AGD Top 100 Australian Golf Courses – 2012
February 14th, 2012 by Doogs
And the winner is……. Royal Melbourne Golf Club West Course
Australian Golf Digest has just released their bi-annual ranking of Australia’s Top 100 Golf Courses. This eagerly awaited list of the best courses in Australia see’s Royal Melbourne’s West Course ranked as the best layout in the country. After a rough couple of years throughout the recent drought, the West course which makes up 12 holes of the composite course, has emerged even better and was showcased to the world during the Presidents Cup and again this week for the Australian Womens Open.
Royal Melbourne takes over the top spot from Kingston Heath, now 2nd on the list but by no means shadowed by its neighbour. Ellerston is a controversial pick for 3rd, this private of private courses is only playable by the lucky few and some critics argue that as it is virtually impossible to play, it shouldnt be on the list. I agree with AGD that the ranking is on all the Nations’ courses, regardless of access.
New South Wales (5) has dropped three spots, and is sandwiched between Barnbougle Dunes (4) and Barnbougle Lost Farm (6). This comes as no surprise to anyone that has ventured to the Northeast coast of Tasmania, now one of the Worlds new golfing mecca’s. Given Lost Farm is less than two years old, it will continue to mature like a fine wine and could even overtake its sister course in years to come. After playing both courses twice, I still cant seperate them, but came up with a damn fine composite course!
Of other notables, its great to see Victoria Golf Club (9) jump up a spot, and Woodlands (19), both relatively underated in some golfing circles. Hamilton Island joins the list at 39 and is high on my wishlist, it fills a gap in the Whitsundays left after the sad demise of Laguna Whitsundays which ranked in 2010, but even when we played in 2009 was in very poor condition.
The listing again proves that Melbourne is one of the World’s great golf destinations with 6 of the top 10 courses in easy reach of the CBD (plus Barnbougle is only a short flight away!). And 36 of the top 100 courses are located in Victoria.
AGD have a dedicated panel of golfers, including professionals, journalists and course designers that combine to produce their Top 100.
Australian Golf Digest Top 100 Australian Golf Courses 2012
The full listing Rank, course, designer, year, distance, par
1 Royal Melbourne (West) VIC – Alister Mackenzie (1931) 6,061 72
2 Kingston Heath VIC – Dan Soutar (1925)/Alister Mackenzie (1926) 6,436 72
3 Ellerston NSW – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2001) 6,677 72
4 Barnbougle Dunes TAS – Tom Doak & Michael Clayton (2004) 6,148 71
5 New South Wales NSW – Alister Mackenzie (1928)/Eric Apperly (1937 & 1951) 6,240 72
6 New Barnbougle Lost Farm TAS – Bill Coore (2010) 6,263 72
7 The National (Moonah) VIC – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2000) 6,576 72
8 Royal Melbourne (East) VIC – Alex Russell (1932) 6,007 71
9 Victoria VIC – Oscar Damman, William Meader & Alister Mackenzie (1927) 6,278 72
10 Metropolitan VIC – J.B. MacKenzie (1906)/Dick Wilson (1959)/Michael Clayton (2005-) 6,500 72
