This is your destination guide for Australia. ← Back to main page
From the Sandbelt courses of Melbourne — routinely ranked among the world's best — to the wild coastal links of Tasmania and King Island, Australia delivers some of the greatest golf experiences on the planet.
Australia punches well above its weight in golf. The Melbourne Sandbelt, a strip of sandy heathland in the southern suburbs of the city, contains Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Commonwealth, Metropolitan and several other courses that world rankings consistently place in the top 100. Meanwhile, the island courses of Tasmania — Barnbougle Dunes and Cape Wickham — have in twenty years become international destinations for serious golfers making the journey from Europe and the United States. All of the courses in this guide are open to visiting international golfers.
A strip of sandy, heathland soil in Melbourne's southern suburbs has produced a concentration of world-class golf courses that rivals St Andrews, Augusta and any other corner of the golfing world. Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath are the crown jewels — private clubs that welcome international visitors by prior arrangement.
Alister MacKenzie — the same architect who designed Augusta National and Cypress Point — came to Melbourne in 1926 and designed the West Course at Royal Melbourne. It remains his greatest achievement. Kingston Heath, a mile away, was built on the same Sandbelt soil and is equally exceptional. Both are private member clubs that extend visiting rights to international golfers who are members of recognised golf clubs.
Alister MacKenzie designs · International visitors by prior arrangement · Members club — handicap required
Black Rock, Melbourne, Victoria
The greatest golf course in the Southern Hemisphere, and one of the ten best courses in the world by almost every major ranking. Alister MacKenzie designed the West Course in 1931 on the sandy heathland of Melbourne's Sandbelt — a landscape of native tea-tree, banksias and sandy soil that produces fast-running, links-like conditions unlike anywhere else on earth. The greens are among the most complex and difficult in any golf on any continent. Royal Melbourne is a private members' club; international visitors are welcome on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays (subject to availability, excluding public holidays) by booking through the club's visitor portal. Golf club membership and a current handicap are required.
⛳ 18 holes · AUD Green fees on request · Mon, Tue & Fri · 📍 Black Rock, Melbourne
Visit Royal Melbourne → Request tee time →Heatherton, Melbourne, Victoria
One mile from Royal Melbourne on the same Sandbelt soil, Kingston Heath has been called the finest private course in Australia by many who have played both. Founded in 1909, the course was designed by Dan Soutar; the incomparable bunkering that defines it was added by Dr Alister MacKenzie at the same time he was working on the Royal Melbourne West Course. No two bunkers are the same. The routing uses the natural undulations of the Sandbelt terrain to create a course of unassuming genius — brilliant precisely because it appears effortless. International visitors are welcome on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday afternoons and Fridays, subject to availability. Club membership identification or a letter of introduction from your home club is required.
⛳ 18 holes · AUD Green fees on request · Mon, Tue, Thu pm & Fri · 📍 Heatherton, Melbourne
Visit Kingston Heath → Book a visit →In the past two decades, Tasmania has established itself as one of the great golf destinations in the world. Barnbougle on the north-east coast and Cape Wickham on King Island in Bass Strait are two of the finest public-access courses in the Southern Hemisphere. Both reward the journey.
On a former potato farm on Tasmania's north-east coast, two of the world's great links courses sit side by side above Bass Strait. Barnbougle Dunes (Tom Doak and Mike Clayton, 2004) and Barnbougle Lost Farm (Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, 2010) are both ranked in the world's top 100. The resort is fully self-contained with accommodation, restaurant and a third short course (Bougle Run). It is the Bandon Dunes of the Southern Hemisphere — and many serious golfers rate it just as highly.
2 Top 100 courses · Walking only · Fully self-contained resort
Bridport, North-East Tasmania
Tom Doak and Mike Clayton opened Barnbougle Dunes in 2004 on a coastal property that was genuinely transformed without much disturbance — the land was already perfect for links golf. By 2010, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw had added Barnbougle Lost Farm on the same property, equally exceptional and quite different in character. Between the two courses, Barnbougle offers 36 holes of world-class links golf in a completely remote setting overlooking Bass Strait. The resort has accommodation in three lodge styles, a restaurant, a whisky bar, and the Bougle Run short course for afternoon recovery rounds. Fly into Launceston (one hour from Melbourne), drive 90 minutes north-east. This is one of the great golf pilgrimages in the world.
