Just an hour south of Perth, Meadow Springs Golf and Country Club offers an unforgettable golfing experience; its natural beauty, strategic design and welcoming atmosphere making it a must-play destination. Words and photography by Joel Innes.
Golfers in Perth don’t realise how lucky they are.
Once you’ve tried your hand at the abundance of fabulous courses within the metropolitan area, you don’t have to travel far south to find another haven of golfing goodness.
“Best-kept secret” and “hidden gem” are overused phrases in course reviews, but it’s hard to look beyond them when considering the outstanding golf options in Western Australia’s Peel region. Less than an hour south of the Perth CBD, the quality of course waiting to be discovered is a glorious prospect.
One could fill an entire magazine getting carried away on the stunning and varied layouts Peel has to offer, but to my mind, none match the majestic Meadow Springs Golf and Country Club. I have been fortunate to play here numerous times in recent years, both socially and competitively, and I rate it right up there with the best courses in the state.
Certainly, it brings the best out of me. I never tire of recounting to my golfing mates how I fought back from three down after nine to win a tough Pennants match 1UP with a swashbuckling birdie at the last (the stroke index one 9th hole, no less). Such personal triumphs can’t help but colour one’s opinions of a course, but when it comes to Meadow Springs, I’m far from being alone in appreciating its charms.
The course was ranked at Number 22 in Golf Australia magazine’s latest Top 100 Public Access courses listing (released in January) and is routinely rated within Australia’s top 100 tracks in just about every discerning golfing guide. Believe me, friends, all the praise is warranted.
Located mere moments from busy Mandurah Road, the immediate approach to Meadow Springs takes you into tall, thick bushland, through a humble stone gateway into a palm-shaded car park without revealing any signs of the course itself. Indeed, once you’ve unpacked the clubs and strolled up the driveway to the clubhouse, it’s the bounteous practice facilities you’ll see before any of the golf holes.
If you’re the type of golfer who insists on a full tune-up before hitting the course, Meadow Springs is the place for you. The monstrous putting green must measure 40m by 40m, with another green behind dedicated to chipping and bunker practice.
Just beyond this is an increasingly rare beast: a full-length driving range with both mats and grass to hit off. The range is meticulously manicured with tightly rolled grass, allowing you to hit everything from wedges to drivers, with a heavy treeline acting as a natural barrier.
Such facilities are greatly appreciated by elite golfers and are doubtless among the reasons Meadow Springs has hosted the prestigious WA Open Golf Championship seven times.
It is from the range that you’ll finally get a decent peek at the course proper, with the first hole to your right side and the ninth, working back up to the clubhouse, to your left. This whets the appetite without giving too much away, and that’s one of Meadow Springs’ best features: it’s an oasis that only reveals its splendour when you’re right upon it.
When the time comes to tee off, you’ll soon see why the club motto “Golf as nature intended” is so apt. With an amphitheatre of mature Tuart trees surrounding you – some as old as 200 years – the first tee feels for all the world like the starting point for an enjoyable bush walk, only with springy, manicured grass under your feet.
Although relatively modest in length, the 360m dogleg-right opening hole sets the tone for the whole round. With the green out of sight and trees looming on either side of the fairway, a loose tee shot runs the risk of hurtling into the bush, while several fairway bunkers provide much food for thought. The urge to hit driver is hard to overcome, but a long iron or hybrid may be a more sensible play.
You will have a decision like this to make off almost every tee, with strategic fairway bunkering one of Meadow Springs’ best defences. And to keep you mentally sharp throughout your round, there’s no shortage of greenside sand traps waiting to swallow those daring approach shots to a short-sided pin.
A signature of Meadow Springs are the simply enormous greens on every hole. Taking the time to work on your 50-foot lag putts on the practice green beforehand will pay dividends on course, because finding a green in regulation offers no guarantee of a two-putt. There is no such thing as a flat green at Meadow Springs either, with some holes featuring three tiers and significant elevation changes from front to back. As a result, some of the course’s par-three holes are its most daunting.
