and presentation significantly in the past two decades, with several holes being redesigned, greens replaced, bunkers added and all the fairways converted to Santa Ana couch.
$39-$35
TROPICS GC
Townsville, Queensland
Green fees: $39 (weekdays); $45 (weekends).
Five years ago this course, previously known as The Willows, was on its last legs.
But a new owner with good ideas has turned the fortunes of the Townsville layout.
Greens have been resurfaced with Bermuda Tifeagle, bunkers renovated, irrigation and drainage upgraded and the overall presentation of the layout has come along in leaps and bounds, which is great news as the layout is fun and challenging to play.
COROWA GC
Corowa, NSW
Green fees: $38 (weekdays); $40 (weekends).
Corowa is the Murray River home club of former European Tour player and Olympian Marcus Fraser.
It is a 27-hole layout, with the original 18 holes with grass greens dating back to the late 1950s and the third nine being built in 1979. All were designed by the late Al Howard.
Of course, with 27-holes available it is possible to play three combinations of 18 – the East, the West and the Old courses. Many will say the best combination is the sequence of holes making up the East course (1-18), with the front nine easily comparing with more acclaimed designs along the Murray.
SHEPPARTON GC
Shepparton, Victoria
Green fee: $37 (seven days).
Shepparton, which celebrates its centenary this year, has risen from humble beginnings as a nine-hole sand scrape course to become a superb regional Victoria course.
The routing covers superb golfing terrain with the front nine weaving across the most interesting land and giving rise to some terrific holes.
VICTOR HARBOR GC
Victor Harbor, South Australia
Green fees: $37 (Sun-Fri); $50 (Saturday).
The legendary Norman Von Nida once described the tee shot from the 1st tee at Victor Harbor as one of the most exciting in Australian golf. And he was right.
When you tee it up just outside the clubhouse, you are greeted with an uninterrupted view of Granite Island and Encounter Bay off in the distance beyond the 1st green below. It’s not just a pretty hole either. At 402 metres, this par-4 is heavily tree-lined on both sides of the fairway. While the hole plays considerably shorter because of the highly elevated tee, the breeze here is also a factor on your length and accuracy.
One of the most memorable holes at Victor Harbor comes early in the round and is a fine example of nature dictating its design. The 150-metre par-3 3rd features a tee perched on one side of a deep gully and the green on the other with a water hazard in between. The water may not come into play but the five bunkers around the angled green certainly do.
Ballarat, Victoria
Green fees: $35 (weekdays); $45 (weekends).
It didn’t take long for Ballarat Golf Club to make a positive impression with golfers when it reopened after a massive redesign in 2009.
Within 18 months the Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett-designed layout had debuted in Golf Australia magazine as the No.54 ranked Public Access Course in the nation. It has been cemented within the Top-100 ever since.
Ballarat is a fantastic layout that covers new ground as well as some of the old land previously occupied by the course.
All the par-3s here are very different to one another and demand a cross section of shots to be played to ensure par. But it is the quality of the par-4s, particularly the short ones, that will really impress.
BLACKHEATH GC
Blackheath, New South Wales
Green fees: $35 (weekdays); $44 (weekends).
If you like the feel of crisp Blue Mountains air in your lungs during winter, this is the place for you. If you like it to be a little warmer, spring is one of the best times to play Blackheath as the various wattles and other flowering natives burst into colour.
The layout is home to several strong par-4s that present varying tests, plus several par-3s designed to challenge your ability with every club in the bag.
COHUNA GC
Cohuna, Victoria
Green fees: $35 (seven days).
Cohuna Golf Club can boast two unique claims no other course in Australia can.
The layout is contained on the country’s largest inland island and it is where former PGA Tour winner Stuart Appleby first learned the game. Bounded by the Murray River and Gunbower Creek, Cohuna can be found off the Murray Valley Highway just north of the township. Founded in 1939, Cohuna’s development was complete with the introduction of bentgrass greens in 1973.
Crossing Gunbower Creek leading up to the clubhouse, it easy to be taken aback by the beauty of this course. Black box trees and red river gums, some dating back hundreds of years, dominate the scenery.
