The ranking of Australia’s Top-100 Courses for 2024 was recently published in Golf Australia Magazine.
114. FRANKSTON GC
Frankston, Victoria
Designers: Rowley Banks (1913).
Of all the courses featured here, Frankston – once referred to as the Millionaires’ Club, but known as ‘Little Frankston’ to its members – is the most private and requires an invite from a member to play.
If you do ever get the chance, you’ll love the experience of this hidden Sandbelt gem. Few holes are better than the opener though. The short downhill par-4 affords players a view of Port Philip Bay in the distance as the fairway descends to the bunkered green.
Little has changed here in more than a century. All the greens were rebuilt after a massive bushfire in 1944, while the 9th hole was reconstructed in 1996 because of drainage issues. www.frankstongolfclub.com.au (members only)
115. THE EASTERN GC – North Course
Yering, Victoria
Designer: Greg Norman Golf Course Design (2016).
The Eastern’s North Course covers holes 10-18 and 19-27, and like the remaining holes on the property, the golf is played against the scenic backdrop of the Great Dividing Range.
The layout has been created to take full advantage of the natural undulations while other areas were raised during construction, presumably to protect the layout during periods of heavy rainfall and potential flooding.
Where it differs from the South Course is across holes 19-27, which are less interesting strategically than holes 1-9 but still offer a stern test.
116. FORSTER-TUNCURRY GC – Tuncurry Course
Tuncurry, New South Wales
Designers: Kel Nagle & Mike Cooper (1984); Craig Parry Design (2021 and ongoing).
This is one of the best five courses you will find between Newcastle and the Queensland border.
Tuncurry is always lots of fun to play and the natural landscape here, combined with the wind, ensures no two rounds are ever the same.
Laid out on rolling sand dune terrain just a short pitch from Nine-Mile Beach, each hole is relatively isolated and has been carved from thick ti tree, gums, banksias and melaleucas.
Most of the holes run predominantly north south, so the fairways tend to run parallel with the dunes, at least until a dogleg left or right takes the fairway up and over a gentle dune.
Former prolific tournament winner now course designer, Craig Parry, has provided the club with a masterplan and several improvements, including the remodelling of a few greens, have been completed.
www.forstertuncurrygolf.com.au
117. FLINDERS GC
Flinders, Victoria
Designers: David Myles Maxwell and others (1903); Vern Morcom (1950); Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (2001); Michael Henderson (2022 and ongoing).
Golfers, who are willing to travel beyond the great courses saturating the western side of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, will find an ‘old’ new wonder on the eastern tip of the peninsula.
Flinders never disappoints. There is an old-world charm about this seaside gem, which is not surprising as golf has been played there for 120 years.
The course is currently working through some very good upgrades as part of a masterplan by course designer Michael Henderson, who is looking to reduce the number of bunkers that have little impact on play, while some trees will also be removed to enable the course to reach its full strategic potential. Most greens will also be remodelled as part of the plan. Exciting times ahead.
118. NUDGEE GC – Kurrai Course
Nudgee, Queensland
Designer: James Wilcher (2021 redesign).
Since reopening for play in 2021, Nudgee’s Kurrai Course has become the home of the Queensland PGA Championship and James Wilcher’s transformative redesign has proven to be a challenging test.
Kurrai is far more strategic and demanding of good ball-striking than it ever was before the redesign. There are playing lines from certain tees that will provide the best approach into greens that angle in different directions. Undulations in some fairways partially obscure potential hazards ahead and the use of some quite dramatic and expansive bunkering sets up several blind approach shots requiring a little local knowledge.
The size and shape of the green complexes lie at the heart of the transformation. The old ‘pancake-flat greens’ are a thing of yesteryear with every green featuring varying degrees of movement and undulation.
119. LEONGATHA GC
Leongatha South, Victoria
Designer: Vern Morcom (1961).
Carved from magnificent bushland, Leongatha is the highest ranked course in Victoria’s Gippsland region.
The Vern Morcom-designed par-70 layout covers idyllic rolling terrain with fairways flanked by majestic trees, some of which are clearly more than a century old.
Morcom took full advantage of the topography, creating some truly memorable holes that dogleg left and right and across varying terrain. These risk-reward holes also feature smallish greens, which place a real premium on finding the right spot in the fairway from the tee and accuracy from the fairway.
The club has embarked on an improvement masterplan, which will be overseen by Lukas Michel working for course design firm, Clayton, DeVries & Pont (CDP). Much of the plan will see greens rebuilt as well as some bunkers remodelled where required.
120. CROMER GC
Cromer, New South Wales
Designer: Members (1929); Eric Apperly (1949); Al Howard (1994); James Wilcher (2005).
While the address places it in the heart of Sydney’s northern beaches suburbia, Cromer Golf Club feels quite hidden from the nearby residential area.
Bordered by Garigal National Park and the picturesque Narrabeen Lagoon, Cromer is one of the prettiest courses to be found on the peninsula and the quality of the course has been rising steadily for the past few years.
A major rebuild nearly 20 years ago – where all tees were rebuilt, 14 new greens constructed, and fairway bunkers added – laid the foundation for year-on-year improvement to the layout.
121. NOOSA SPRINGS GOLF & SPA RESORT
Noosa Heads, Queensland
Designer: Graham Papworth (1999).
Sitting alongside national parklands and the picturesque Lake Weyba, Noosa Springs is arguably the best conditioned layout on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The Graham Papworth design covers gently undulating terrain and winds through pockets of rainforest as well as small bloodwood forests before breaking out onto wide fairways flanked by imposing stands of melaleuca.