11 Lake Karrinyup WA – Alex Russell (1928)/Michael Clayton (2008) 6,427 72
12 The National (Old) VIC – Robert Trent Jones Jnr (1988) 6,313 72
13 Royal Adelaide SA – H.L. Rymill & C.L. Gardiner (1904)/Alister Mackenzie (1926)/Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (1997) 6,557 72
14 The Lakes NSW – Bruce Devlin & Robert von Hagge (1967)/Michael Clayton (2009) 6,290 72
15 Moonah Links (Legends) VIC – Peter Thomson & Ross Perrett (2004) 6,315 72
16 The Dunes VIC – Tony Cashmore (1997) 6,464 72
17 The Australian NSW – Jack Nicklaus (1976) 6,610 72
18 Joondalup (Quarry/Dune) WA – Robert Trent Jones Jnr (1985) 6,332 72
19 Woodlands VIC – J.D. Scott & R.J. Banks (1913) 6,097 72
20 Newcastle NSW – Fred Popplewell Snr (1915)/Eric Apperly (1937) 6,345 72
21 Royal Sydney NSW – Carnegie Clark (1913)/Ross Watson (2003) 6,344 72
22 Barwon Heads VIC – Victor East & Mick Morcom (1921) 5,856 70
23 Links Kennedy Bay WA – Michael Coate, Roger Mackay & Ian Baker-Finch (1998) 6,420 72
24 Thirteenth Beach (Beach) VIC – Tony Cashmore (2001) 6,391 72
25 Brookwater QLD – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2002) 6,505 72
26 Kooyonga SA – Herbert Lockett Rymill (1924) 6,214 72
27 Magenta Shores NSW – Ross Watson (2006) 6,305 72
28 St Andrews Beach VIC – Tom Doak & Michael Clayton (2006) 6,074 70
29 Royal Queensland QLD – Michael Clayton (2007) 6,414 72
30 Peninsula (North) VIC – Sloan Morpeth (1967)/Michael Clayton (2005) 6,158 72
31 Commonwealth VIC – Sam Bennett (1921)/Charles Lane (1926)/Sloan Morpeth (1938 & 1967)/Kevin Hartley (1994) 6,380 73
32 The Cut WA – James Wilcher (2005) 6,385 72
33 Moonah Links (Open) VIC – Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (2001) 6,829 72
34 Yarra Yarra VIC – Alex Russell (1929)/Martin Hawtree (2011) 6,104 72
35 Links Hope Island QLD – Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (1993) 6,417 72
36 The National (Ocean) VIC – Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (2000) 6,552 72
37 Royal Canberra ACT – James Herd Scott (1945)/John Harris (1962) 6,395 72
38 Huntingdale VIC – Charles H. Alison (1941)/Jack Newton, Graeme Grant & John Spencer (1998-2006) 6,363 72
39 New Hamilton Island QLD – Peter Thomson & Ross Perrett (2009) 6,120 71
40 Glenelg SA – H.L. Rymill (1927)/Vern Morcom (1955)/Neil Crafter & Bob Tuohy (2004) 6,267 71
41 Peninsula (South) VIC – Sloan Morpeth (1967)/Michael Clayton (2007) 6,321 72
42 Elanora NSW – Dan Soutar (1929)/James Wilcher (2003) 6,264 72
43 The Grand QLD – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (1997) 6,209 72
44 Portsea VIC – Jock Young (1925)/Sloan Morpeth (1962)/Michael Clayton (2002) 5,971 72
45 Coolum (Hyatt Regency) QLD – Robert Trent Jones Jnr (1988 & 2009) 6,085 71
46 Terrey Hills NSW – Graham Marsh & Ross Watson (1994) 6,501 72
47 Grange (West) SA – Vern Morcom (1956)/Michael Clayton (2007) 6,241 72
48 Bonville NSW – Terry Watson & Ted Stirling (1992) 6,206 72
49 Glades QLD – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2000) 6,431 72
50 The Vintage NSW – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2003) 6,310 71