Many have tried to take the course on thinking they can ‘rip it apart’ but have left thinking otherwise.
Good scoring at Cohuna comes on the back of strategy and shot positioning, not trying to overpower the layout. No wonder Appleby, regarded by many as one of the finest ball-strikers of his generation to come out of Victoria, won the club championship there in 1989.
COOMEALLA CC
Dareton, New South Wales
Green fee: $35 (seven days).
Coomealla is the longest and, perhaps, most testing of all the courses in the Sunraysia region of the Murray River. But it’s a whole lot of fun too.
The layout measures 6,250 metres and winds through massive black box and river gum trees and boasts top quality bentgrass greens and couch fairways, which would be the envy of any big city club.
MURWILLUMBAH GC
Murwillumbah, New South Wales
Green fees: $35 (weekdays); $40 (weekends).
It’s not hard to be distracted by the panoramic views of typically Australian countryside when you play at Murwillumbah. Thousands of hectares of national park cover the Great Dividing Range and Mt Warning to the west, with large tracts of sugarcane fields lying in between.
The par-71 was a hidden gem for many years but word on the quality of the layout has spread far and wide in recent years, with the layout featuring in the Top-100 Public Access Courses ranking published by Golf Australia.
www.murwillumbahgolfclub.com.au
NEANGAR PARK GC
Bendigo, Victoria
Green fee: $35 (seven days)
Neangar Park has gained some notoriety in recent years as the home club of European and PGA Tour winner Lucas Herbert.
The relatively short, but undulating, 18-hole layout has mature eucalypts lining every hole with fairways covered with superb Santa Ana couch and beautifully presented putting surfaces.
TOOWOOMBA GC
Middle Ridge, Queensland
Green fees: $35 (weekdays); $40 (weekends).
Established in 1896, Toowoomba Golf Club is one of Queensland’s oldest so its not surprising its fairways roll between very mature gums and pines.
The well-manicured kikuyu fairways and true rolling Penncross bentgrass greens are of outstanding quality.
TRENTHAM GC
Trentham, Victoria
Green fee: $35 (seven days).
Golf Australia magazine Architecture Editor Mike Clayton visited Trentham last year and later described the greens as the “best I’ve played all year.”
Trentham has rebuilt all 18 greens, with bentgrass surfaces, to USGA standards during the past few years and are now regarded as some of the best to be found in regional Victoria.
$34-$25
THURGOONA CC
Thurgoona, New South Wales
Green fees: $32 (weekdays); $36 (weekends)
Thurgoona is home to the NSW Senior Open and has previously hosted renowned golfers including Peter Senior, Peter Lonard, Craig Parry and 1991 Open Champion, Ian Baker-Finch.
The Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge-designed layout is complemented by outstanding couch fairways and tees, as well large, pure rolling bentgrass greens.
MILLICENT GC
Mt Burr, South Australia
Green fee: $30 (seven days).
Vast areas of pine plantations north of the town of Millicent do a very effective job in hiding the Millicent Golf Club from passers-by.
The course was opened for play in 1961 after a local forestry office found the sandy
soil was more suited to a golf course than growing pine trees. In the 60 years since, it has evolved into one of South Australia’s finest regional layouts.
Its wide rolling fairways – bounded by bracken ferns, string bark gums, wattle trees and surrounded by pine forests – have been routed to make the absolute most of the undulating terrain.
MOREE GC
Moree, New South Wales
Green fees: $30 (weekdays); $44 (weekends).
Lying on both sides of a bend in the snaking Mehi River, Moree lies across naturally rolling terrain, with tall stands of gum trees and a host of other native species densely lining its nicely-groomed kikuyu fairways.
Designed by Arthur East in the 1950s, Moree has stayed true to his original creation while ensuring the playing surfaces are as good as any city course.
SOUTH WEST ROCKS CC
South West Rocks, New South Wales
Green fee: $30 (seven days).
During the past 25 years, South West Rocks has successfully evolved into a testing course with most fairways lined with dozens of pines and a few species of gum trees, while there are also a selection of wide open holes.
A mix of kikuyu and couch cover the fairways, which are beautifully presented. But it is the high quality of the bentgrass putting surfaces you will remember long after your round.
