Presenting a guide to the best golf courses in Australia which are open to the public, allowing you to book a tee time without needing a membership.
9. PORT FAIRY GOLF LINKS
Port Fairy, Victoria
The cost of a yearly membership here is about the same as a green fee at some of the very best links in Britain. Great fun and amongst the best-value golf in the world. The green fees here are giving golf away in comparison to fees in Britain. – Mike Clayton
The best stretch is 14-16, but there are great holes everywhere. Wait for cars on the main road on two holes. The closest relative to Barnbougle Dunes on the mainland, for a third of the price and a very relaxed atmosphere. – Brendan Egan
An absolute beauty and my favorite Clayton (2000) design. I could play this course weekly; local members are lucky to have such a gem. Possibly the best $50 round of golf on Earth. – Oscar Morrison
The back 9 has wow-factor aplenty. A gentle handshake par-5 welcomes you (stay right) before holes increase in difficulty. The wow factor ratchets up on the 12th tee and keeps going until the sea disappears as you turn for home. – Simon Tyndale-Biscoe
www.portfairygolf.com.au
8. LONSDALE LINKS
Point Lonsdale, Victoria
What a delight Lonsdale Links is. You are a miserable sod if you aren’t walking around with a big smile for most, if not all, of your four hours around here. Not overly long, but so much to energise your creative brain and to relish the unique design. OCM based it on the template approach of golden-age architects in the U.S such as C.B. McDonald and Seth Raynor. The 1st – the Alps – is a great opener, with an intimidating tee shot. Loved the Biarritz green at 2 and then every template hole which followed: the Plateau (3), the Eden (6), the Leven (9), the Punchbowl (11), the Thumbprint (12), the Redan (14) and the Road (16). Favourite holes of the templates were 11 and 12, while 8 and 15 were my favoured non-template holes. – Brendan Egan
www.lonsdalelinks.com.au
7. THE DUNES LINKS
Rye, Victoria
A fantastic course with a Scottish links feel, just an hour from Melbourne. Remains one of the great public courses. – Oscar Morrison
In the early 1990s, the redo of The Dunes was a significant step in elevating public course architecture. – Mike Clayton
www.thedunes.com.au
6. 13TH BEACH GOLF LINKS (BEACH COURSE)
Barwon Heads, Victoria
The mixture of couch and fescue fairways make this one of the two best-conditioned courses on the mainland (The Moonah Course at The National is the other). The best-conditioned are in Tasmania, where it’s cool enough to grow fescue year-round; the cashmere of golf surfaces. – Mike Clayton
www.13thbeachgolf.com
5. OCEAN DUNES
King Island
Ocean Dunes has holes so spectacular, they would compete with the world’s best. The amazing course condition is often overlooked due to its design and natural features. Make sure your phone is fully charged, because you will be taking lots of photos. – Justin Avendano
www.oceandunes.com.au
4. ST ANDREWS BEACH
Fingal, Victoria
A fine example of how far the quality of Australian public course architecture has risen. – Mike Clayton
Challenging and beautifully manicured Sandbelt course which takes in all the undulations of being so close to the Coast. – Wayne Jameson
Playing this course is always a pleasure. Tom Doak’s design is a masterpiece, offering a unique experience with creative land undulations and shared fairways. A joy to play. – Oscar Morrison
An amazing test around the green which would challenge most top professionals. Like the best links courses, you battle the wind, but the stunning landscape allows you to play the ball low and use the contours to your advantage. – Justin Avendano
www.standrewsbeachgolf.com.au
3. BARNBOUGLE LOST FARM
Bridport, Tasmania
From the first tee you can see almost all of the front 9, plus the final three holes – a view which is mirrored when you finish with a drink out the front of the sportsbar overlooking the green of 18a, a spot as good a vantage point on a golf course as any in Australia. Lost Farm is arguably more visually spectacular and wonderful from the tees than its older sibling, but is perhaps shaded by the complexity and variety of the Dunes on fairway to green. There are so many high points, but the immensity of 5, the sheer scale of the awe-inspiring undulations on 8, and the jaw-drooping short 4 at 14 are personal highlights. – Brendan Egan
When you step foot on the property, you definetly get the impression you are on a “lost farm”. More open than the Dunes and maybe as a result, the golf is less penalising, but it still offers a tremendous golfing experience. – Jason Menzies
So good that I made it my screen saver. Marginally less challenging than its sister course next door, but a magnificent golfing venue with a delightful combination of short and long holes, cleverly moulded into the ocean-side landscape. All the more enjoyable from the Lost Farm restaurant overlooking the course with some local oysters and a cool-climate Riesling in hand as the sun sets. – Michael Hodgett
The wilder, crazier, occasionally more fun, occasionally more volatile version of its older brother, Lost Farm greets you with fairways wider than the Straits of Hormuz, which lead to green complexes like BMX tracks. More fun than all the drugs. – Matt Cleary
Similar to The Dunes, a great challenge with fantastic large greens which will have you putting away from the hole. This course is a great warm up for playing The Dunes and is equally as tough. – Robert McLaughlin
