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.
BEACONHILLS GC
Upper Beaconsfield, Melbourne
Green fees: $45 (weekdays); $55 (weekends).
Beaconhills lies in an idyllic bushland setting next to Cardinia Reservoir, with 27 holes laid out across rolling hills at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges about 50 minutes’ drive from the Melbourne CBD.
The 27 holes affords golfers three varied 18-hole combinations. There is the sometimes dramatically undulating Old Course, much of which was created by pioneering Australian PGA pros Dick and Rowley Banks back in 1930. Then there is the picturesque Stoney Creek Course, which combines the Old layout front nine and the Lakes nine, while the Cardinia Course draws on the back nine hole of the Old and the Lakes Course.
The setting, the quality of the holes and their presentation all combine to create a memorable golfing experience.
THAXTED PARK GC
Woodcroft, Adelaide
Green fees: $45 (weekdays); $55 (weekends).
Thaxted Park has become one of the “must play” courses in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.
The predominantly tree-lined holes cover rolling hills, which form the basis of some interesting holes, as well as providing some distant sea views. The course is also highly regarded for its Santa Ana fairways and bentgrass greens.
Acclaimed course designers Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford oversaw the recent redevelopment of the front nine, while the back nine has some memorable holes like the short par-4 13th and the downhill dropshot par-3 15th.
www.thaxtedparkgolfclub.com.au
CAMDEN GC
Narellan, Sydney
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $55 (weekends).
The long-term golfing resident in the south-western outskirts of Sydney is Camden Golf Club at Studley Park, which is the 132-year-old house that stands in the middle of the property bearing the same name.
The old mansion is in the background when you stand on the tee of arguably Camden’s best hole – the 342-metre par-4 13th. A solid tee shot here must skirt the edge of a lake to reach the fairway that lies diagonally from right-to-left alongside the water hazard. The key is to know how much of the hazard you can bite off with your drive to get the best angle into the large, slightly elevated green.
$54 TO $45
WANTIMA CC
Brendale, Brisbane
Green fees: $47 (weekdays); $54 (weekends).
Wantima Country Club quietly existed in Brisbane’s northern suburbs for decades. Then one of its own won a couple of Australian PGA titles and conquered the world to raise the Claret Jug at The Open Championship at the Home of Golf, St Andrews, no less.
Cam Smith is Wantima’s favourite son and visitors can experience the course where he learned the game without breaking the bank.
The ongoing investment in the course over many years is today reaping the benefits, with well-manicured playing surfaces and challenging holes … fit for an Open Champion.
NORTH TURRAMURRA GC
North Turramurra, Sydney
Green fees: $40 (weekdays); $52.50 (weekends).
There’s a good reason why the locals who have been trekking the fairways here for years affectionately refer to their patch as “The Royal”.
The course overlooks the beautiful Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and has remained relatively unknown to golfers outside Sydney’s north shore. The construction of new holes as well as the significant improvement in course conditioning in recent years has quite rightly got the locals beaming with pride.
The dogleg left par-4 6th hole is worth the cost of the green fee alone. It’s a wonderful risk-and-reward hole with a drop off into national park oblivion ever-present to the left of the fairway.
MEREWETHER GC
Adamstown, Newcastle
Green fees: $46 (weekdays); $50 (weekends).
Merewether is beautifully presented year-round with strip-cut eucalyptus tree-lined fairways and receptive greens laid out across gently rolling terrain.
But it is the variety of the holes, which predominantly stick to Prosper Ellis’ original 1933 design, that is Merewether’s strength. The terrain offers up plenty of challenges in terms of sidehill, uphill and downhill lies, and the targets have been created to take these slopes into account.
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