The definitive list of Australia’s best golf courses

Australian Traveller Australian Traveller
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AT stalwart and serial golfing maniac Matt Cleary drove around Australia for four months, playing golf every second day along the way (hey, someone had to). So who better to ask for a whirlwind tour of courses you just have to love? If you are a vacationer who enjoys golf in the time off you have, you might want to keep reading.

Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club

Magenta Shores magic.

If Magenta Shores was an actress, it would be Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC: gorgeous, wild, desirable and “a savage world whose only law was lust!" (True, barring the lust/law thing.) Yet if Magenta Shores wants to hurt you – and when the wind is up it can, friend, it can – it possesses myriad methods. The bunkers, like Kris Kristofferson, are hairy and deep. The greens, like disco floors, are hard. The fairways meander between grassy dunes like velvet tongues through herds of longhaired highland yaks. This dune-side devil will test your golf like calculus tests fifth graders. Just play it.

Details

Magenta, Central Coast NSW, www.magentagolf.com.au, 1800 095 764.

Bonville Golf Resort

The perfection of Augusta-like Bonville and its rows of majestic gumtrees.

If Bonville was an actress, it would be Jessica Alba: possibly the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Designed in homage to Augusta, of US Masters fame, Bonville is all super-tall thin eucalypts, grass trees and koalas, with crystal streams crossing fairways lined by sub-tropical jungle. Just south of Coffs Harbour, Bonville was carved from a rainforest of Flooded Gums and is as close to playing Augusta as you’ll ever get in Australia.

Details

Bonville, NSW, www.bonvillegolf.com.au, 1300 722 444.

New South Wales GC

If New South Wales GC was an actress, it would be Meryl Streep: brilliant, theatrical, high-brow, up itself. Yet the club’s tickets on itself come with good reason. It’s one of the best golf courses in the world and listed in every golf worthy’s Australian Top-3 (with Royal Melbourne West and Kingston Heath). A couple of years ago I was on the fifth fairway with Stuart Appleby during a photo shoot. Such was the roaring fury of the sou’easter, Appleby could not reach the green from 100m, facing downhill, with a full 7-iron. Later we moved to the tee of the iconic par-3 sixth, with its water carry over Curwee Cove. As huge waves crashed against the cliffs and the photo girls twittered around Appleby like honey-lovin’ bees, a couple of Blackhawks choppered past up the coast. Nobody blinked. It’s that sort of golf course. (That said, you have to hock a kidney to play it; so look next door at St Michael’s, where for $40 you can play their Open Day without losing much in the way of water views and challenge.)

Details

La Perouse, NSW, www.nswgolfclub.com.au, (02) 9311 2573.

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Mt Broughton GC

The Ewan McGregor of golf courses, Mt Broughton in the NSW Southern Highlands

If Mt Broughton was an actor, it would be Ewan McGregor: interesting, unusual, with a twinkle in the eye and a hint of Scottish Highlands. Calling Mt Broughton an inland links might be oxymoronic (links courses by definition are built on dunes between the ocean and arable land), but it’s still a super fun track. Lined by long white death grass (for your balls and for you, golfer, if you tread on a red bellied black snake) and very occasional trees because they got rid of them. Respect.

Details

Sutton Forest, NSW, www.mtbroughton.com.au, (02) 4868 3700.

Federal GC

If Federal was an actress, it would be Sigrid Thornton: pretty, established, with a familiarity you know and trust. Federal in the ACT is where I learned etiquette at the teat of my forefather (hence why it gets a gig over Royal Canberra) and is fun like a beer with a favourite uncle. With kangaroos.

Details

Red Hill, ACT, www.fgc.com.au, (02) 6281 3799.

Brookwater GC

If Brookwater was a former tennis player and model, it would be Anna Kournikova: jaw-droppingly desirable with a look in its eye that says you cannot afford me. (Though you can.) And while it’s a shame to pick just one course from the great golf state of Qld – Coolum, Hope Island, Sanctuary Cove (Pines) and Lakelands are all tops – Brookwater is my pick of the litter. Long and lovely, tricky and tough, it’s designed by Greg Norman, run by the clever people of Troon Golf (who rightly treat like a VIP anyone willing to shell out $100 to play), and sits among Springfield’s sclerophyll forest like a bird-filled chunk of golfing goodness.

Details

Brookwater, Qld, (07) 3814 5500, www.brookwatergolf.com.

Barnbougle Dunes

Tasmania’s Barnbougle Dunes was an actress, it would be Angelina Jolie: wild, a bit different, gob-smackingly spectacular in the flesh, and with loads of interesting curves and bumps.

