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.
OAK POINT GC
Lansvale, Sydney
Green fees: $60 (seven days).
Oak Point is perhaps the best golf course featured in these pages that you may never have heard of.
And there is good reason for that. Oak Point is the new name of the club resulting from the merger between Sydney’s Kogarah and Liverpool Golf Clubs, with the Liverpool course now being home to the merged membership.
Oak Point is a wonderful parkland course, which offers a great mix of testing par-3s and strategic par-4s and 5s. The layout will soon undergo a major redesign under the guidance of James Wilcher.
WYNNUM GC
Wynnum, Brisbane
Green fees: $55 (weekdays); $60 (weekends).
Golf has been played across this easy-walking parkland layout in Brisbane’s bayside area since 1922.
The charming Queenslander-style clubhouse has a welcoming feel about it and the course is laid out in two loops in and away from this hub.
The course has gained a well-earned reputation in recent decades for having some of the best putting surfaces to be found anywhere in Brisbane. While the variety and challenge of the holes will also impress, the memorable aspect of Wynnum is its beauty.
CLUB MANDALAY
Beveridge, Melbourne
Green fees: $50 (weekdays); $60 (weekends).
It is a shade over a decade since this Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett-designed layout officially opened for play, and since then it has regularly been ranked in the Top-100 Public Access Courses in this country.
Thomson and Perrett managed to create a links-style layout out of grazing land in what is still predominantly a semi-rural environment on the northern outskirts of the Victorian capital.
Surprisingly, given its location, wind is a factor here. The exposed nature of the holes, combined with the wind, makes correct club and shot selection one of the utmost challenges of a round at Mandalay.
MCLEOD CGC
Mt Ommaney, Brisbane
Green fees: $45 (weekdays); $60 (weekends).
McLeod Country Golf Club has long been regarded as one of Brisbane’s best public access courses.
It is a scenic 18-hole journey, little more than 25 minutes’ drive southwest of the CBD, with lakes and the winding Mt Ommaney Creek adding to the beauty of the round. The water hazards come into play on 14 holes, which really adds to the test.
LAKESIDE GC
Gledswood Hills, Sydney
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $60 (weekends).
Lakeside Camden has all the characteristics of links golf – firm greens, mounding, small, cavernous pot bunkers and the wind can also be a factor. Mix this with some woodland course features and it can be a challenging test of golf.
If you haven’t played what was originally known as Camden Lakeside in the past few years, a return will present to you some significant changes.
There have been new holes built and numerous others either reconfigured or had greens redesigned during the past decade.
ALBERT PARK GC
Albert Park, Melbourne
Green fees: $43 to $57 (seven days).
With the opening tee shot just two kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, the views of the city skyline from right across this layout are simply amazing.
And that is the star attraction for this layout, contained within beautiful Albert Park (and its Formula 1 Grand Prix racetrack). Location, location, location!
Views aside, the former Victorian PGA Championship host course does have some interesting holes and there is genuine golfing fun to be had here at a good price.
Related Articles
Review: The Western Australian Golf Club
Course Review: Cape Kidnappers
