With cost-of-living pressures being what they are at the moment, you don’t need to avoid the golf course to save your pennies.
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 GC
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.
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