51 Concord NSW – Dan Soutar (1916)/Ross Watson (1998)/Mark Parker (2010) 6,146 71
52 The Western Australian WA – Alex Russell (1928)/Graham Marsh (2001) 5,800 70
53 Pelican Waters QLD – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2000) 6,359 72
54 Capricorn (Championship) QLD – Karl Litten (1992) 6,542 72
55 Spring Valley VIC – Vern Morcom (1948)/Michael Clayton (1996-) 6,161 71
56 Pacific Harbour QLD – Ross Watson (2006) 6,402 72
57 The Heritage (St John) VIC – Jack Nicklaus (2000) 6,667 72
58 Sanctuary Cove (Pines) QLD – Arnold Palmer & Ed Seay (1989) 6,681 72
59 Avondale NSW – Eric Apperly (1927)/Ross Watson (2008) 6,059 71
60 Pacific Dunes NSW – James Wilcher (2005) 6,411 72
61 St Michael’s NSW – Michael Moran & C.W. Cole (1938) 6,282 72
62 Port Fairy VIC – club members (1963)/Kevin Hartley (1990)/Michael Clayton (2007) 5,887 72
63 Twin Creeks NSW – Graham Marsh (2006) 6,444 72
64 Links Lady Bay SA – Jack Newton, Graeme Grant & John Spencer (2000) 6,400 72
65 Meadow Springs WA – Robert Trent Jones Jnr (1993) 6,129 72
66 Paradise Palms QLD – Graham Marsh & Ross Watson (1990) 6,464 72
67 Mount Lawley WA – David Anderson & James Tinlin (1930)/Michael Coate (2004-) 6,213 72
68 Settlers Run VIC – Greg Norman, Bob Harrison & Harley Kruse (2007) 6,607 72
69 The Vines (Lakes) WA – Graham Marsh & Ross Watson (1989) 6,494 72
70 Cottesloe WA – David Anderson (1931)/Graham Marsh (1998-) 6,065 72
71 The Heritage (Henley) VIC – Tony Cashmore (2006) 6,353 72
72 Amstel (Ranfurlie) VIC – Michael Clayton (2002) 6,279 72
73 New Kalgoorlie WA – Graham Marsh (2010) 5,933 72
74 Sanctuary Lakes VIC – Greg Norman & Bob Harrison (2000) 6,489 72
75 Narooma NSW – John Spencer (1980) 5,941 72
76 Lakelands QLD – Jack Nicklaus (1997) 6,489 72
77 New Sanctuary Cove (Palms) QLD – Ross Watson (2011) 5,904 72
78 Secret Harbour WA – Graham Marsh (1999) 6,423 72
79 Tasmania TAS – Al Howard (1972) 6,200 72
80 Riversdale VIC – Alex Russell (1930) 6,057 72
81 Long Island VIC – Gordon Oliver (1938) 6,205 72
82 Castle Hill NSW – Eric Apperly (1951)/Jack Newton, Graeme Grant & John Spencer (1992) 6,187 72
83 Eynesbury VIC – Graham Marsh (2008) 6,577 72
84 Kooindah Waters NSW – Ross Watson (2006) 6,083 72
85 Sorrento VIC – J.D. Scott (1929) 5,694 70
86 Murray Downs NSW – Ted Parslow (1990) 6,197 72
87 New The Sands, Torquay VIC – Brit Stenson & Stuart Appleby (2004) 6,118 72
88 Alice Springs NT – Peter Thomson & Michael Wolveridge (1985) 6,196 72
89 New Sandhurst (Champions) VIC – Peter Thomson & Ross Perrett (2007) 6,240 72
90 Horsham VIC – Sam Berriman (1949) 5,919 71
91 New Sea Temple QLD – Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge & Ross Perrett (2000) 6,125 71
92 New Robina Woods QLD – Graham Marsh & Ross Watson (1989) 6,078 71
93 Araluen WA – Michael Coate & Roger Mackay (1994) 6,380 72
94 New Monash NSW – James Herd Scott (1950) 6,090 72
95 New Thirteenth Beach (Creek) VIC – Tony Cashmore & Nick Faldo (2004) 6,401 72
96 New Federal ACT – Prosper Ellis (1946) 6,240 72
97 Tallwoods NSW – Michael Hurdzan (1999) 6,100 71
98 Arundel Hills QLD – Fred Bolton (1992) 6,372 72
99 Macquarie Links NSW – Robin Nelson (2002) 6,278 72
100 Royal Hobart TAS – Vern Morcom (1956) 6,133 72
