The Great Down-Under Golf Tour

For being the world’s smallest continent, Australia has way too many golf courses than it could seemingly hold – at the last count 1400 courses were attracting over 500,000 golf holiday makers to the land down-under! That looks like an unimaginable number but only till you see the quality of Australia’s golf courses. World class resort, public and private courses are spread over this vast expanse of land nestled in the Pacific Ocean. Well maintained greens on challenging courses are always attractive to a golf travel enthusiast and Australia has a sizeable number of those in just about every city.

Australia owes the origin of its name to the Latin ‘Australis’ meaning ‘of the South’ and for a long time Australia was the unknown land of South to the ancient world. In the modern world Australia gained prominence first as Britain’s most important Penal Colony and then for its Gold Rush in the early 1850s. Today Australia is well known for its superior quality of life and its love for outdoor sports; the latter aided by its wonderful, tropical climate. This confluence has resulted in the creation of some of the best courses in the world and given Australia a comfortable place in golf packages the world over.

Australia offers limitless choices to golf holiday makers with courses spread over terrains like its sunny Gold Coast to sandy courses in Melbourne. Start off your Australian golf travel with the Alister Mackenzie designed 18-hole Kingston Heath in Cheltenham, Melbourne; seven time host of The Australian Open. Set in the famous sand-belt of Melbourne, Kingston Heath is a tough course that rewards a skillful player while subtly admonishing any mistakes. Deep natural bunkers and slick greens make playing this course a lesson in strategy and patience (A$250). 

The Alex Russell designed East Course (6598 yards par 71) and the Alister Mackenzie designed West Course (6589 yards par 72) are the two courses at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne. Include it in your golf tour for 36 holes of sweating and fuming at a tough layout that makes good use of all the natural elements available. The steep green fees of A$360 may sound like arm twisting till you get to the signature 5th hole on the West Course.

Another fantastic course to play on your golf vacation in Australia is the New South Wales Golf Club or NSW as it is popularly known, in La Perouse, Sydney. Designed by Alister Mackenzie, NSW is spectacular and testing course at the same time that can turn truly harrowing on a windy day. Set on a rugged terrain, NSW features lightening fast greens and several natural hazards to create one of the best tracks in Australia.

Some other courses to play on your golf vacation are The Royal Adelaide Golf Club in Seaton, BarnBougle Dunes (A$88) in Tasmania and The Victoria Golf Club (A$60).