Take the fourth, weighing in at a punishing 175m. The putting surface is shallow and wide, the fairway closely cropped all the way from tee to green. A lack of greenside rough is another characteristic of the course, meaning that many a sweetly struck approach can run off into the gullies and swales. That is particularly true here, so anything less than a perfect tee shot will have you scrambling for par.
Of the longer holes, the seventh might just be my favourite of Meadow Springs’ four par fives. More fairway traps lie in wait to threaten the tee shot and lay-up, but the real beauty and devilry of the hole is the bunker which envelopes 50 per cent of the green, covering the entire left side, as well as generous portions of the front and back. From the safety of the green, it’s a joy to behold. When you’re standing in it having short-sided yourself? Not so much …
Another highlight of the front nine is the intimidating par-three eighth. At 160m, there’s nothing but water from the edge of the tee to the edge of the green. If your ball lands just 30cm short of the green, it’s gone for good. Even if you find the target, your shot may funnel into a collecting area at the back of the green, necessitating a breaking putt up a steep bank to save par. Walking away with a three is a fine feeling.
The back nine offers more of the same superbly testing golf in a similarly naturalistic setting. It is shorter in length than the front nine, so can perhaps feel like a lesser trial, but the course’s defences remain just as potent. The par-four 13th is a great example. It is only 340m from the back tees, but those who unleash the driver inevitably fall foul to the fairway bunkers or bushland. In my experience, it’s far wiser to show restraint off the tee and still look to attack with an approach from around the 140m mark.
The par-five 18th offers a much better opportunity to wield the big stick with intent and is a classic example of a risk-and-reward closing hole. It may not seem that special when standing on the tee, but when you reach the corner of the dogleg left, one of the most awe-inspiring system of bunkers you could ever hope to see will be revealed.
Leading up to the green is a single bunker stretching 80m in length, with three additional bunkers right and left of the dancefloor. There is plenty of room to bail out to the left, but if you want to take on the green and enjoy a grandstand finish, you’ll have to risk it all. Make or break. That is how a round of golf should conclude and that’s one reason why Meadow Springs stands tall in the memory.
When the time comes to dissect your round, one thing you inevitably notice is the incredible variety of holes Meadow Springs serves up. You will have played doglegs left and right, long and short par fours with blind approaches, holes that require lay-ups and others to boldly attack. It is a thinking golfer’s course, which gives every aspect of your game a thorough going over and can play very differently depending on weather conditions and pin placements. I can’t imagine ever tiring of the place.
Designer Robert Trent Jones Jr worked wonders with the tight, figure-of-eight layout at his disposal. The course loops between housing estates, with connecting pathways running below the suburban roadways. Those aforementioned trees that line the course do a highly effective job at shielding players from the outside world. You don’t see houses. You don’t hear traffic. You are at one with nature, for a few hours at least.
It is evident this is very much what the club has in mind. Opened in 1987, Meadow Springs isn’t yet 40 years old but feels like it belongs. The course flows naturally from one hole to the next. Even the tee boxes flow seamlessly into the fairways, with no man-made walls or barriers separating them. A small detail, but one which perfectly complements the club’s dedication to making the most of the land it occupies.
Overall, there’s a lack of pretentiousness here that makes the calibre of the course – and the country-style hospitality in evidence in the pro shop and modest clubhouse – all the more impressive. Meadow Springs is a shining example of a golf facility confident in its value proposition, while remaining true to its roots.
So, if you’re planning a visit to WA, or you’re a Perth local who has somehow yet to discover this “hidden gem” on our doorstep, do yourself a favour and factor Meadow Springs into your plans. This is a course deserving of all the plaudits. The fact the public can play here seven days a week should make it an unmissable addition to your golfing bucket list.
My final recommendation? If you’re able, walk the course. There is something special about feeling the turf under your feet and taking in the trees and birdsong as you tread the fairways. It truly helps you understand why this course embodies the phrase “golf as nature intended”.
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