A round of golf is not always about playing 18 holes, nor is it about tough challenges and breaking handicaps.
CRESCENT HEAD CC
Crescent Head is one of the most famous surfing towns in Australia.
As you might expect, there is an easy-going vibe in the town that extends to playing a round at the country club.
Of all the courses showcased here, Crescent Head is the most diminutive. It’s a six-hole gem found at the end of the main street and between Crescent Head and Little Nobby. Every hole offers a sea view, but it is the par-3 2nd and short par-4 3rd hole that you will find most exciting. Both holes hug the shoreline and, despite the simplicity of their design, yield as many birdies as they do bogeys and double bogeys. Terrific, fun holes, especially when the wind is really blowing.
Green fee: $16 (all day play).
LORD HOWE ISLAND
Lord Howe Island is a world-heritage listed paradise that can be reached in less than two hours flying from Sydney, Brisbane or Port Macquarie.
From the shadows of the imposing Mt. Lidgbird and Mt. Gower the course meanders through the lushly vegetated Kentia palm forest out into the gently undulating open fairways along the ocean foreshore, providing plenty of challenges and fun along the way.
Green fee: $25 (nine holes).
NORFOLK ISLAND GC
The Norfolk Island layout, located on the south-east coast, is one of the only courses on the planet located within a World Heritage site.
The sparsely treed layout winds its way across the easy-walking terrain, which hugs every bump, hollow and crease in the visually stunning landscape.
There is no better example of this wonderfully natural course design than what you will find on the 152-metre par-3 4th hole. The tee is perched above one end of a small boomerang-shaped beach, while the green is slightly obscured behind the cliff at the other end of the beach. It is a daunting tee shot. The putting surface is small and bunkerless. But a steep downslope from the top of the cliff to the right propels balls onto, or across, the green.
Green fee: $27 (nine holes).
PACIFIC BAY RESORT
Pacific Bay is a superb nine-hole par-3 course that is just as fun for families as it is for beginners and advanced golfers.
The easy-walking layout follows the natural lie of the land and features more than a dozen bunkers scattered throughout, while water comes into play on four holes.
None more so than the 9th hole, which has an island green that can only be reached by a walk bridge. A pot bunker lies front left of the putting surface, while any shot that bounces through the green is saved from a watery grave by a huge bunker wrapping around the back fringe. It’s a great finish to a fun round.
Green fee: $18 (nine holes).
PALM BEACH GC
Lying between scenic Pittwater and Palm Beach with the iconic Barrenjoey Lighthouse as a backdrop, Palm Beach has been undergoing dramatic improvements in recent times.
Craig Parry Design recently began a three-year plan to redesign all nine holes of the tight, tree-lined and gently undulating layout. The rebuild of the 4th, 5th and 6th green complexes have been completed, adding greater interest, and fun, to the shots required to score well.
And for those days when the scoring is not in your favour, enjoy the walk and the great view.
Green fee: $25 (nine holes).
SCONE GC
Opened for play in 2019, Scone is a superb nine-hole layout born out of the need to downsize due to highway construction.
Construction of a New England Highway by-pass of the Upper Hunter Valley town dissected the old layout, so the club used government funding to redevelop their course and commissioned Pacific Coast Design architect Phil Ryan to do the job.
Ryan did a great job in creating a fun and strategically interesting layout, which is enhanced by nicely manicured kikuyu fairways and bentgrass greens.
Highlights come midway through the round. The 343-metre (from the white pegs) par-4 3rd is a classic risk-and-reward hole that tempts players to chase an elusive birdie by driving close to a lake. The sharp dogleg right can be shortened considerably by driving over the corner to leave a short pitch into the green, but be wary of the lake that lines the final approach.
Parsons Gully, a creek running through the course, has been nicely incorporated into the design and comes into play at the next – a 154-metre par-3. The creek cuts diagonally across the hole and the angled green lies just beyond the hazard. There is a bunker left, while the best area to miss the large putting surface is right, but short of a large gum tree.
Green fee: $15 (nine holes).
TATHRA BEACH CC
Tathra Beach CC is a hidden gem that flows across sandy terrain on the south bank of the Bega River on the NSW South Coast.
Designed by Kel Nagle and Mike Cooper, Tathra is a nine-holer but features 12 greens and alternate tees laid out on floodplain adjoining the Bega River. This rolling topography created an ideal canvas for building golf holes and subtly sloping greens.
Green fee: $20 (nine holes).
www.tathrabeachcountryclub.com
TERREY HILLS PAR-3
Sydney’s only day and night short course is designed to be fun for every golfer, from the first-timer to the elite player, from little kids to big kids.
Beautifully designed and shaped, the diminutive 18-hole all par-3 course features well-manicured couch greens and fairways, with two sprawling bunkers and a few smaller sandy hazards coming into play.
