The natural treasures of the New South Wales Central Coast quickly become obvious.
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.
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.
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.
“Shelly Beach has always been a wonderful place to play golf, but it has been at its best in recent years,” said Top-100 judge Sandra Lyons. “The holes closest to the ocean are the obvious highlight during a round that never disappoints.”
An easy-walking 6,007 metres from the tips, Shelly Beach is a prime example of the coastal course conundrum – the holes closer to the water are so good that they can overshadow the quality of the holes away from it. The layout is divided by Shelly Beach Road, with the 1st to the 6th, 9th, 10th and 16th to 18th holes grouped on the north side of the road and sharing an open, windswept feel that takes in the vast ocean views. The remaining holes – the 7th and 8th as well as the 11th to 15th holes – lie on the other side of the road and are characterised by heavily tree-lined fairways that run predominantly north and south.
The three most memorable holes also offer the best ocean views. The 361-metre par-4 5th is a devilish hole where a blind drive needs to be followed up with a precise mid or short iron to the green, depending on the strength and direction of the breeze.
The following oceanside hole measures just 333 metres from the tips but it plays much tougher than the scorecard suggests. It is a tight driving hole, especially into the wind, and club selection for the approach is always challenging in the windy conditions that often prevail.
The 16th is one of the best, or most interesting, of the homeward-bound holes. It is a short-par 4, at 315 metres, of substance where your drive needs to be positioned for the best angle to approach a flag cut anywhere on the diagonally laid green, which has been terraced into a steep sand dune. Where the 5th and 6th holes might play into the wind, the 16th hole will play downwind but it won’t make this short offering any easier.
BREAKERS COUNTRY CLUB
Terrigal is a beautiful village with a beachside esplanade, lined with Norfolk pines as well as restaurants and cafes.
Breakers Country Club is a pretty par-33 nine-hole layout that can lay claim to be one of the most improved layouts in the region.
The course has six par-4s and three par-3s and offers alternate tees for those looking to play 18 holes. In recent years, the condition of the layout has improved markedly with manicured fairways, while the small, slightly raised greens are terrific to putt on.
Breakers is a challenging course with thickly tree-lined fairways, while water comes into play on six of the nine holes. One of those holes is the 322-metre par-4 3rd hole where you must choose to lay-up short or try and carry a creek that cuts diagonally through the fairway. The shortest carry is down the right edge of the fairway, but this will leave a complicated approach around tall trees to find the narrow green, which is protected by one bunker left and another right.
Water also plays a major role on the final hole, whether it’s played as the 9th or 18th. From the alternate 18th tee, the hole plays as par-4 of 347 metres that requires a drive to played over a lake to find the narrow fairway. A pond lies short and left of the green, which features a thick semi-circle of trees and shrubs behind and at its sides.
KOOINDAH WATERS GOLF CLUB
Wyong lies just west of Tuggerah Lake and about 20 minutes’ drive inland from the nearest beaches.
The town boasts two golf courses, with Kooindah Waters Golf Club being the most recent addition having opened for play in 2006. It has been ranked in Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses ever since.
Kooindah Waters is a fine example of how a golf course development can turn unsightly wet wasteland, often used by illegal rubbish dumpers, into a beautiful property where golf and flourishing birdlife exist side-by-side.
Today the former swamp contains 18 intriguing and challenging holes, with frequent nods to its past life as holes weave between reedy swamps and water hazards reinforced with wooden sleepers and bulkheads.
Another Ross Watson creation, this time in collaboration with Craig Parry, Kooindah Waters is short, tight and rustic, with its unkempt swamps and orange-hued bunkers. Parry’s contributions came with the club golfer in mind, mostly suggestions to widen some fairways and offer alternative options to the hero shot. Watson concurred, and the result was a layout that, while tight and trouble-strewn, still offers multiple opportunities to take on ambitious carries and daring lines.
Precision is of utmost importance as is certainty over club selection. Several approach shots require water carries with little space offered as a bail-out. In many instances the looming water is obvious, such as at the all-carry par-3 2nd and semi-island 17th hole, but on other occasions the trouble is more subtle, with a bunker or other hazard lurking partially out of view.
One hole where Watson and Parry want you to take the aggressive option is the 298-metre 14th. With a swamp left of the driving zone and an array of fairway bunkers scattered left and right, there is more room nearer the green and it arguably makes more sense to bust a tee shot as close to the flag as possible. Just be sure to avoid the wicked little pot short and right of the shallow green.