TRAFALGAR GC
Trafalgar, Victoria
Green fee: $30 (seven days).
Trafalgar Golf Club, which dates back to 1909, has been on its present site north of the West Gippsland township of the same name since 1953.
This original layout was cleared and routed by members and all 18 holes were completed by 1960. Two years later, acclaimed course architect Vern Morcom was commissioned to redesign the layout and 12 holes were changed.
Meandering across the foothills of the Baw Baw Ranges, the course has changed little during the past six decades and today it is widely acclaimed as a great test for accomplished players and an enjoyable venue for golfers of all abilities.
Trafalgar is not long by modern standards with the par-70 measuring just 5,647 metres from the back pegs. However, length is not the main defence of par here with tight driving lines created by the thick avenues of trees lining each fairway. That said, the longest hole on the course is a memorable one. The 531-metre par-5 10th is a genuine three-shotter as it descends from an elevated tee to a fairway that doglegs left twice before reaching the green.
LANG LANG GC
Lang Lang, Victoria
Green fees: $30 (weekdays); $45 (weekends).
Lang Lang Golf Club took up residence on its present site 62 years ago on a course designed by former Australian Open Champion, George Naismith, and golf professional, Bill Walker.
The pair crafted the layout free of charge and brought a slice of the Melbourne Sandbelt to Victoria’s South Gippsland. The sandy soil lying beneath gave the designers an opportunity to extract a wonderful course out of the rolling, tree-covered terrain.
YARRAM GC
Yarram, Victoria
Green fee: $30 (seven days).
Yarram Golf Club is one of the stars of Victoria’s Gippsland region, with superb bentgrass greens and almost carpet-like Santa Ana couch fairways to be found in a natural bushland setting.
But venture too far from the ‘carpet’ and the rough gets, well, pretty rough. Laid out on sand, sandy lies in the rough – just like you were playing in the famous Melbourne Sandbelt – are very common.
BAY VIEWS
Rosebud, Victoria
Green fees: $29 (Wednesday); $45 (Thu-Tues).
Formerly known as Rosebud Park, Bay Views is another Mornington Peninsula layout that is played across dramatically undulating terrain.
Situated on steep sloping land east of Rosebud, Bay Views rises above the surrounding residential areas providing golfers with views of Port Phillip Bay and the bay beaches all the way to Sorrento.
The renowned Vern Morcom designed the original layout in the 1950s and, despite it not being on ideal golfing land, there are plenty of interesting holes.
TOWNSVILLE GC
Townsville, Queensland
Green fees: $28 (Mon-Wed unlimited); $45 (seven days).
Townsville Golf Club is situated in a tranquil setting alongside Ross River and features
large undulating greens, well-grassed fairways and spectacular century old rain trees on
many holes.
In recent years, the course was redesigned by Bob Harrison and World Golf Hall of Famer and North Queenslander Karrie Webb to accommodate an adjoining residential development.
GERRINGONG GC
Gerringong, New South Wales
Green fees: $25 (weekdays, June-August); $30 (weekdays, September-May); $45 (weekends).
It is hard to believe you can play this seaside layout with million-dollar views for as little as $25 on a weekday from June to August.
The course lies on undulating terrain overlooking the beautiful Walkers Beach and surrounded by rolling hills covered predominantly by dairy cattle.
Gerringong is benefitting from nearly two decades of planned improvements, which included the replacement of the putting surfaces on all 18 greens – converted from Bermuda Tifdwarf to A4 bentgrass – and the complete rebuilding of several greens. More than a dozen tees were also rebuilt.
The 562-metre par-5 4th hole can be best described as a beautiful beast and playing it is worth the cost of the green fee alone.
The tee is perched high above Walkers Beach and the hole doglegs right-to-left following the arc created by the back of the beach. Thick coastal scrub is all that separates the fairway from the sand. A dam on the 3rd hole cuts right across the 4th fairway and, depending on your length from the tee, it is worth considering a lay-up from the tee particularly into a southerly wind. Two more dams lie short of the bunkerless green and only the longest hitters in the game would even contemplate going for this target in two shots, and even then, it would have to be with a strong tailwind.