The longest hole, the 11th, is just 88 metres, while the shortest, the 7th at 38 metres, could be reached with a putter from the tee.
Green fees: $25 (18 holes, weekdays); $27 (weekends). Discounts for kids and students. Kids under 5 free.
TEVEN VALLEY GC
Set on 10 hectares of stunning rolling terrain about 20 minutes’ drive west of Byron Bay, Teven Valley has been improving year-on-year ever since new owners took over in 2015.
A rebuild of the picturesque course began in 2017, with Craig Parry Design commissioned to upgrade the entire course with particular attention paid to the greens and surrounds. The layout now boasts 10 new greens, redone fairways and a host of new bunkers.
Combined with superior conditioning – Teven Valley is the only course in Australia to have Sir Grange Zoysia tee to green – has become a must-play when visiting NSW’s Northern Rivers region.
Green fee: $60 (nine holes).
www.tevenvalleygolfcourse.com.au
WOOLLAHRA GC
Woollahra Golf Club celebrated its 90th anniversary this year and it remains one of Sydney’s most popular nine-hole courses.
Some well-known names in the history of Australian course design including Al Howard, Carnegie Clark and Prosper Ellis contributed to the creation of the layout that is enjoyed today.
While the short par-4s are a highlight of the beautiful parkland course near the edge of Sydney Harbour, it is the par-3s that give players of all abilities a chance at making a birdie.
The 100-metre 9th is one such hole, despite its daunting look with four bunkers surrounding the dramatically undulating putting surface. Two of those bunkers are wedged between the back edge of the green and out-of-bounds stakes, but the wide frontage offers a chance to get your tee shot close to the hole.
Green fees: $26 (nine holes, weekdays); $28 (weekends).
YARRAWONGA MULWALA GC RESORT – EXECUTIVE COURSE
As the largest public access golf complex in the country with two nationally ranked 18-holers – the Murray and Lakes layouts – Yarrawonga Mulwala’s Executive Course can sometimes be overlooked by visiting golfers.
The par-33, at 2,248 metres, plays shorter than any nine of the neighbouring courses and is ideal for beginners and those more accomplished golfers looking for a fun hit in a bushland setting on beautifully maintained fairways and greens.
While the Executive layout is the shortest nine, it boasts many of the same design attributes of its neighbours, including impressive greenside bunkering and mounding on several holes as well as interesting putting surfaces.
The longest par-4 – the 349-metre 3rd – would not be out of place on either the Murray or Lake Courses. It is a sweeping dogleg left around a lake with a line of tall gums separating the water from the edge of the fairway. A lone bunker on the outside of the dogleg is best avoided but the strategy here calls for tee shot to the right edge of the fairway to leave an unobscured view of the green and a straightforward approach past a large bunker short left of the putting surface. What a cracking hole!
Green fees: $34 (nine holes). $20 (juniors).
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
CHRISTMAS ISLAND GC
The beautiful Christmas Island nine-hole course lies wedged between the Indian Ocean to the east and tropical rainforest terraces to the west.
The course was first established in 1955 by Jack Pettigrew, who during World War II, had cleared the land whilst being held prisoner by the invading Japanese forces. Run by volunteers, the course features palm-lined fairways that run predominantly north-south and are exposed to prevailing crosswinds.
During the famed red crab migration, the course turns to a sea of red with golfers having to time their arrival and departure from the course to coincide with the thousands of crabs crossing roads. The presence of this endemic species has resulted in a local rule regarding a crab taking your ball.
Green fee: $15 (nine holes).
www.christmasislandgolfclub.com
MOSMAN PARK GC
Mosman Park is one of Western Australia’s most picturesque nine-holers.
Located near the north bank of the meandering Swan River, the Michael Coate redesigned course is renowned for its enjoyable holes, including alternate tees for a second nine, and the high standard of its conditioning.
A highlight of a round here is the 5th/14th hole where the shared fairway reaches a fork, with the 5th green played to the left and the 14th green to the right. The right edge of the fairway offers the best approach into the 5th green while the opposite applies on the 14th.
Green fees: $25 (nine holes, weekdays); $30 (weekends).
NEDLANDS GC
Founded in 1932, Nedlands is a well-established nine-hole layout dotted with beautiful Tuarts, Redgums and Banksias
The walk among the mature tree-lined fairways is beautiful, as are the views toward Matilda Bay and the Swan River. And the holes here are fun and interesting.
The 123-metre par-3 7th hole may rate as one of the easiest on the course but it is a fine line between making birdie and bogey here. The hole became marginally easier when the green was rebuilt and made larger nearly 15 years ago. Deep bunkers – two right and one left – are flanked by steep drop-offs from the putting surface, making up and down recovery shots difficult.
Nedlands is a private club but visitor’s tee times are available.
Green fee: $35 (nine holes, weekdays).
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