WYONG GOLF CLUB
Wyong Golf Club is just a five-minute drive from Kooindah Waters and offers a different golf experience to its younger neighbour. The terrain is more undulating, which gives rise to some interesting holes and a variety of shots that need to be played.
The Wyong club dates back to a humble start when it could be found within the confines of the nearby racecourse in the early 1920s. The club sought land on higher, more undulating ground and it moved to a nine-hole layout on its present site in 1936 and the course has been growing and improving for more than 80 years.
The course was expanded to 18 holes between 1953 and 1956, with course architect Al Howard making the most out of the varied terrain to create a quality layout.
Former US PGA champion Wayne Grady was commissioned by the club more than a decade ago to upgrade several holes, while the par-3 15th and par-4 18th were added.
These new additions to the course have enhanced the experience of a round at Wyong, which already boasted some memorable holes, with arguably the best of them being the 453-metre par-5 5th hole that is a fine risk-and-reward offering. The dogleg right hole features a ‘burn’ that cuts through the fairway about 45 metres short of the putting surface. Your drive needs to be shaped to follow the fairway as there is a water hazard that can be found through the dogleg. Finding the fairway with a solid drive leaves the option of a lay-up short of the burn or to go for the green, making sure to avoid the trees either side of the playing line.
The Wyong course, featuring bentgrass greens and kikuyu fairways, is one of the best presented layouts in the region. Considering the green fee here is just $40 for 18 holes midweek, it is one of the best value-for-money rounds to be played on the Coast.
GOSFORD GOLF CLUB
Gosford is the oldest course on the Central Coast, with the first rounds played on the current site in 1928 when the land was permanently leased to the club by the local city council.
The heritage club is set in tranquil surrounds, just a few minutes’ drive from the bustle of the Gosford city centre.
Wedged between Gosford Hospital and Narara Creek, the course is laid out across easy-walking terrain with a clubhouse occupying the property’s highest point and offering views west to the ranges.
The fairways are heavily tree-lined, water comes into play on half a dozen holes and only one green is bunkerless.
These course design traits place a premium on accuracy, which would explain why Gosford’s favourite golfing son, Billy Dunk, was such a proficient ball-striker. Dunk, whose father was a greenkeeper at Gosford Golf Club, learned the game here and went on to win more than 100 professional tournaments and set 80 course records during his career.
The quartet of holes, starting at the 142-metre par-3 14th hole, present a range of challenges and, for mine, are the highlight of the round. The 14th, which runs along the edge of Narara Creek to the left, is relatively flat and makes club selection difficult, especially when you consider the green is surrounded by sand.
Water also comes into play on the short par-4 15th. Taking a driver here is risky and must be shaped from right-to-left to avoid a lake to the right of the fairway. This lake extends toward the large green and can be found with a wayward second shot.
Trees are the main concern on the 307-metre 16th hole. The drive needs to pass through a tree-lined chute to find the fairway that narrows the closer you get to the green, which is protected by two bunkers short right and left.
Gosford’s penultimate hole is arguably its best. Measuring 351-metres from the tips, the par-4 turns gently from left-to-right and is flanked by a lake to the right. The strategy here is simple … any tee shot too far left or right will leave a player blocked out with their approach as the canopy of tall trees encroaches on their playing line to a green protected by four bunkers.
MANGROVE MOUNTAIN MEMORIAL CLUB
Mangrove Mountain is 30 minutes’ drive west of Gosford in the Central Coast hinterland on the eastern edge of the rolling hills of Dharug National Park.
Given its name and location, it shouldn’t surprise that the 10-hole course at Mangrove Mountain Memorial Club covers undulating terrain below a clubhouse that offers panoramic views over the national park surrounds and on towards the ocean.
As a 10-hole course there are alternate tees on many holes including the 1st-10th holes. When played as the 1st hole at 320 metres, you get a genuine birdie chance to kick start the round. The tee is elevated well above the fairway that runs a straight line to the green, but cambers slightly downhill from right-to-left. A good drive can leave a short iron or wedge into a green, where any approach shot finishing below the hole presents a green light to be aggressive with the first putt.
There are two main water hazards on the course, and both come into play on approach shots – firstly at the long par-4 2nd, and then at the par-5 4th hole. The 4th hole is played downhill and is flanked to the right by dense bushland. The green is easily reachable in two shots, but it is a difficult shot to be played from a downhill lie and expect to hold your ball on the putting surface. Make the shot and you will be rewarded with an eagle or birdie.
There are plans to extend the layout to 18 holes, but, for now, the club offers a well-presented golfing experience, which offers a real challenge – not based on distance but accurate ball-striking.
