Nature has a way of attracting visitors to the Blue Mountains region, west of Sydney, and fittingly it is the many and varied natural features of the mountain landscape that make Blackheath Golf Club the best of the region’s golf courses.

With a kaleidoscope of botanical colour, Blackheath offers a perfect springtime getaway as the distinctive Blue Mountains seasons move from cold to warm – or as a summer escape while Sydney swelters. In truth, whichever time of year you play here, the abundant flora and national parks that neighbour the course are sure to provide a picturesque backdrop to a round.

Waxing about the visual splendour of the golf course and the region isn’t intended to be a mask for the layout. Far from it, in fact. The Blackheath course is a terrific ‘throwback’ design as it uses methods other than length to remain a tricky and enjoyable test. At 5,350 metres, the par-69 layout is significantly shorter than most courses and is played in thinner mountain air. Even though there will be few fairway woods or long irons required to reach par-4s in regulation, you’d better be able to predict how your ball will react on the ground in order to have the ball finish close to the cup.

The small, firm greens are in many cases unprotected by sand or water, or feature bunkers on just one side, yet it is uncanny how difficult it can be to avoid even just one target-side hazard when you’re relying on a fortuitous bounce or two. Shot judgements and club selections are made unclear throughout thanks to a design that mixes several elevated tees and uphill climbs with tempting doglegs.

And it’s a course where accuracy is of the highest order. Benching the driver in favour of a long iron, hybrid or fairway wood makes sense from the tee as established pine and gum trees line most of Blackheath’s fairways. On several occasions, players in my foursome also faced difficulty off the short grass when stray tee shots finished near the base of a tree with thick branches extending all the way to its base. Just creating a stance for these escape shots is tough enough, let alone taking a meaningful swing at the ball. So flail away with a driver at your peril, as the punishments can be both extreme and embarrassing.

Club selection is pivotal around Blackheath in places that combine foliage and elevation change. On the 307-metre 11th, for example, the choice from the tee is a mid-iron down the hill to leave a simple 9-iron or pitching wedge to the green, or instead to take a driver or fairway wood across the corner of the dogleg-right par-4 and finish somewhere near the green in one blow. If you take the latter option and don’t fly the collection of conifers on the inside corner, as I did, you risk being blocked by the ball-catching branches of these thick trees and having little chance of advancing the ball.

Other trees narrow the entrance on approach shots. At the 320-metre 8th, the fairway banks to the right but a large tree positioned frustratingly short and right of the sunken putting surface will block most shots from the right side of the hole, which is precisely where most drives will roll. Likewise at the 308-metre 12th, a pair of trees trims the available entrance to the green unless you lay back far enough from the tee to pitch over them. Both these holes demand an artful approach shot and some shrewd strategy.

Other holes are more open and use obstacles on the ground to deceive golfers. The green at the par-4 3rd, for example, is benched into a steep hillside that kicks any shot flying too far left of the green down a hill to a place from where there is little chance of saving par. Three holes later, the 365-metre 6th features a less severe version of the same terrain.

Design-wise, the pick of Blackheath’s holes fall at the end of the round. Beginning with the par-4 15th is a sequence of strong tests that also offer terrific variety. The 314-metre 15th plays longer than the distance suggests because of its raised green. With a hazard and bushland to the right of the fairway, the natural tendency from the tee is to veer left, yet four small bunkers await the too-safe play down that side. The second shot must carry a small creek and anything short of the green risks tumbling down into it, while over the back leaves a tough pitch or chip onto the narrow green. It is arguably the best hole on the course.

Next up is the 351-metre 16th, with a small pond left of the fairway that’s not immediately visible from the tee and an uphill approach to a small but open green. The par-3 17th is far from the most intimidating test at Blackheath but it is the most alluring. Played from a variety of tees that considerably alter the approach to the green, most tee angles require a carry across water to the small green perched above a large water hazard. Run-offs on the left and rear of the green make pars anything but straightforward if you bail long for safety. These days the vista of the green is more distinct thanks to the planting of an attractive garden along the top of the mini-amphitheatre that frames the rear of the green complex.

The final hole features a large spur in the fairway that kicks shorter drives into the left rough and trees yet will propel longer drives well down the fairway. And any shot straying right risks being lost in thick bush. The approach shot is played uphill to a green that will repel anything falling short or drifting right.

Blackheath Golf Club’s history stems back to the early 1900s when the club held multiple locations before settling in its current site in 1924. Its is a tale of constant change and evolution throughout a century that saw so many golf clubs begin, grow, stall and finally stabilise. The golf course changed during the early years, finally becoming 18 holes a few years after its final relocation. A more recent overhaul to the layout took place in the 1990s when the current 18 was unveiled in 1996.

In recent times the club has undertaken course improvements as a result of selling off club land bordering a couple of fairways. With still more land to spare, additional course work could be funded in future by the same means. There is talk of redesigning a handful of greens, extending some holes and altering the par on one or two more, which would likely enhance the challenge and provide a greater degree of variety. Whatever the future holds, this quintessential mountain course will never lose its inherent country charm.

THE COURSE

LOCATION: Brightlands Ave, Blackheath. From the Sydney CBD, take the M4 then the Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains, turning right into Evans Lookout Rd just before the town of Blackheath. The course is a 90-minute drive from the city and about 50 minutes from Penrith.

CONTACT: (02) 4787 5643.

WEBSITE: www.blackheathgolf.com.au

DESIGNER: Unknown.

PLAYING SURFACES: Rye, fescue and kikuyu (fairways and tees); bentgrass and Poa annua (greens).

PGA PRO: Dave Snelling.

GREEN FEES: $25 (midweek); $35 (weekends).

THE CLUB

MEMBERSHIPS: No joining fee exists for new members, and the annual charge for a full playing member is $690. For 21 to 40-year-olds and limited-play members the fee is $345 (conditions apply). Annual fees for student, junior and sub-junior members are also discounted.

ACCOMMODATION: Redleaf Resort is directly across the road from Blackheath Golf Club and is a perfect location for touring golfers to stay. The resort has 46 comfortably appointed rooms, a licensed restaurant, lounge, bar, heated undercover swimming pool, tennis courts, a games room and children’s playground.

Rates vary from $120 to $270 per night, depending on the size of the room and the night of the week. Phone 1800 817 011 or visit www.redleafresort.com.au

PACKAGES: Stay-and-play packages at Redleaf Resort start from $103 per person, twin share, which includes accommodation, breakfast and 18 holes at Blackheath Golf Club.