⛳ 36 holes · Walking only · AUD from $180 per round · 📍 Bridport, Tasmania
Visit Barnbougle → Book tee time →King Island sits in the middle of Bass Strait between Tasmania and Victoria, exposed to the full force of the Southern Ocean. It is one of the most remote golf destinations in Australia — and home to Cape Wickham Golf Links, routinely voted the best course in Australia. The island is under an hour by light aircraft from Melbourne.
No. 1 in Australia · Ocean view on every hole · On-site accommodation available
King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania
Alan Shipnuck, senior writer at Golf magazine, called it "the best course I've ever played, public or private." Australian Golf Digest has ranked it No. 1 in Australia for multiple consecutive years. Cape Wickham Golf Links occupies the north-eastern tip of King Island — a headland surrounded by Bass Strait on three sides — with the ocean visible from every hole. Designed by Darius Oliver, the course uses the dramatic coastal terrain without imposing anything artificial on it. The lighthouse that marks the treacherous strait is in view throughout the round. On-site villa accommodation is available; guests who stay on-site can play all-day golf for the price of one round. Book by contacting the club directly. Fly to King Island from Melbourne (approximately 55 minutes, Regional Express airlines).
⛳ 18 holes · AUD Green fees on request · On-site villas available · 📍 King Island, Bass Strait
Visit Cape Wickham → Book a tee time →Australia's golf resorts range from a self-contained Tasmanian links destination with two Top 100 courses to a Mornington Peninsula layout that has hosted the Australian Open, and a Gold Coast resort with two championship courses on the Queensland sunshine coast.
Bridport, North-East Tasmania
The most complete golf resort destination in Australia — two Top 100 world-ranked courses, three lodge accommodation options (The Dunes Lodge, Lost Farm Lodge, and cottage-style Shearwater), a restaurant, a whisky and local produce bar, and a short-course (Bougle Run) for evening play. The resort is entirely self-contained; you need never leave the property except to arrive by car from Launceston Airport (90 minutes). Stay and play packages combining accommodation with multiple rounds on both The Dunes and Lost Farm offer exceptional value. Fly to Launceston from all major Australian cities. A multi-day Barnbougle stay is one of the great golf holidays available anywhere in the world.
Visit Barnbougle Resort → Book a stay →
Fingal, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
A 36-hole resort on the Mornington Peninsula, 90 minutes south of Melbourne, with two Greg Norman-related courses: The Open Course (Greg Norman design, hosted the Australian Open in 1999 and 2002) and The Legends Course (Peter Thomson design). The resort combines golf with accommodation in self-contained lodges and a clubhouse that overlooks both courses. Its location on the Mornington Peninsula puts it within reach of the Sandbelt courses further north — making it an ideal base for a week's golf in Victoria that combines Moonah Links rounds with visits to Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. Direct booking available through the resort website.
Visit Moonah Links → Book a stay →
Hope Island, Gold Coast, Queensland
On the Gold Coast an hour north of Brisbane, Sanctuary Cove is Australia's only fully integrated golf and marina village — a five-star resort with 251 rooms and suites set across three wings (Marina View, Garden View and Lagoon View) alongside a one-acre lagoon pool and tropical gardens. Three championship courses are on-site: The Pines (Robert Trent Jones Jr., multiple host of the Australian PGA and Australian Masters), The Palms, and Links Golf & Wellbeing. Stay & Play packages are available for all three courses — The Pines from AUD $699 per night, The Palms from AUD $495 per night, or a three-course Stay Three Play Three package from AUD $619 per night. For visitors flying into Brisbane rather than Melbourne, Sanctuary Cove delivers world-class golf combined with year-round Queensland sunshine.
Visit Sanctuary Cove → Book a stay →The Sandbelt, Tasmania and Queensland are covered in this guide — but Australia's golf map extends well beyond them. Between Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath there are four or five more Sandbelt clubs worth investigating: Commonwealth, Metropolitan, Victoria and Peninsula Golf Clubs are all within a few kilometres of each other, all within the top 100 in Australia. Sydney has courses on clifftops and beside harbours. Western Australia has Joondalup and Karrinyup. And if you're based in any major city for more than a day or two, there is almost certainly something excellent nearby. The Golf Australia course search finds them all.
Top 100 courses in Australia → All courses by region →Found this useful? Share it.
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