The definitive list of Australia’s best golf courses

Australian Traveller Australian Traveller
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AT stalwart and serial golfing maniac Matt Cleary drove around Australia for four months, playing golf every second day along the way (hey, someone had to). So who better to ask for a whirlwind tour of courses you just have to love? If you are a vacationer who enjoys golf in the time off you have, you might want to keep reading.

Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club

Magenta Shores magic.

If Magenta Shores was an actress, it would be Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC: gorgeous, wild, desirable and “a savage world whose only law was lust!" (True, barring the lust/law thing.) Yet if Magenta Shores wants to hurt you – and when the wind is up it can, friend, it can – it possesses myriad methods. The bunkers, like Kris Kristofferson, are hairy and deep. The greens, like disco floors, are hard. The fairways meander between grassy dunes like velvet tongues through herds of longhaired highland yaks. This dune-side devil will test your golf like calculus tests fifth graders. Just play it.

Details

Magenta, Central Coast NSW, www.magentagolf.com.au , 1800 095 764.

Bonville Golf Resort

The perfection of Augusta-like Bonville and its rows of majestic gumtrees.

If Bonville was an actress, it would be Jessica Alba: possibly the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. Designed in homage to Augusta, of US Masters fame, Bonville is all super-tall thin eucalypts, grass trees and koalas, with crystal streams crossing fairways lined by sub-tropical jungle. Just south of Coffs Harbour, Bonville was carved from a rainforest of Flooded Gums and is as close to playing Augusta as you’ll ever get in Australia.

Details

Bonville, NSW, www.bonvillegolf.com.au , 1300 722 444.

New South Wales GC

If New South Wales GC was an actress, it would be Meryl Streep: brilliant, theatrical, high-brow, up itself. Yet the club’s tickets on itself come with good reason. It’s one of the best golf courses in the world and listed in every golf worthy’s Australian Top-3 (with Royal Melbourne West and Kingston Heath). A couple of years ago I was on the fifth fairway with Stuart Appleby during a photo shoot. Such was the roaring fury of the sou’easter, Appleby could not reach the green from 100m, facing downhill, with a full 7-iron. Later we moved to the tee of the iconic par-3 sixth, with its water carry over Curwee Cove. As huge waves crashed against the cliffs and the photo girls twittered around Appleby like honey-lovin’ bees, a couple of Blackhawks choppered past up the coast. Nobody blinked. It’s that sort of golf course. (That said, you have to hock a kidney to play it; so look next door at St Michael’s, where for $40 you can play their Open Day without losing much in the way of water views and challenge.)

Details

La Perouse, NSW, www.nswgolfclub.com.au , (02) 9311 2573.

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Mt Broughton GC

The Ewan McGregor of golf courses, Mt Broughton in the NSW Southern Highlands

If Mt Broughton was an actor, it would be Ewan McGregor: interesting, unusual, with a twinkle in the eye and a hint of Scottish Highlands. Calling Mt Broughton an inland links might be oxymoronic (links courses by definition are built on dunes between the ocean and arable land), but it’s still a super fun track. Lined by long white death grass (for your balls and for you, golfer, if you tread on a red bellied black snake) and very occasional trees because they got rid of them. Respect.

Details

Sutton Forest, NSW, www.mtbroughton.com.au , (02) 4868 3700.

Federal GC

If Federal was an actress, it would be Sigrid Thornton: pretty, established, with a familiarity you know and trust. Federal in the ACT is where I learned etiquette at the teat of my forefather (hence why it gets a gig over Royal Canberra) and is fun like a beer with a favourite uncle. With kangaroos.

Details

Red Hill, ACT, www.fgc.com.au , (02) 6281 3799.

Brookwater GC

If Brookwater was a former tennis player and model, it would be Anna Kournikova: jaw-droppingly desirable with a look in its eye that says you cannot afford me. (Though you can.) And while it’s a shame to pick just one course from the great golf state of Qld – Coolum, Hope Island, Sanctuary Cove (Pines) and Lakelands are all tops – Brookwater is my pick of the litter. Long and lovely, tricky and tough, it’s designed by Greg Norman, run by the clever people of Troon Golf (who rightly treat like a VIP anyone willing to shell out $100 to play), and sits among Springfield’s sclerophyll forest like a bird-filled chunk of golfing goodness.

Details

Brookwater, Qld, (07) 3814 5500, www.brookwatergolf.com .

Barnbougle Dunes

Tasmania’s Barnbougle Dunes was an actress, it would be Angelina Jolie: wild, a bit different, gob-smackingly spectacular in the flesh, and with loads of interesting curves and bumps.

