The local climate is built for golf. Winter is mild and playable, while summer creates firm, fast fairways that let the ball run forever. Pick a morning tee time, and you can sneak around before the famous sea breeze arrives, shaping the round in a completely different way by the afternoon. All of it wrapped in the natural quietness and relaxed pace that seems to run through every local course and clubhouse.

ULTIMATE VARIETY

What surprises most visitors is the variety. Within short drives, you can move between totally different experiences. The metro stretches along the coastline, and that access to the ocean has produced some truly spectacular layouts. Green fees and memberships still feel refreshingly reasonable, almost like they’re stuck in another era, even though the courses themselves can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the country.

Clusters of courses sit close together, yet look and play nothing alike, giving every day of a trip a new flavour. And there’s no better place to begin that journey than the Swan Valley wine region, teeing off at The Vines Resort.

The Vines Resort is the opening chapter for any WA golf trip. Home to two full 18-hole championship courses, it blends genuine tournament layout with an easygoing resort atmosphere. From 1993 to 2001, it hosted the Heineken Classic, welcoming names like Norman, Els, Scott and Stadler, and that quality still shows in the design and conditioning today.

Both courses offer wide, inviting fairways and large, receptive greens, giving you room to swing freely while still demanding quality approach play. They won’t let you switch off, which makes them enjoyable for all levels, while still challenging better players.

It is the kind of place made for long, unhurried golf days. Book an early tee time, roll through your first 18 before lunch, grab a meal at the restaurant, then head straight back out to tackle the other course in the afternoon. Two completely different golf experiences on the same property keep the day fresh from start to finish.

Off the course, it’s just as easy to settle in. The kids can head to mini golf while you cool off by the pool, all surrounded by the wineries and relaxed charm of the Swan Valley. Spacious, welcoming and built for lingering, The Vines delivers that true resort golf feeling in one of WA’s best regions.

The Cut Golf Course. PHOTO: Joel Innes.

Considering the size of the state of WA, the range of golf on offer is remarkable. In fact, across just six courses, you can experience almost every major style of golf WA has to offer.

If you want to start with the purest and most traditional style of links golf, there’s nowhere better than The Cut Golf Course. Dramatically carved along the coastline, this course is consistently ranked among Golf Australia magazine’s top 100 layouts. From the first tee to the last green, you’ll find yourself reaching for your camera, with sweeping ocean views on almost every hole. Standing on the first green and looking out over the Indian Ocean, it’s not uncommon to spot whales. For all its beauty, however, The Cut is brutally tough. It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult courses in Australia; walking off with a score near your handicap, and only a few lost balls, feels like a genuine golfing achievement.

Just 30 minutes up the road is another top-100 links-style course, Secret Harbour Golf Links. With doglegs moving in both directions and bunkers positioned exactly where you don’t want them, it’s a true test of accuracy and patience. Here, the weather plays a huge role in how the course is experienced, either helping you along or exposing every weakness in your game. The smart play is often to leave the driver in the bag, use irons off the tee, and take advantage of the firm fairways and bump-and-run opportunities. Miss the fairway, though, and you’ll quickly learn why Secret Harbour has a reputation for biting back.

Heading inland, just 15 minutes brings a completely different feel at Meadow Springs Golf and Country Club. With the tagline “golf as nature intended”, it delivers exactly that. From the moment you step onto the first tee, you’re immersed in the course. Until you reach the turn, you won’t see another fairway, a house or a road, just golf unfolding naturally around you. The tee boxes melt into the fairways, creating a calm, flowing experience. The fairways stay lush year-round, the greens roll beautifully, and like many great courses, accuracy off the tee is the ultimate defence. Find the fairway early, and you’re in for a special day. One word of warning, though, avoid the 120m-long bunker on the 18th at all costs.

Meadow Springs Golf and Country Club. PHOTO: Joel Innes.

After the drama of links golf and the sweeping fairways of Meadow Springs, it’s time for something more relaxed. Maylands Golf Course is arguably the most central course in Perth, sitting just minutes from the CBD. You can book a tee time, play 18 holes and settle into the newly renovated clubhouse for lunch, all while overlooking the Swan River and Optus Stadium. The course is welcoming for golfers of all levels, and with no bunkers, it removes a common fear for many players. Holes along the river, particularly the 5th, 6th, 13th and 14th, showcase just how beautiful Perth can be, with water, city views and natural surroundings all on display.

As golfers grow ever time-poor, nine-hole courses are growing in popularity, and Embleton Golf Course is one of the best examples of how good they can be. Just seven kilometres from the CBD, this underrated layout offers a mix of par-3s and par-4s and is perfect for a quick nine or a relaxed walk with mates. It is a course that feels made for carrying your bag, especially late in the day when the sun filters through the trees. Don’t be fooled by the scorecard, though. Embleton is far from easy. Tight, tree-lined fairways keep you honest.

