As you zoom across the Brooklyn Bridge spanning the Hawkesbury River, following the M1 north from Sydney, it’s not long before signs to Gosford, The Entrance and Wyong pop up – all framed by the dense bush of the Brisbane Water National Park left and right of the freeway.

Despite enormous urban growth during the past two decades, you’re never far from a national park, picturesque waterway or long stretch of beach on the Central Coast – with Avoca, Wamberal, Pelican, Shelly, McMasters and Forrester’s Beaches being the picks of an impressive lot. The likes of Avoca and Pelican have even been mentioned in dispatches as among the best beaches in the country.

And if its good quality golf you’re looking for on your next holiday, the Central Coast is also home to a wide selection of courses – including three Top-100 nationally ranked layouts – to suit your budget.

MAGENTA SHORES GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

The majesty of Magenta Shores is evident across the course that its designer Ross Watson refers to as his “magnum opus”. From the Pacific Ocean vistas of the front nine to the sheltered dunes of the inward half, the 15-year-old layout is as visually stunning as it is challenging. 

Much of the course was formerly a sand mine and rubbish tip – featureless land necessitating the man-made mounds and dunes that were formed during construction and the raising of the land profile by several metres. This, however, takes little away from the calibre of the design and its inherent scenic beauty. The rolling fairways and ever-present sea breezes make for perennial difficulty even at times when the wind is at your back.

Magenta Shores' par-5 2nd hole. PHOTO: AirSwingMedia/Nick Wall.

In recent times, the club has undertaken a program of converting all 18 fairways to the hardy and popular Santa Ana couch, which has certainly improved the playing experience and was noted by Golf Australia’s ranking judges in 2020 with Magenta Shores achieving its No.36 ranking in Australia’s Top-100 Courses.

The layout is not outrageously long, measuring slightly more than 6,000 metres from the blue tees and 6,322 from the tips. Instead, the strength and direction of the wind is a major factor in the difficulty of almost every hole, giving Magenta Shores a volatility that seduces golfers into thinking they have the game to tame it. Take, for instance, the closing hole. At 550 metres from the back tees, a summer nor’easter makes this seemingly long par-5 play far shorter than the scorecard distance indicates, however in a strong southerly, it requires three almighty blows to carry the nest of huge bunkers set 30 metres or so short of the putting surface. Likewise, the opening holes are susceptible to the conditions, dictating whether caution or aggression is called for. Rarely in golf do the same holes display such variant moods, and in a game that can never be conquered, a moody Magenta Shores is about as indecipherable as golf gets.

In truth, the course today is not as difficult as it was when it opened for play in mid-2006. Then, the rough was longer and hungrier, resulting in lost balls for almost any shot missing the fairway, and the shaggy but shapely bunkers featured tiny pockets for balls to gather in and from where taking a stance was nigh impossible, let alone authoring a successful extrication. It was an initial shortcoming that has improved vastly in recent years. Today the first cut of rough is still lush, but you’re far more likely to find your ball and make some sort of recovery play.

Watson’s design loops several times, constantly changing the direction of play throughout the round and examining the different skills of each player. The one stretch of holes running in the same direction offers you some respite, especially in a southerly breeze. The short par-4 5th, potentially driveable par-4 6th and short par-5 8th all play downwind in a southerly and invite golfers into lusty hitting. Nestled in between is the little 7th, a 135-metre par-3 that scares no one in a helping wind but can require mid to long irons while tacking into one.

Earlier, the 523-metre 2nd hole captures everyone’s attention. After a decent but docile opening hole, the Magenta Shores layout uses its closest point to the neighbouring beach to distract players into making poor decisions. The par-5 features a large fairway bunker on the right that narrows a driving zone already featuring out-of-bounds to the left. When played as a three-shot hole the challenge is more straightforward, yet the opportunity to fly or skirt the huge pit from the tee can prove too tempting. Up at the green, more complications abound as the multi-tiered putting surface requires pinpoint pitching onto it and deft touch once aboard. It is quite simply an immaculate and seductive par-5.

The inward nine includes a pair of par-4s distinguished from the rest by their surrounds. Both the 326-metre 13th and 381-metre 14th are lined along the left side by thick coastal scrub and trees as well as a series of fairway bunkers placed to narrow the leeway from the flora. As with much of the Magenta Shores course, the conservative play here is advisable as laying back won’t inhibit your chances of finding the greens in regulation and carding a pair of pars.

Magenta Shores is a private club. However, any golfer visiting the Central Coast should include the highly ranked layout in their itinerary. Visitors are welcome but tee times are limited.

The sun rises over Shelly Beach and the par-4 5th hole. PHOTO: Brendan James.

SHELLY BEACH GOLF CLUB

Had a NSW Lands Department bureaucrat got his way in the late 1940s, Tuggerah Lakes Golf Club would never have made the move to wonderful rolling seaside land at Shelly Beach.

But in 1952 Wyong Shire Council stepped in and granted the club a lease agreement on the 100 acres of land it now occupies overlooking the ocean.

The prolific course designer of his time, Al Howard, was commissioned and the first nine holes were ready for play in 1954, with the remaining nine holes opening three years later.

Howard’s design remained largely unchanged for decades but in recent years several holes have been redesigned, which has markedly improved the course.

Development in the region in the mid-2000s led to the emergence of new, residential-driven golf options in the area, like Magenta Shores and Kooindah Waters. The then-named Tuggerah Lakes Golf Club (which was changed in 2010 to Shelly Beach to better reflect its location)was motivated to begin upgrades of its own. Course architect Ross Watson made several changes, while the club has carried onward with new course works as part of a larger overhaul.

In recent years, there has been a significant upgrade of the irrigation of the course, more than two dozen bunkers have been reconstructed, several greens have been rebuilt and a considerable amount of landscaping has been completed. No wonder it’s ranked No.86 in Golf Australia’s list of the Top-100 Public Access Courses in the nation.