If Barnbougle Dunes was an actress, it would be Angelina Jolie: wild, a bit different, gob-smackingly spectacular in the flesh, and with loads of interesting curves and bumps. The great green beast of Tassie’s northeast is a classic links: sandy dunes; prevailing sea breezes; no trees. Created from a few unused hectares of farmland by a team that included 24-year-old entrepreneur Greg Ramsay, “dumb spud farmer" Richard Sattler, and esteemed course architects Mike Clayton and Tom Doak, Barnbougle is listed in the world’s Top-50 courses, is Australia’s No.1 public access course, has neither golf carts nor members hogging it to their chests like greedy toffs with a trunk full of jewels, and is perched on Bass Strait like a windy, duney piece of green-velvet golf heaven. Do you play golf? You have to play Barnbougle Dunes. It’s an order. From God.

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Details

Bridport, Tas, (03) 6356 0094.

It’s perched on Bass Strait like a windy, duney piece of green-velvet golf heaven. Do you play golf? You have to play Barnbougle Dunes. It’s an order. From God.

The National GC

If The National was an actress, it would be Cate Blanchett: beautiful, talented, sophisticated and multi-faceted. The National has three courses – Moonah (ranked 8th in Australia), Old (12th) and Ocean (47th) – and they’re all superb. Its practice facilities could host the Institute of Sport. Its clubhouse is a huge cathedral of glass and stone wherein people with white shirts serve fine wine and food. It’s on the water’s edge of Mornington Peninsula, one of the great regions for the great game in Australia. Play it, however you can.

Details

Cape Schanck, VIC, www.nationalgolf.com.au, (03) 5988 6777.

Joondalup Golf Resort

Sunrise at Joondalup Golf Resort

If Joondalup was an actress, it would be Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element: a beautiful roller-coaster possibly conceived by men on acid. Bunkers like giant moon craters with 20m walls and ladders. Sheer granite cliff faces lining greens. Cathedrals of rock. Deserts of sand. Lakes of fire. Hazards from which fire shoots out. Volcanoes spouting forth huge gobs of lava. Acid rain. You get the drift. It’s a funky course, and though there is no fire or lava (who writes this stuff?), it’s 27 holes of crazy golf action.

Details

Connolly, WA, www.joondalupresort.com.au, (08) 9400 8811.

The Cut, Port Bouvard

If The Cut was an actress, it would be Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct: beautiful, dangerous, untamed and a lesbian. Well, not a lesbian. But when the Freo Doctor roars up from the vast aqua nullius of the Southern Ocean, The Cut can come across a little dangerous, with a look in its eye that says, “Take me on – if you dare". It’s a sensational track. Rolling bowls. Wind-polished hard fairways. Greens of truth and justice. The town of Mandurah might come across a little White Shoe Brigade, with its giant boats and McMansions, but The Cut is one of the best courses in the country (and, despite suggestions to the contrary, does not have a silent “n" in its name).

Details 

Mandurah, WA, www.the-cut.com.au, (08) 9582 4420.

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8 experiences to get the most out of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road

    Louis Costello Louis Costello
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    Beyond the winding bitumen and coastal views lies another side to Victoria’s most famous route.

    There’s something hypnotic about this stretch of Victoria’s coast. Maybe it’s the way the road hugs the ocean so tightly, or how the cliffs catch the sun in colours you can’t name. Or, for local Victorians who drove this route as kids, maybe it’s the memories of winding through the impossibly tall trees as they seemingly guide you on your journey like wooden guardian angels. Most travellers know it for the 12 Apostles, but there are plenty of alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road equally as worthy of your time.

    So, next time you’re in that neck of the woods, park that car, stretch those legs and try these experiences.

    1. Discover living culture at Budj Bim

    Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism
    Walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Breakaway Creek’s Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is a masterclass in educational storytelling. Join a guided tour with Budj Bim Cultural Landscape Tourism to walk across the world’s oldest known aquaculture system, where the Gunditjmara people built sophisticated eel traps and stone channels more than 6,000 years ago.

    Budj Bim’s aquaculture system predates Egypt’s pyramids by roughly 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest examples of human engineering on Earth. If that’s not enough to get your history-loving family members involved in this road trip, we’re out of ideas.

    2. Unwind in the hot springs at Warnambool

    woman relaxing at Deep Blue Hot Springs
    Let mineral-rich water heal you.