To round out the full range of golf styles, the final stop is resort golf at its best, Joondalup Resort. Regularly ranked as the number-one public access course in WA and consistently inside Australia’s top-100, Joondalup offers 27 holes across three distinct nines – Quarry, Lakes and Dunes. Each has its own character, but together they create an exceptional experience. If time allows, staying to play all three nines is highly recommended, but if you have to choose, the Quarry course is the priority. Holes two through six are sculpted around an old quarry, with dramatic drops of 20 to 30 metres into greens that feel almost unreal. The views are so striking, they barely look real, and the conditioning is immaculate year-round. Having recently hosted the WA Open, Joondalup continues to set the benchmark, with wide fairways, large greens, and extensive practice facilities. Add in the regular sight of kangaroos roaming the course, and it becomes an experience that feels unmistakably Australian. Joondalup Resort never stops impressing.

Secret Harbour Golf Links. PHOTO: Joel Innes.

After experiencing Joondalup, it’s the perfect introduction to the premium end of golf here on the West Coast, and Western Australia has no shortage of courses that comfortably fit in that top tier.

PREMIUM LAYOUTS

Just 15 minutes north of the CBD sits one of the state’s most iconic layouts, The Western Australian Golf Club. From the moment you arrive, it’s obvious how much care, time and respect has gone into every square metre of the property. Looking across the 9th green, with the hedged WAGC letters reflecting in the lake, it’s hard not to pause and take it all in. The course wastes no time announcing itself, either, opening with what is arguably one of the toughest starting holes in WA, a demanding 212 metre par-3. Yet as challenging as it is, your attention is constantly pulled away by the scenery. The lake separating the 1st and 9th holes, framed by the classic clubhouse and immaculate greens, is one of Perth’s most recognisable views in golf. From the 12th tee, the highest point in the metropolitan area, you can see the entire course laid out below you, with the city in the distance – a moment that really makes you appreciate how lucky golfers are in this part of the world.

It is impossible to talk about premium golf in WA without mentioning Lake Karrinyup Country Club. Regularly ranked inside Australia’s top-20 courses, it has hosted the Australian Open four times, along with events such as the ISPS Handa and World Super 6. As you’d expect, Lake Karrinyup delivers an unforgettable experience, defined by immaculate conditioning, strategic bunkering and fast, true greens that demand precision from start to finish.

Maylands GC: PHOTO: Joel Innes.

Just five minutes down the road from WAGC is another standout, Mount Lawley Golf Club. It isn’t until you walk through the clubhouse and stand on the first tee that you realise you’ve almost been transported from Perth to Melbourne’s famous Sandbelt. Completed in 2025, the full course renovation has successfully introduced a true Sandbelt feel, with sand waste areas, tight-cut bunker edges and lightning-quick greens. Hosting the 2025 WA Open so soon after the renovation, the course received widespread praise for its condition and playability – huge credit to the work done.

On the other side of the city sits the first of Perth’s two Royal clubs, Royal Perth Golf Club. From the moment you step onto the property, it delivers that unmistakable private club atmosphere. There is history here, along with a sense of prestige and polish that’s hard to replicate. Currently undergoing a full course redevelopment as part of a long-term master plan, Royal Perth is set to become an even stronger drawcard, with new hole designs and larger, more undulating greens. The clubhouse remains one of the best in the state, perfectly positioned overlooking the 1st tee and 8th green.

Joondalup Resort. PHOTO: Joel Innes.

A short drive down the freeway brings you to Royal Fremantle Golf Club, the home club of one of Australia’s Min Woo Lee. “Royal Freo” offers an incredible variety of holes, all wrapped into one cohesive layout. Long and short par-5s, sweeping doglegs in both directions, iron-only par-4s and demanding par-3s, it’s all here. It is the kind of course you could play for the rest of your life and still find something new every time you tee it up.

The West Australian. PHOTO: Joel Innes.

And then there’s Cottesloe Golf Club. When people think of Western Australia, beaches often come to mind, and for golfers, Cottesloe is the course that captures that feeling best. In my eyes, it comfortably sits in the top five courses in the state. There is something special about feeling the sea breeze, watching the sun set over the fairways and out towards the ocean, and knowing that experience is there every day of the year. When you play at Cottesloe, you genuinely feel privileged to be there. The striped fairways, pure white bunkers, immaculate surrounds and manicured gardens all combine to make it one of the most memorable places to play golf in WA.