9 ROYAL PERTH GOLF CLUB

This year marks Royal Perth’s 110th year and it has rarely looked better than it has, consistently, during the past few years.

Long-time member and former touring professional Terry Gale has been the consulting course architect at Royal Perth for nearly 30 years and the subtle design changes made in that time are very good.

The layout covers less than 75 hectares and rolls across flat terrain. As a result, the course measures little more than 6,000 metres from the tips. But its defence comes from the narrow fairways lined by mature trees and its relatively small greens.

One of the biggest greens on the course can be found at the end of the narrow 461-metre par-5 9th hole. A scheme of three fairway bunkers squeeze into the driving zone from the right but, if you can skirt the sand with your drive, reaching the putting surface in two shots becomes a possibility. A scheme of six bunkers also lines the final approach into the green but if you take the risk to hit the green, the reward is a genuine birdie chance.

Green fees: Interstate and international visiting golfers, who are members of a golf club, can apply to the general manager for a tee time.

10 WANNEROO GOLF CLUB

The first fully reticulated golf course in Western Australia, Wanneroo lies a little over 30 minutes’ drive north of Perth’s CBD and offers outstanding playing surfaces, an enjoyable tree-lined layout and peaceful setting.

Designed by Bob Green and Murray Dawson, Wanneroo places a premium on accuracy from the tee through its doglegging par-4s and 5s and stands of native trees, while the sloping surrounds and greenside bunkering are another real feature of this fine par-72.

But it is the flawless condition of the couch fairways and bentgrass greens that make Wanneroo standout – and were surely one of the key factors in earning the club co-hosting honours of the 2018 Men’s and Women’s Australian Amateur Championships alongside Lake Karrinyup.

Standing on the tees at Wanneroo, the visual contrast of the fairways (which feature only slight changes in elevation throughout the 18 holes) against the sandy bases of the surrounding trees, helps to identify your target. And once successfully on the short grass, golfers are greeted with evenly covered surfaces that are a pleasure to play from.

The relatively small putting surfaces feature breaks that are more subtle than severe and, although not excessively fast, run extremely true.

Green fees: $50 (Monday-Friday).

Gosnells Golf Club. PHOTO: Brendan James.

11 GOSNELLS GOLF CLUB

Graham Marsh has remodelled several Perth courses like Cottesloe (where he was a long-time member and former club champion) and The Western Australian course; both of which can be found north of the city.

To the south of the Swan River, his creative design work can be found at Gosnells, where he learned the game (and won a handicap championship) in the 1960s.

In 1996, Marsh was commissioned by the club to come up with a masterplan to upgrade the layout and his mark on the Gosnells course has grown more evident ever since.

Laid out across undulating sandy terrain, the challenging par-70 rewards the accurate golfer who can plot a course down each tree-lined fairway and avoid the many bunkers scattered throughout.

The bunkering, like most Marsh designed courses, is a real feature of the course and you get a real sense of its significance as soon as you stand on the 1st tee.

The bunkering is predominantly fashioned on the large schemes found throughout the Melbourne Sandbelt – not just visually but how they play. You will rarely find a plugged ball in the bunker face here.

Green fees: $35. Gosnells is a private club but public tee times are available on Mondays.

Melville Glades Golf Club. PHOTO: Supplied.

12 MELVILLE GLADES GOLF CLUB

Melville Glades was originally designed by Al Howard and opened for play in 1969.

The layout was then tweaked by Graham Marsh and Ross Watson in the 1990s, while the club has employed the services of designer Phil Jacobs to oversee any further changes.

Jacobs worked for many years with Gary Player on a number of major projects around the world.

Melville Glades is a beautiful bushland course that is memorable for its high standard of presentation year round with well-manicured couch fairways and G2 bentgrass greens.

The selection of par-3s at Melville Glades excites simply because of the variety of distances they cover. While the 9th hole can be a brute simply because of its length, the 137-metre 14th hole can prove just as difficult, particularly if your club selection is wrong. Any tee shot that flies long into the back bunker here is a tough up-and-down.

Green fees: $42 (member’s guest social play); Melville Glades is a private club and is only open to members and their guests.