    If your legs need a break after a long drive, Deep Blue Hot Springs is your remedy. The geothermal pools sit just metres from the coastline, filled with mineral-rich water that bubbles up from deep underground. Move between open-air baths, waterfall pools and quiet zones made for meditation.

    The water in Deep Blue’s geothermal pools comes from an ancient aquifer nearly 850 metres below the Earth’s surface, which, in non-scientific terms, means it’s far more likely to have healing properties than the mineral water you’d find at the supermarket.

    3. Take to the air at Princetown

    12 Apostles Helicopters flight alternate experiences on the Great Ocean Road
    See an icon from a different view.

    You may have seen the Twelve Apostles from the trusty viewing platform, but a helicopter flight with 12 Apostles Helicopters shows you just how sprawling and rugged this coastline really is.

    The trip covers everything from Port Campbell to London Bridge (not to be confused with the UK’s own), giving you a rare chance to watch waves carving the limestone cliffs from above. It’s worth noting that the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles are said to erode by roughly two centimetres each year, so the longer you leave it, the less of the Apostles you’ll see.

    4. Step into the past at Flagstaff Hill

    Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum
    Visit a time of yore.

    Continue the tour through Warnambool at Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and Museum, a recreated 19th-century port town. Hear stories from the days when shipwrecks were as common as seagulls, with an astounding 180 ships believed to have sunk along the Shipwreck Coast in less than five years.

    The night show, complete with lights, sound, and sea spray, brings the coastline’s most dramatic stories to life.

    If you’re staying the night, Simon’s Waterfront offers relaxed dining with fresh local seafood and oceanfront views. Order the catch of the day and toast to the sailors who never made it ashore.

    5. Learn to surf in Torquay, Lorne, or Anglesea

    kid having a lesson with Go Ride A Wave
    Learn how to hang 10. (Image: Visit Victoria)

    Whether you’ve surfed before or can barely stand on a board, Go Ride A Wave will have you upright in no time. Torquay’s calm beaches are ideal for first-timers, while Lorne and Anglesea bring a bit more energy for those unafraid to get dunked.

    Bells Beach, just down the road from Torquay, has even hosted the world’s longest-running professional surfing competition since 1962. So, for those eager to have a gander at pros using surfboards like they’re an additional appendage, the competition usually runs sometime in autumn.

    6. Tackle the trails in Forrest

    Barwon Flow Trails Otways Flow MTB
    Hire a bike and explore MTB trails through the Otways.

    Forrest is a haven for mountain bikers thanks to an expansive network of trails through stunning natural scenery. The Forrest trail network has almost 100 kilometres of singletrack across 36 trails, so there’s something for every level of rider. That’s including more than 60 kilometres of purpose-built mountain bike trails winding through the Otways’ dense forest. Cycle through ancient myrtle beech trees and towering tree ferns, with smaller ferns and soft mosses forming a carpet at your feet.

    Hire a bike from Forrest MTB Hire and take your pick from easy, scenic rides to more challenging singletracks, such as Red Carpet or Rollercoaster.

    7. See wildlife up close in Apollo Bay

    bush rat on Wildlife Wonders tour
    Get help spotting the locals. (Image: Doug Gimsey)

    If spotting koalas and kangaroos in the wild feels like winning the lottery, Wildlife Wonders gives you guaranteed sightings without cages or crowds. Every visit to the sanctuary helps fund the Conservation Ecology Centre which supports endangered species across the Otways, so your business is appreciated by humans and animals alike.

    The guided walk takes you through protected Otways habitat where you might spot potoroos (or joey lookalikes for those unfamiliar with a potoroo), wallabies, and sleepy koalas lounging in the trees.

    8. Visit the Cape Otway Lightstation

    Cape Otway Lightstation
    Delve into the tales of Cape Otway Lightstation.

    Towering over the sea on a cliff above the Southern Ocean, Cape Otway Lightstation has been guiding ships since 1848. Before the lighthouse was built, Cape Otway was one of the most treacherous points on the Victorian coast, with dozens of shipwrecks occurring in its surrounding waters. Pick the right day, and you may bump into a local willing to tell you about the wreck of Eric the Red.

    While at the Cape Otway Lightstation, explore the keeper’s quarters, walk the coastal trails, and take in views that only stop short at the horizon.

    And no, contrary to popular belief, the Round the Twist lighthouse is actually located in Split Point, just shy of two hours in the direction of Melbourne. Nothing’s stopping you from embarking on a lighthouse crawl, though.

    Plan your next no-stone-unturned journey along this iconic Aussie road at visitgreatoceanroad.org.au.