If Barnbougle Dunes was an actress, it would be Angelina Jolie: wild, a bit different, gob-smackingly spectacular in the flesh, and with loads of interesting curves and bumps. The great green beast of Tassie’s northeast is a classic links: sandy dunes; prevailing sea breezes; no trees. Created from a few unused hectares of farmland by a team that included 24-year-old entrepreneur Greg Ramsay, “dumb spud farmer" Richard Sattler, and esteemed course architects Mike Clayton and Tom Doak, Barnbougle is listed in the world’s Top-50 courses, is Australia’s No.1 public access course, has neither golf carts nor members hogging it to their chests like greedy toffs with a trunk full of jewels, and is perched on Bass Strait like a windy, duney piece of green-velvet golf heaven. Do you play golf? You have to play Barnbougle Dunes. It’s an order. From God.

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Details

Bridport, Tas, (03) 6356 0094.

It’s perched on Bass Strait like a windy, duney piece of green-velvet golf heaven. Do you play golf? You have to play Barnbougle Dunes. It’s an order. From God.

The National GC

If The National was an actress, it would be Cate Blanchett: beautiful, talented, sophisticated and multi-faceted. The National has three courses – Moonah (ranked 8th in Australia), Old (12th) and Ocean (47th) – and they’re all superb. Its practice facilities could host the Institute of Sport. Its clubhouse is a huge cathedral of glass and stone wherein people with white shirts serve fine wine and food. It’s on the water’s edge of Mornington Peninsula, one of the great regions for the great game in Australia. Play it, however you can.

Details

Cape Schanck, VIC, www.nationalgolf.com.au , (03) 5988 6777.

Joondalup Golf Resort

Sunrise at Joondalup Golf Resort

If Joondalup was an actress, it would be Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element: a beautiful roller-coaster possibly conceived by men on acid. Bunkers like giant moon craters with 20m walls and ladders. Sheer granite cliff faces lining greens. Cathedrals of rock. Deserts of sand. Lakes of fire. Hazards from which fire shoots out. Volcanoes spouting forth huge gobs of lava. Acid rain. You get the drift. It’s a funky course, and though there is no fire or lava (who writes this stuff?), it’s 27 holes of crazy golf action.

Details

Connolly, WA, www.joondalupresort.com.au , (08) 9400 8811.

The Cut, Port Bouvard

If The Cut was an actress, it would be Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct: beautiful, dangerous, untamed and a lesbian. Well, not a lesbian. But when the Freo Doctor roars up from the vast aqua nullius of the Southern Ocean, The Cut can come across a little dangerous, with a look in its eye that says, “Take me on – if you dare". It’s a sensational track. Rolling bowls. Wind-polished hard fairways. Greens of truth and justice. The town of Mandurah might come across a little White Shoe Brigade, with its giant boats and McMansions, but The Cut is one of the best courses in the country (and, despite suggestions to the contrary, does not have a silent “n" in its name).

Details 

Mandurah, WA, www.the-cut.com.au , (08) 9582 4420.

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Farm fresh produce to a trail of lights: the ultimate guide to Mildura

    Rachel Lay Rachel Lay
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    The charm of Mildura is hidden in plain sight along the Sturt Highway. The capital of Tropical North Victoria is in a league of its own.

    From the moment you arrive in Mildura , the warm air and palm trees invite you to slow down. While most Australians might drive right past it, Mildura is full of surprises. Here you’ll spend one day witnessing over 50,000 years of First Nations history in a UNESCO-listed National Park, and the next dining in a hatted restaurant after wandering through 12,500 fireflies as the outback sunset bursts to life above. From roadside fruit stalls and family-run wineries to houseboats and galleries, it’s time to explore Mildura.

    Feast Street, at the heart of Langtree Avenue in Mildura.
    Taste, wander and be surprised in Mildura.

    Taste Mildura’s produce

    It makes sense to start your trip by addressing the most important question: where to eat. In the beating heart of Australia’s food bowl, sample the local produce directly from the source. And then, of course, experience it through the menu of a hatted chef. Or sandwiched between pillowy slices of Nonna’s ciabatta.

    Rows of orchards and olive groves invite you to spend the day traipsing from farm to farm. Taste olives propagated from Calabrian trees brought over in the 40s, oranges picked right from the tree and squeezed into juice and spoons full of honey . Bring the holiday back to your kitchen by stocking your pantry at roadside produce stalls, or calling into the ‘silver shed ’ (Sunraysia’s gourmand Mecca).

    Thanks to the warm, balmy air and fertile soils, the wineries dotted along these hills produce award-winning local wines. Like Chalmers , a family-run, innovative winery dedicated to making their wines as sustainable as possible. And picturesque Trentham Estate offers views of the snaking Murray River as you sample their vintages.

