Golf Courses AustraliaPosted by Mouridsen Rosales on May 21st, 2021 The Sydney club currently has a Kyle Phillips-penned course masterplan before it and is pondering its options. The Sydney course returns after one ranking on the sidelines during its Tom Doak redesign, coming back into the top 50 for the first time in a decade. The changes have proven higher popular but our panellists’ scores suggest there is still room for Concord to rise higher again. The course has a new-look par-3 sixth hole as well as a more refined look to its native vegetation. Some panellists view the oceanside layout as a benchmark , but for now must be content with being clearly Sydney’s harding park golf course premier layout. This marks six straight rankings at either seventh or eighth on our list for the East course at Royal Melbourne, as it becomes something of a fortress in the lower regions of the top 10. This is one of the best golf courses to play when on holidays in Australia owing to a couple of quirks that make for great conversation. Firstly, the course is completely grassless, which makes you think you’re playing on another planet. To hit the ball, you simply carry with you a piece of artificial turf to place on the ground. The course’s second quirk is that it claims to be the only golf club in the world with reciprocal playing rights with the famous St Andrews Links in Scotland. The Bellarine Peninsula is a leisurely one-hour drive from Melbourne's city centre. The seaside villages along the Peninsula are known for their surf beaches, wonderful cool-climate wineries as well as their traditional links and tree-lined golf courses. In a ranking period without a brand new addition, this is the buzz course of the past two years. The star of WA golf regains the two places it lost two years ago, fortifying its place in the second ten of the ranking. Lake Karrinyup generated just as many totals in the 70s as it did 60s tallies, with Shot Values and Design Variety leading the way, well supported by a healthy Conditioning average. There were no second-ranking blues for the private haven in Victoria’s north-east, as Cathedral fell just one place due to a returning course slotting in higher. The layout has matured and the odd minor initial design flaw adjusted in the past two years, but it retains the potential to improve ever so slightly. It is, however, a worthy contender for the best public-access course on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The scores the layout drew for Design Variety and Memorability are particularly impressive. The Sandbelt fringe-dweller that, in the minds of many, ought to be an official part of the esteemed collection of Melbourne courses. A semi-rural setting and a location rich in natural features gave rise to a course that’s endlessly enjoyable. The land offers great movement, with several spurs and ridges defining the fairways to give many holes interesting and demanding contours. Most are lined by towering trees, although importantly in most instances the foliage stops well before the greens, meaning the most delicate grass is not excessively shaded. Scan the list and you will probably stop on multiple occasions and think, I can’t believe this course isn’t in the Top 100. T‘Metro’ nearly made it four consecutive rankings at ‘lucky’ 13 on the list, instead dipping a solitary place on this occasion. While this is the lowest rung Metropolitan has occupied on our Top 100 ladder, it is the beneficiary of a higher average score than in 2018. Unsurprisingly, it is a pillar layout when it comes to the Conditioning criterion. Another mid-teens position for The National’s original course, which earned a more even spread of scores this time compared to other years. More panellists saw a consistent connection across all the judging criteria for the course than in the past as it went close to replicating its ranking from 2018. One of two high-profile courses to return to the rankings fold after extensive redesign work. As usual, GA judges BONVILLE, THE CUT and LINKS HOPE ISLAND more harshly whilst The Guide applauds the fun factor and conditioning. GA ranks NEWCASTLE, PORTSEA, PORT FAIRY, THE VINTAGE, SETTLERS RUN, CRANBOURNE, RANFURLIE and CURLEWIS more highly, in each case purity of design probably the main contributor. Resort layouts KOORALBYN, CAPRICORN, TWIN WATERS and NOOSA SPRINGS are all omitted from the GA Top 100 – Kooralbyn and Capricorn do not even make their ‘next 25’. The city offers a wide range of activities and tours for those seeking adventures with the earth beneath their feet (or wheels!) as well as fantastic sports such as golf. Located adjacent to El Caballo Resort, this championship course carves through the picturesque Darling Ranges and the vibrant bushland provides plenty of views. Guests should be invited to play by a Member of The Australian, unless they are from interstate or overseas. Guests are to be a current member of a recognised golf club or association as well as provide a letter of introduction from that organisation. The Club holds a long and rich history with Australia’s national golf championship, hosting over twenty Australian Open Championships and the inaugural event in 1904. Some of the World’s greatest golfers have their names etched on the Stonehaven Cup, and the tournament continues to attract a strong field of international talent. The recent OCCM renovations to Victoria resonated with our panel, earning the Sandbelt course a two-place jump in a part of the list where that’s not easy to achieve. The regal layout has never sat higher than sixth and never lower than 12th, while on this occasion it also owns the distinction of being the course our panel played most out of the 100 courses to make the 2020 ranking. In the conversation to become Queensland’s highest-ranked course, Hamilton Island’s first ever fall is the result of courses returning above it. It’s a course our panel views as difficult but also inherently beautiful, as nearly half the judges to see the Whitsundays layout awarded an Aesthetics score of 9.95 or higher out of 10. Six straight rankings inside the 40s becomes seven for the secluded Sydney course. The East course at Grange drops into the second half of the ranking for the first time since Greg Norman’s redesign, largely a victim of the returning courses above it.Like it? Share it! More by this author |