THE SPRINGS GOLF CLUB
Quirky but challenging, The Springs at Peats Ridge is a fun golfing excursion coupled with great views of the Central Coast hinterland, particularly from the stunning clubhouse.
The golf course, which is split between two designers – Graham Papworth created the front nine, Al Howard the back (this was Howard’s last design project and he passed away in 2013, aged 100) – is carved from natural bushland on a dramatically undulating, sandy site. A succession of uphill and downhill shots and numerous small, cheeky collection ponds characterise the layout.
The club altered the sequencing of its holes nearly a decade ago to bring the 18th green in front of the then new clubhouse. The move pushed The Springs’ most fascinating hole to the front of the queue. The 518-metre 1st plays from an elevated tee to a fairway guarded by a chain of small ponds along the left side, the same direction the land slopes. From the driving area the fairway dips sharply to a sunken lay-up zone that’s hidden from view and protected by water left and scrub right before widening to a long, rippling green with several segments. It’s an eye-catching opener where leaving yourself a longer third shot from the crest of the hill affords a more complete view of the target – and the trouble.
The opening hole is a real challenge for any player, but it might be the easiest of the three holes that start a round. From the blue markers, the par-3 2nd hole is a 190-metre journey across the edge of a lake to a narrow, bunkerless, three-tiered green, which drops away steeply from its edges to the right. A mis-hit right here will leave a tough up and down for par, as well as a long uphill trek to the green.
The aforementioned lake comes into play again on the next hole, which is rated the hardest on the course. The dogleg right par-4 is a long 369 metres uphill to a plateau green. Once you have navigated over, or around, the two lakes right of the turning fairway, the key is to select the correct club to carry your approach all the way onto the putting surface, and not into one of the two greenside bunkers.
As you start the second nine, watch in breathless anticipation as your ball hangs against the sky before dropping to the green on the 174-metre 10th, a par-3 played from a high tee to a bunkerless green that slopes from front-to-back, and right-to-left towards a lake shouldering the back left edge of the putting surface. As an examination of your club selection abilities, you won’t find a more challenging test on the Central Coast
WHERE TO STAY
PULLMAN MAGENTA SHORES
The five-star Pullman Magenta Shores is an exceptional golf, spa and corporate retreat resort offering apartment-style accommodation and a unique golf and beachfront setting.
Offering studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom villas, the facilities also include a tennis court, swimming pool and day spa. Every studio or villa enjoys views of either the golf course, outdoor pools or our beautiful landscaped gardens.
After a round, relax in one of the resort’s three swimming areas, including a 20 metre indoor heated lap pool, Rock Pools or the Lagoon Pool with seasonal pool bar.
www.pullmanmagentashores.com.au
MERCURE KOOINDAH WATERS RESORT
The award-winning Mercure Kooindah Waters is home to an array of king rooms and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments directly alongside the golf course, many offering course views. Guests can enjoy stay-and-play packages that tie golf or a spa treatment into a stay at the resort.
For $399 for two people, guests receive deluxe golf view accommodation, 18 holes of golf (with cart) for two, a burger and beer per person plus complimentary parking and wifi.
www.mercurekooindahwaters.com.au
CROWNE PLAZA TERRIGAL
Crowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific offers the ultimate deluxe beach accommodation on the Central Coast
Each of the 199 light-filled generously sized guest rooms and suites will make you feel welcome, featuring its own furnished balcony and either a deluxe king bed or two queen beds. Our stunning 4.5-star accommodation facing Terrigal beach includes an outdoor heated pool and panoramic views of the sea.
www.terrigalpacific.crowneplaza.com
WHERE TO PLAY
MAGENTA SHORES G&CC
Green fees: On request
(pictured right).
SHELLY BEACH GC
Green fees: April to September – $45 (visitors midweek), $50 (weekends); October to March – $50 (midweek), $55 (weekends).
www.shellybeachgolfclub.com.au
BREAKERS CC
Green fees: $27 (nine holes).
KOOINDAH WATERS RESORT
Green fees: $59 (Mon-Thurs), $79 (Fri-Sun). Cheaper rates for resort guests and tee-times after 2pm each day.
WYONG GC
Green fees: $40 (midweek), $45 (weekends).
GOSFORD GC
Green fees: $38.
MANGROVE MOUNTAIN MEMORIAL GC
Green fees: $40 (18 holes with cart weekdays, except Wednesday); $21 (nine holes, weekdays); $23 (18 holes, weekdays).
THE SPRINGS GC
Green fees: $40 (weekdays), $50 (weekends).
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