More Australians are playing golf today than at any other time in the game’s history in this country. The economic reality is, however, many of us now need to make our golfing dollar stretch a lot further than it did even five years ago.
That said, Australia remains blessed with hundreds of affordable, fun and testing golf courses. You just need to know where to look. Here, we reveal the best metropolitan courses where you can still find great value for money golfing experiences.
$75 TO $65
COOLANGATTA & TWEED HEADS GC
Tweed Heads South, Gold Coast
Green fees: $75 (seven days)
There are 35 golf courses scattered across the north-south expanse of the Gold Coast. And the $75 green fee at Coolangatta Tweed is arguably the best value you will find in the region, simply because you have a choice of two fantastic courses.
This is no secret to those golfers in the know, so ring well ahead to get a time, either on the West or River Course … it doesn’t matter, as both well-manicured layouts are ranked in our Top-100 Public Access Courses in the country.
BELMONT GOLF & BOWLS
Belmont, Newcastle
Green fees: $65 (seven days); $75 (December/January).
Located on the southern fringe of the greater Newcastle metro area, the course lies on an isthmus between the Pacific Ocean and picturesque Lake Macquarie.
Plenty of recent changes made to Prosper Ellis’ 1952 design have significantly improved what this Top-100-ranked course offers.
Among the most dramatic changes from course designer James Wilcher was the creation of the short yet challenging par-3 16th hole built right alongside the beach, and a new green and bunker surrounds on the par-5 15th hole.
SUN CITY CC
Yanchep, Perth
Green fees: $55 (weekdays); $75 (weekends).
Sun City is one of Perth’s best public access layouts and has been ranked in the Top-100 Courses in Australia for several years.
The remodelling of almost a third of the course in 2013 by the then-design team of Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Clayton, Mike Cocking and Ashley Mead (OCCM) springboarded the club in the national ranking.
The “new” green complexes are bigger and more interesting, as are the surrounds, while the natural bunkering and vast wasteland areas expose the sandy base which lies beneath.
LYNWOOD G&CC
Pitt Town, Sydney
Green fees: $50 (weekdays); $75 (weekends).
Lynwood celebrates its 15th anniversary this year and the Graham Papworth-designed layout continues to live up to its reputation as one of Sydney’s best public access courses.
The par-72 links-style course offers plenty of fun and interesting holes, which are enhanced by the setting – 230 undulating acres featuring vast areas of natural, wild rough as well as wetlands rich with birdlife. The majestic Blue Mountains on the western horizon also form a picturesque backdrop to most holes.
EYNESBURY GC
Eynesbury, Melbourne
Green fees: $49 (weekdays); $74 (weekends).
Designed by Graham Marsh, Eynesbury opened for play in 2007 and has been ranked within Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses ever since. In January this year, it rose to No.50 in that listing on the back of first-class conditioning and its terrific design.
There are plenty of fun holes here that offer bang for your buck, like the short par-4 13th, where the bravest drivers can attempt to carry a creek to find a narrow section of fairway, where they will be left with an easy pitch to a well-bunkered, and dramatically undulating, green.
SANDY GOLF LINKS
Cheltenham, Melbourne
Green fees: $66.50 (weekdays); $72.50 (weekends).
The Melbourne Sandbelt is considered one of the great wonders of the golfing world.
Royal Melbourne, Victoria, Kingston Heath, Commonwealth and Yarra Yarra are just some of the world-famous private clubs to be found scattered across Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. And Sandy Golf Links, which shares the same wonderful sandy soil and ideal golfing terrain, lies smack-bang in the middle of them all.
For a truly wonderful Sandbelt experience, Sandy Golf Links ticks all the boxes at an affordable price.
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