On Par - All about golf in Australia

Australian Golf Digest recently announced their bi-annual listing of Australia’s top golf courses. Not surprisingly, Royal Melbourne finishes on top, however it does rate the composite course rather than the two layouts. New South Wales tips out Kingston Heath for second place, and then the super private Packer layout Ellerston (how can this [...]

Recently played Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club on the first round of the King Challenge in late February. Located near The Entrance on a narrow peninsula between Tuggerah Lakes and the Pacific Ocean, Magenta Shores is a new Ross Watson designed links style layout. Both Golf Australia and Golf Digest agree that [...]

The National Golf Course is a private course on the Mornington Peninsula, situated about 90 minutes from Melbourne CBD,. The Mornington Peninsula is made for golf, the typography, seaside postion, weather and scenery (not forgetting the wineries and accommodation options) make this a mecca for golfers. The National is the jewel [...]

The Heritage Golf & Country Club is a 36 hole members course located in the picturesque Yarra Valley, a short drive from central Melbourne. The established St Johns course designed by Jack Nicklaus is now joined by the Henley Course, opened about a year ago. The St Johns course is a very tough, [...]

Its Augusta with Gum trees! Be prepared for some high scores if your game is not to form when playing Brookwater, located south of Brisbane. Designed by Greg Norman who must have been in a particularly aggressive mood at the time, Brookwater winds its way up, down, across a series of dramatic ridges [...]

“Hidden Gem” is a title handed out a little too liberally to define golf courses, Google returns over 1,200 searches for the keywords “hidden gem” and golf! So I dont use the Hidden Gem word often, however Rosebud Park Golf Course certainly does qualify for this title. Located in Rosebud on [...]

Strange name, great course! The Growling Frog Golf Course is about 30km North of Melbourne’s CBD, and luckily even closer to me. The Graham Marsh designed layout opened late 2004 and has quickly become one of my favourite golf courses. Very rare for a new course these days, there is not a [...]

Andys Links is one of Australia’s most exclusive courses, open to only a few lucky golfers once every two years.  The course is located on private property outside Atherton in Far North Queensland.  The layout was designed by myself, Andy and Robert, the first layout being 6 holes in 1998, extended to 9 [...]

Mirage Country Club is a resort course making up part of the Mirage Resort. The course is in Port Douglas about 40 minutes drive North of Cairns, the drive itself is a scenic coastal drive and well worth it. Yet another course designed by Peter Thompson, the Mirage is very un-Thompson like [...]

Paradise Palms Golf Course is located about 20mins drive North of Cairns in Far North Queensland. The Graham Marsh designed layout ranked 67th in the 2006 Australian Golf Digest top 100 Australian courses (PDF Link). Set amongst thick rainforest and tropical flora with a scenic mountain backdrop the course is a delight to the eye. [...]