Southport is not a course that will easily submit to a player long-bombing drives all day. This is a thinking golfer’s course where length from the tee is not an issue but making sure you play to the right position in the fairways or on the greens is paramount.

A quick scan at the club’s honour boards confirms that smart golfers excel at Southport. Ossie Moore, a former junior and club champion, won the 1981 Australian Amateur before embarking on a successful pro career. In a rarity for any Australian club, Moore’s national championship victory was repeated by another Southport member just seven years later when an 18-year-old Stuart Bouvier claimed the trophy.

THE COURSE

LOCATION: Slatyer Ave, Southport Gold Coast, Queensland.

CONTACT: (07) 5571 1444.

WEBSITE: www.southportgolfclub.com.au

designers: Original designer unknown. Graham Marsh & Ross Watson redesign (1988).

PLAYING SURFACES: Bermuda 328 (greens); Greenlees Park couch (back nine fairways). Front nine fairways to eventually be converted to Greenlees Park couch

BUNKERS: 45.

PGA PROS: David McKean and Ben Campbell.

GREEN FEES: $35 (member’s guest only).

THE CLUB

Memberships: Southport is considered one of the premier member-owned golf clubs on the Gold Coast. Membership is capped to ensure overcrowding does not impede play in competition rounds, and social rounds can be enjoyed without pressure. There are a limited number of memberships available on application.

JUNIOR GOLF: The club invites beginners to Sunday morning clinics starting at 8am. Young golfers are guided by PGA Professionals in the fundamentals of the game in a relaxed environment.

You don’t need to be a member of a golf club, you just need to know a current member of the Southport club. To book, call (07) 5532 1577. CORPORATE DAYS: No corporate days.

FACILITIES: There is a fully equipped driving range that allows members and guests to warm up, practise or receive a lesson on a quality turfed hitting area. The modern clubhouse has a spacious bar lounge, restaurant and there is plenty of room for functions and weddings.

AWARDS: The club’s reputation is also enhanced by its focus on environmental management projects. These include the commissioning of a water treatment plant that won the 2007 Environmental Award for the Queensland Golf Industry. This

project, which also received the 2007 premier award from the Australian Golf Course Superintendents’ Association.