    Venture beyond the gnarled shadows of olive groves and fragrant rows of blossoming fruit trees and you’ll find an otherworldly side to Mildura. With Discover Mildura as your guide, visit Murray River Salt’s Mars-like stacks. The naturally pink salt is formed from an ancient inland sea and evaporated entirely by the sun to create one of the region’s most iconic exports.

    Start your day with just-squeezed sunshine.

    Hatted dining & Italian history

    Mildura is home to a proud community of Calabrians and Sicilians. This, paired with the exceptional local produce, means that you can find paninos on par with those in Italy. The Italian is a Paninoteca serving up made-to-order, hefty, authentic Sicilian paninos. Nonna Rosa’s pork meatballs, slowly cooked in tomato ragu and served in a crusty, fluffy roll topped with gratings of Grana Padano cheese and salsa verde, will call you back to Mildura for the rest of your days.

    To find hatted dining in Mildura, simply follow the staircase down into the basement of the historic Mildura Grand Hotel to find Stefano’s . Following the muscle memory and instinct of his Italian roots, he delivers on the principle of ‘cucina povera’. That is, the Italian cooking ideology that turns simple, local ingredients into magic.

    Things to do in Mildura include dining at the acclaimed Stefano’s, where simple local ingredients are transformed into Italian culinary magic beneath the historic Grand Hotel.
    Bite into Mildura’s Italian heritage.

    Discover a thriving culture scene

    The city is alive with culture. Whether it’s painted on the town’s walls, told in ancient yarns, or waiting for you in a gallery.

    The Mildura Arts Centre was Australia’s first regional art gallery. Behind the walls of Rio Vista Historic House, you’ll find a lineup of ever-changing exhibitions. The gallery’s wall space pays tribute to the art and songlines of local First Nations People, the region’s awe-inspiring landscapes and more. Outside, on the gallery’s lawn, find 12 contemporary sculptures in the Sculpture Park.

    Mildura’s streetscapes are a punch of colour. Swirling strokes of paint blend the winding artery of the Murray River, red dirt and local characters into a story you can see with your own eyes, thanks to the Mildura City Heart’s Mural Art Project . Pick up a copy of the Murals of Mildura guide from the Visitor Information Centre.

    Follow the border of NSW and Victoria on a map and you’ll see it hugs the curves of a tiny island on the Murray. That’s Lock Island, where, as the sun and moon trade places, the island comes alive as darkness falls. The island is dotted with 12,500 firefly lights that lead you on a meandering path through the outback sunset. The installation is known as Trail of Lights and was created by the same visionary who dreamt up Field of Light at Uluṟu, Bruce Munro.

    Things to do in Mildura include exploring its rich cultural scene. From vibrant street art and ancient stories to exhibitions at the Mildura Arts Centre, Australia’s first regional gallery.
    Find culture around every corner.

    Wonder at ancient landscapes

    The landscapes of Mildura feel almost transcendental. The skyline bursts to life with reds, pinks, and deep, sparkly night skies.

    The nature will leave you in awe. See hues of pink water changing with the weather at Pink Lakes inside Victoria’s largest national park, Murray Sunset National Oark. Cast a line into Ouyen Lake. Watch the sunset against 70-metre tall red cliffs that reflect the setting sun. Or get the heart racing and sandboard down the Perry Sandhills dunes, formed 40,000 years ago at the end of an ice age.

    Just don’t leave without following the twists and turns of the Murray. Stroll or ride along the Shared River Front Path, or jump onboard a boat for a scenic ride.

    Your itinerary will be incomplete without a visit to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mungo National Park . Head out with an Indigenous ranger to witness ancient campsites and footprints, before standing in awe of ancient civilisation near the discovery site of Mungo Man—Australia’s oldest human skeleton at 42,000 years old.

    Mungo National Park at night is a vast, silent landscape where ancient dunes glow under moonlight and stars blanket the sky in breathtaking clarity.
    Walk in the footsteps of ancient civilisation.

    Meet your home away from home

    On equal par with planning your meals and adventures, is finding the perfect place to relax at the end of each day.

    Sleep inside a Palm Springs postcard at Kar-Rama . A sleek boutique hotel complete with a butterfly shaped, sun-soaked pool. Here you’re staying right in the heart of Mildura but you’ll feel worlds away. Or if you really wish to connect with nature, a night glamping under the stars at Outback Almonds will have you spellbound.

    When in Mildura it’s only right to stay on one of the Murray River’s iconic houseboats . Wake up each day to the calm waters of the Murray lapping outside your window. Enjoy days full of river swims, fishing and exploring. All boats are solar-powered and can be self-skippered or moored along the river.

    A solar-powered houseboat on the Murray River in Mildura.
    Stay and play on the Murray in a solar houseboat.

    Start planning the perfect getaway at mildura.com .