The Victorian capital is one of the world’s great golfing destinations. Do you need any more proof other than knowing all 12 courses showcased here have cemented a place in the ranking of the nation’s Top-100 Courses and can be found within a 45-minute drive of Melbourne’s GPO?
9 SPRING VALLEY GOLF CLUB
The early days of the Spring Valley Golf Club are not dissimilar to many clubs that now call the Melbourne Sandbelt home.
Spring Valley began its existence outside the Sandbelt and, like the founding members of several nearby courses, the fledgling Spring Valley turned to Vern Morcom to create its course, which opened for play in 1951.
While the routing has remained the same over the past 67 years, all of the holes have undergone some form of modification under the guidance of Mike Clayton,
In the 18-hole redesign, Clayton revamped Morcom’s bunkering, new greens were built and tees repositioned to maximise the strategy of each hole.
The changes went a long way to raising Spring Valley’s profile and reputation as one of the finest courses of the Sandbelt.
It is an easy-walking course where the terrain doesn’t fluctuate much during the round. The 377-metre opening hole is a good medium length par-4 turning from left-to-right. The tee shot must follow the left side of the fairway. The Morcom bunkering becomes immediately apparent as you head towards the green that features a large and dramatic bunker guarding the front left of the green.
One of the best short par-3s in the Sandbelt opens the back nine. The 134-metre 10th has been criticised by some as being too severe because of the shape and size of the putting surface as well as the severity of the deep bunkers that ring the green. But there are far more penal par-3s to be found elsewhere and this offering, for such a short hole, simply rewards the player, who hits a good tee shot, with a birdie chance. The bad tee shot makes bogey more than likely.
Green fee: $70 (member’s guest); $100 (visitors).
10 HUNTINGDALE GOLF CLUB
Huntingdale – Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath aside – is arguably the most famous of Melbourne’s Sandbelt courses due to it being the home of the Australian Masters for three decades.
A parade of the best players in the game through that time including Greg Norman, Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros all trod Huntingdale’s fairways in pursuit of the Masters’ gold jacket. Norman, the unofficial King of Huntingdale, proved the most successful in winning the event six times.
As a result of its Australian Masters history, there is more to a round at Huntingdale than simply pitting your skill against the course, which has been remodelled by a host of course designers during the past 20 years, with Englishman Martin Hawtree consulting to the club in more recent times.
Hawtree was an ideal choice for that job as he is well-read in the design theories and practices of Huntingdale’s original designer, Charles H. Alison, and has advised on some positive changes to the course including the clearing of Ti-tree and overgrown trees encroaching on playing lines. The clearing of some areas has exposed some typical sandy wasteland found throughout the Sandbelt.
There are plenty of memorable holes to experience at Huntingdale but the first par-3 on the back nine, the 161-metre 12th, is one you will never forget. Lined by tall trees along both sides for the first 100 metres to the green, getting a read on the breeze can be tough here, making club selection very important. The subtle undulations of the putting surface are an oasis compared with what awaits when missing the green as there are seven bunkers surrounding the putting surface.
Green fee: Upon application. Limited tee times are available for Interstate guests who are members of a registered golf club.
11 SANCTUARY LAKES CLUB
To gaze out upon the links-style layout at Sanctuary Lakes is to witness a modern marvel of golf course design.
Back in the mid-90s, a visionary developer purchased 445-hectares of land at Point Cook, most of which had been home to the Cheetham salt works for more than 100 years.
The design pairing of Greg Norman and Bob Harrison might have thought better about the commission to design a world class golf course on the salty plain. But they took up the challenge anyway and the result, nearly two decades after opening, is a layout the sits comfortably in the Top-100 in Australia. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, it is the only Melbourne course showcased here that is not in the famed Sandbelt.
Green rolling fairways defined by long, wispy golden rough grasses and big, sloping greens surrounded by equally large cavernous bunkers now cover the landscape.
At 6,456 metres from the championship markers, Norman and Harrison created a lengthy excursion that also places demands on your ability to plot a route around trouble and deal with the consequences when you stray from the ideal playing line.
Green fee: $69 (weekdays), $89 (weekends).
12 CRANBOURNE GOLF CLUB
A decade after curator and course designer Sam Berriman oversaw the construction and completion of Huntingdale, he was commissioned to design a new course near the expanding housing estates of Dandenong.
It is nearly 65 years since Cranbourne Golf Club opened for play and chances are, if Berriman was alive today, he might not recognise his layout. Over its first two decades, course superintendent Gordon Black transformed the landscape by planting thousands of trees, which now frame every hole. He also established Cranbourne as a beautifully maintained layout, a legacy that still stands today.
Cranbourne might lie on the outskirts of the Sandbelt (and is the furthest course from the GPO showcased here) but it presents many of the same attributes of those courses found in the nearby Sandbelt. Rolling couch fairways, punctuated by creative and strategic fairway bunkering and large, subtly sloped greens generally surrounded by sand are the order of the day here.
Complementing Berriman’s evolved design is a high standard of conditioning throughout. Of note is the set-up of the layout with the well-manicured couch fairways and bent greens being trimmed to the edges of the many bunkers throughout.
Green fee: Upon application.
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