The designer Bill Coore is an absolute mastermind. This is a friendlier course than The Dunes, but just as challenging if you want to take it on. There are no two holes the same, which makes this course so enjoyable to play. You could stand on each tee box and think of five different ways to play the hole. You need to play this course more than once to truly understand the design features. – Justin Avendano
If you have 10 rounds to play at Barnbougle, it’s a 5-5 split for me. – Mike Clayton
www.barnbougle.com.au
2. BARNBOUGLE DUNES
Bridport, Tasmania
The first World Top 100 course (mid 30s by most reckoning) in Australia and open to everyone. – Mike Clayton
There is no course in Australia that draws me back for a return visit than Barnbougle Dunes. The special recipe that was cooked up there, with the land, the fescue surface, the sublime design, the coastal setting, the relaxed and welcoming vibe, the understated clubhouse, the pricepoint, and the beach shack accommodation, it really is astounding how good a trip to Bridport is. The quintessential “build it and they will come”, Barnbougle Dunes is an experience from go to whoa. The usual headliners get the love they deserve (4, 7, 15, and the two closing holes), but the sleeper hole I can’t get enough of is 10. The vision of the green perched high on the dune, cascading down its slope, the fairway arcing around the bunkers on the corner, this hole just asks to be played again and again. As do the other 17. You can never tire of the Barnbougle Dunes experience. – Brendan Egan
Golfers from all over the country get excited to get down here and play and you can see why. There is something very special about the location. The visual aspects of the golf course are breathtaking. The routing of the holes through the undulating hills and subsequent valleys can make golfers feel insignifant in the enormity of some holes. Once you’ve escaped from the visual smorgasboard around you, the golf is equally as spectacular. The course provides golfers with a huge selection of shot options and challenges their creativity. Getting it close may require aiming well away from the hole or the use of many of the backstops on the huge greens. The golf here is always a treat. – Jason Menzies
A more difficult layout than Lost Farm, with knee-high swales of coarse rough surrounding every fairway and green. Plotting your way around this course is as much fun as you can have playing the game. Hitting fairways is critical, and they are pristine. Depending on the wind (which is often a major part of the challenge), club choice can vary significantly, which combined with typically quick putting surfaces, means playing to your handicap is no mean feat. – Michael Hodgett
World-class. It’s as if the best and most fun links land in Scotland was ripped up and plonked on the north-east tip of Tasmania. Barnbougle is testament to the tenet of “if you build it, they will come”. Because, oh yes, they do, in their teeming multitudes, from everywhere, drawn like pilgrims to the siren song of the Clayton-Doak master work. A national treasure. – Matt Cleary
Probably the greatest challenge a mid golfer will face, navigating the sculpted, undulating fairways surrounded by deadly thick rough. Play out of the rough at your peril; course strategy is key to a good round. – Robert McLaughlin
This course has everything you could ever ask for in 18 holes: incredible green complexes, drivable par-4s, challenging par-3s and reachable par-5s. Surrounded with beach-sized bunkers all along the amazing coastline of Tasmania. A place you can visit every year and never get sick of its beauty. – Justin Avendano
www.barnbougle.com.au
1. CAPE WICKHAM LINKS
King Island, Tasmania
From the moment you set foot on the 1st tee, you know you’re in for one of the best golf rounds of your life. Whether the winds are up or down, it will test you with every shot. Make sure you walk slow and take in the amazing view. – Justin Avendano
The most dramatic course in the country and possibly the world. Cypress Point maybe ahead, but only just. – Mike Clayton
JUDGING PANEL
This year’s list was put together with the help of a newly assembled judging panel, comprising of some of the most well-travelled golf-lovers in Australia. These are players who have explored countless public access courses around the country.
TOP-100 RANKING CRITERIA
DESIGN (50%)
When ranking a course, judges were advised to ask the following questions to themselves to determine where a course stands in their list.
• Is there a good balance of par-3s, 4s and 5s? Is there good variety?
• Is risk-and-reward a factor on
many holes?
• How fair is the course for all players?
• Does the design offer a wide selection of shots, bringing any variation of wind direction into play?
• Does the course set-up (mowing lines, rough) complement the design?
• How memorable are individual holes and the course as a whole?
CONDITION (40%)
Things to consider include:
• The overall condition of playing surfaces. (Take into consideration elements out of control of course staff like drought, bushfire and flood.)
• Are the fairways cut to be well-defined from semi-rough and rough?
• Have the bunkers been well-presented.
Is the sand consistent?
VISUAL APPEAL (10%)
In relation to public access courses, visual appeal is an important factor in not only attracting golfers, but also getting those same golfers to play the course again and again. Visual appeal makes up the remaining 10 percent. Things to consider include:
• How aesthetically pleasing is the course to look at?
• Are there many holes which have the ‘wow’ factor?
• Does the course bIend well with its surrounds?
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