A round of golf is not always about playing 18 holes, nor is it about tough challenges and breaking handicaps.
POINT WALTER GC
The Swan River also flows by the Point Walter course and, like the aforemetioned Mosman Park directly across the waterway, offers scenic views of the Perth CBD.
Measuring just 2,605 metres from the back markers, Point Walter is an ideal layout for golfers of all standards. The 338-metre dogleg left par-4 5th is the hardest hole on the course as it regularly plays into the wind, while the green is narrow and rolls quickly from back to front.
Widely acclaimed for the high quality of its kikuyu fairways and bentgrass greens, which complement the fun holes on offer at Point Walter.
Green fee: $16 (nine holes).
ROTTNEST ISLAND
Rottnest Island Public Golf Course is one of the island’s best kept secrets, despite the fact the layout opened for play 60 years ago.
The original course was built by a team of driven volunteers but has since been significantly upgraded with designers Bob Shearer, Ben Davey and Tim Lovell overseeing the implementation of a course masterplan in 2013.
Tucked away behind the settlement between Karma Resort and The Basin, the course combines a nine-hole layout, putting green, bowling green and licensed clubhouse.
Course patron John Birkett says the course attracts players from all walks of life.
“It’s a special place and suits novice and experienced golfers. It’s peaceful and unhurried – just like Rottnest Island,” he says.
Green fee: $25 (nine holes).
www.rottnestisland.com or via email karmagolf@karmarottnest.com.au
SEAVIEW GC
Located in the beachside suburb of Cottesloe, north of Perth, Sea View Golf Club dates back to 1908 making it the third oldest course in Western Australia.
Former British Amateur Champion Peter Anderson, who was then Perth’s Scotch College headmaster, laid out the original nine holes on natural undulating terrain opposite the beach.
Back then the course was home to the Cottesloe Golf Club and became the Sea View Golf Club in 1931 and, today, is regarded as one of the best nine-hole courses in the country.
Sea View not only offers alternate tees for a second nine, it also boasts alternate flags on the 1st/10th, 5th/14th, 7th/16th and 8th/17th, such is the size of the putting surfaces on these holes.
Sea View is a private course that welcomes visitors during non-competition times.
Green fees: $26 (nine holes, weekday); $31 (weekends).
QUEENSLAND
BOONAH GC
The pretty valley town of Boonah lies in the heart of Queensland’s Scenic Rim about 90km south-west of Brisbane.
Boonah Golf Club lies on the south side of town adjacent to Teviot Brook with Mt Sugarloaf and Mt French National Park dominating the surrounding view.
Established in 1928, the club moved several times before finding a home on at its present site, on grazing land, in 1988. Ray Chant, who worked for course designer Ross Watson, volunteered to design the club’s new course and the result is an enjoyable and challenging layout.
Blessed with some of the best putting surfaces in the region, Boonah has generally wide tree-lined fairways and strategically located bunkers.
There are also several water hazards that come into play, but no hole more so than on the 325-metre par-4 9th (which plays 30 metres longer from the alternate 18th tee). The tee shot here skirts a lake to the left to find the slight dogleg right fairway, which is flanked by a second lake to the right. Big hitters may be tempted to drive over the water to leave a short pitch or even an eagle putt, but it is a high-risk play.
Green fee: $18 (nine holes).
BOWEN GC
Bowen is a small links style nine-holer lying right on the edge of the stunning waters of Queensland’s Whitsundays, with several holes running along the shoreline.
It is an easy-walking par-35 layout but the challenge ramps up when the wind whips in from the ocean, providing a strong crosswind on most holes.
One of the visual and playing highlights of the round comes at the 132-metre par-3 9th with the ocean creating a glorious backdrop to the green. Hitting a short iron up into the ever-present breeze is one of the challenges trying to hit this green, that lies in full view of the clubhouse verandah.
For a small country course, Bowen packs some exciting golfing punch.
Green fee: $20 (nine holes).
COOKTOWN GC
The tropics is the last place you might expect to find a links-style course laid out across beautiful rolling sand hills.
But that is exactly what you will find at Cooktown Golf Club – the northernmost golf course on the Australian east coast, some 2,000km north of Brisbane.
The 230-metre-high Mt Cook, and the surrounding National Park, is the ever-present backdrop to the course, which is routed through thick tropical bushland between Walker Bay and the Annan River.
Cooktown is not long but the wind has a regular presence here and, when combined with the natural contours of the sandy terrain, make for some challenging shots from a variety of sloping lies.
As is the case with some renowned links courses in Scotland and Ireland, there are blind shots to be found at Cooktown, like the tee shot on the 206-metre par-3 6th where the two-tiered green lies beyond the crest of a hill and all you can really see is Mt Cook in the background. The hole does play a little gentler as the 15th hole, when it is just 175 metres from tee to green.
Green fee: $20 (nine holes).
JINDALEE GC
Jindalee is a little slice of golfing beauty, just 15 minutes’ drive west of Brisbane CBD.
The nine-holer, with 18 different tee positions, is a par-33 with a terrific mix of challenges for players of all standards.
Jindalee ‘s par-3s are a real highlight with the 146/154-metre 5th and 14th being arguably the best. A creek cuts across the hole and flanks the left side of the green. There are also two bunkers left of the putting surface, while a high bank to the right provides a sideboard for mis-hits to ricochet onto the green.
Green fee: $15 (nine holes).
MAGNETIC ISLAND CC
Magnetic Island Country Club is set against a backdrop of rugged hills covered with lush tropical vegetation in the adjoining national park.
There are no bunkers here but there is the occasional boulder to be found, even in. the middle of the fairway, like those in the middle of the 3rd hole.
Then there are memorable holes like the 70-metre downhill par-3 5th hole – by the edge of the national park – which Greg Norman once named as one of the hardest holes he had played as a teenager.
Green fee: $25 (nine holes).
NOOSA HILLS
Noosa Hills is the biggest ‘little’ course showcased here.
In fact, Noosa Hills is home to two 18-hole par-3 courses – a world first – where single figure handicap golfers and novices can have fun alongside each other.
The North Course is slightly longer than the adjoining South Course and features plenty of bunkers and a few water carries. The ‘double green’ shared by the 1st and 3rd holes and the gorgeous signature 5th hole are highlights of a round on this pretty parkland layout.
The South Course features two distinct nine-hole loops. The front nine is the shortest at Noosa Hills, with no water carries and only a couple of bunkers, which makes it perfect for beginners and kids.
South’s back nine features some of the toughest holes at Noosa Hills with the 10th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes all requiring a tee shot over water.
Green fee: $35 (18 holes).
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