The signature 5th hole is not only the course’s most visually striking, but it is also its best test. A 329-metre par-4 that can be driven by long hitters in the correct wind, the hole features a large lake along the right edge that has to be challenged whichever way you play the hole.
122. EASTLAKE GC
Kingsford, New South Wales
Designers: Eric Apperly & Tom Howard (1932); Ross Watson (2012); in-house (2021).
On a sandy sliver of land between the two private Sydney clubs, The Lakes and Bonnie Doon, Eastlake provides a high-quality golfing experience for its members and the public.
Stretching away from the clubhouse for the entire front nine before returning along an adjacent verdant ribbon, Eastlake has benefited from the clearing of a lot of non-native vegetation, some redesign work and the creation of new and memorable holes.
The tree clearing has significantly improved the quality of the turf right across the golf course.
123. LAKELANDS GC
Merrimac, Queensland
Designer: Jack Nicklaus (1997).
Jack Nicklaus’ first full foray into course in Australia yielded an exceptional layout on a flat, flood-prone site on the Gold Coast.
The superior presentation of the playing surfaces would matter little if the design was ordinary. The fact Nicklaus’ work at Lakelands is very good ensures this layout should be on the ‘must play’ list of every golfer heading to the holiday strip.
The fairways at Lakelands, overall, are generously wide but the key to good scoring here lies in your ability to play to the edges of the short grass and, therefore, leave a straightforward approach into the angled greens.
124. CYPRESS LAKES RESORT
Pokolbin, New South Wales
Designer: Steve Smyers (1992).
American course designer Steve Smyers was able to turn what was a challenging site to build on and a drawn-out construction process into a good example of strategic golf.
With each nine boasting a distinct character – the outward half is relatively treeless, open and rolling, where the inward is more defined, with sharper falls and rises as it winds its way below the high point of the resort – the course contains a variety of hole types, from drive-and-pitch par-4s and reachable par-5s to stern, long par-3s and what was, at one point, the longest golf hole in the country.In every case, position is paramount, with golfers presented with the task of plotting rather than blasting – again, sipping, not quaffing.
Cypress Lakes opened for play little more than three decades ago and rarely has it been presented in such good shape as you will find it these days, which would explain why after a lengthy period away from lists like this, Cypress Lakes is finding its legs again.
125. ALICE SPRINGS GC
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Designers: Peter Thomson & Mike Wolveridge (1985)
Early in the morning or late in the day are the best times to witness the complete colourful splendour of a round on Australia’s original desert course.
The well-maintained playing surfaces are various shades of green and wide of the fairways the tinder-dry undergrowth is surrounded by the reds and yellows of rocky and sandy desert soils. The ochre glow of the MacDonnell Ranges, which forms a majestic backdrop to the course, is particularly impressive late in the day. Having been warmed all day by the sun, the quartzite, granite and sandstone of the range glows even after the sun has disappeared beyond the horizon to the west.
Accuracy is of the utmost importance around this testing Thomson & Wolveridge layout, as missing any fairway or green can result in your next shot being played from a rocky or sandy lie.
www.alicespringsgolfclub.com.au
126. MOLLYMOOK GC – Hilltop Course
Mollymook, New South Wales
Designers: Bill Andriske & Ken McKay Snr (1977).
The undulating and visually stunning Hilltop Course includes a back nine to rival anything to be found in regional NSW.
Characterised by slick, sloping putting surfaces at the end of beautifully manicured fairways that wind through chutes of tall timber, Mollymook is an 18-hole tree-lined thrill ride.
Among the highlights is a brilliant stretch of holes encompassing the par-4 11th, par-3 12th and the sweeping par-5 13th holes.
Bunker renovations, selective tree removal and superior kikuyu fairways and bentgrass greens, have significantly improved the playing experience at Mollymook in recent years.
127. PORTARLINGTON GC
Portarlington, Victoria
Designers: Eric Horne (1963), Tony Cashmore (1996-2020), Neil Crafter and Paul Mogford – Golf Strategies (2020 and ongoing).
Portarlington is a much under-rated gem on Victoria’s golf-rich Bellarine Peninsula.
The layout is solid and well-designed for a course split by a road, and the often dead-straight fairways offer more variety and intrigue through mature tree lines and definite entry angles into the greens that give the straight holes more character than is apparent at first glance.
The fine condition of the couch grass fairways plus the imposing bunkers make this layout a little slice of the Sandbelt on the peninsula.
128. LONG REEF GC
Collaroy, New South Wales
Designers: Dan Soutar & Frank Eyre (1931); Eric Apperly (1946); Al Howard (1965); Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (1996); Craig Parry Design (2023 and ongoing).
Long Reef occupies a headland on Sydney’s northern beaches where every weather-exposed hole offers a multi-million-dollar view –there’s Manly to the south, with Collaroy and Narrabeen to the north.
Long Reef is not long by modern standards but what it lacks in length is more than made up for by the wind, which is hardly surprising given how exposed the course is to the elements.
The layout has recently undertaken a bunker program with some sandy hazards being removed and others being remodelled. Craig Parry has created a masterplan for the club which will be implemented in stages.
129. EYNESBURY GOLF COURSE
Eynesbury, Victoria
Designer: Graham Marsh (2007).
This lengthy creation from Graham Marsh is a solid design on what was a windswept, flat and barren site, which had been a sheep station in years gone by.
It was not ideally suited to golf but a massive amount of earthworks re-arranged the canvas and the course – which is the hub for a burgeoning residential community – features enough ground movement to give rise to some interesting and challenging holes.
The course boasts many thoughtfully designed and skilfully constructed green complexes, which keeps a round at Eynesbury among Melbourne’s best valued golf offerings.
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