Perth has the distinction of being the most isolated capital (state or national) in the world. The West Australian capital lies beside the Swan River and is wedged into a coastal strip between the Indian Ocean and Darling Ranges, which means you’re never really that far from anything … including good golf courses. Here we showcase the Top-12 Courses you will find within a 45-minute drive of Perth’s city centre.
5 THE VINES RESORT & COUNTRY CLUB (LAKES COURSE)
The drive north-east from the Perth CBD through the Swan Valley is one of the nicest journeys you can make in and around the West Australian capital.
Established vineyards come and go the deeper you get into the valley, where you will find one of Australia’s most famous tournament venues: The Vines Resort & Country Club, a 36-hole complex where the kangaroos are plentiful and the landscape is dominated by massive greens and rolling fairways.
Of course, it was here during the 1990s that the European Tour made its home for one week a year in co-sanctioning the Heineken Classic and several Johnnie Walker Classics. Both events brought the biggest names in the game to Perth, as did the LPGA Tour’s visit for the Lexus Cup in 2007. The pros played a composite course with holes taken from the Lakes and Ellenbrook courses, but it is the Lakes that remains the superior of the two
The best holes across the entire property can be found on the inward nine of the Lakes course, with the trio of holes from 16 to 18 (a par-3, 4 and 5, respectively), bringing water into play on almost every full shot.
If the flag is located in the right half of the huge 16th green, particular care is required to avoid finding the water on the right – yet a canny left-to-right shot can safely avoid the water and still find the correct section of green. In truth the front nine is just as strong.
Two-putting the expansive 4th green from certain parts of the surface is an achievement on its own, while the next is a terrific dogleg right through bushland that ends at a wildly contoured green complex where knowing the best place to leave your approach shot is crucial.
The par-4 9th hole also asks for a careful approach, as a row of bunkers guards the rear of the shallow green and another bunker and a small creek sit in front.
Green fees: $75 (Mon-Fri and after 11am weekends); $85 (before 11am weekends).
6 COTTESLOE GOLF CLUB
It has taken time, but the majority of the masterplan Graham Marsh set out for Cottesloe Golf Club back in 1998 is nearing completion, with the recently reopened 1st, 2nd and 8th holes the latest completed work by the club.
Marsh’s renovation has enhanced the natural landscape of the property, with the significant changes in elevation, well-established mature trees and inconsistent sandy waste that surrounds the fairways combining with his trademark bunkering to provide the main challenges on the par-72 layout – which was originally designed by David Anderson and opened for play on the current site in the early 1930s.
Cottesloe’s couch tees, kikuyu fairways and bentgrass greens are consistently among the best to be found in Perth. And, with the continued conversion of the putting surfaces to the better suited Penncross strain from a mixture of G2 and G6 varieties, this will only improve as the club turns its attention to hosting the 2019 WA Open.
Offering stunning views of the nearby Indian Ocean, Cottesloe requires strategic play from the tee to avoid the large and numerous fairway bunkers – and despite measuring only 6,087 metres, tests players of all abilities with a significant number of shots played from up and downhill lies.
Green fees: Available upon application.
7 THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GC
To golfers in the eastern states, The Western Australian Golf Club is something of an unknown and, as such, rates as a hidden gem.
The undulating layout was remodelled a few years ago under the guidance of course designer Graham Marsh. The course, which covers one of the highest points in the metropolitan area (at Yokine about 15 minutes north of the city), features tightly tree-lined fairways, heavy bunkering and generously-sized putting surfaces.
This course, which celebrates its 90th year in 2018, rewards accurate ball-striking and good club selection due to the variety of doglegs and good quality up and downhill holes.
Arguably one of Western Australian’s most memorable offerings is the 176-metre par-5 9th hole. It’s a beautiful one-shotter that plays across the edge of a lake to the green with the historic clubhouse in the background. The angled putting surface is deep and narrow with two deep bunkers left, another back right and a smaller pot-style bunker short right.
Green fees: $50 (member’s guest and member of a private club); $70 (member’s guest and not a member of a private club).
8 ROYAL FREMANTLE GC
The first golf was played at Royal Fremantle in 1906, making it one of the oldest clubs in Australia still on its original site.
Today, the par-72 is flourishing. It is a beautifully maintained layout with tight cut kikuyu fairways and smooth rolling bentgrass greens. The course plays longer than its 6,188 metres from the tips, simply because of the undulating topography and your drives don’t run too far on the lush kikuyu grass.
The terrain at Royal Fremantle varies from relatively flat to a beautiful rolling landscape, which forms the foundation of some interesting holes. Every fairway is tightly tree-lined but when a shot goes astray here, there is always a chance of manufacturing a shot to get back into play. This makes it even more tempting to take on some holes in search of birdies.
Royal Fremantle has some terrific risk-and-reward short par-4s, which offer players conservative or aggressive playing options.
Green fees: $132.
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