Where to stay & play in Australia

Australia is now fully open for overseas visitors following the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions. We pick some of the country’s best golf resorts. Across this vast continent there are great places to stay and play, blessed with natural beauty and wonderful weather. 

New South Wales

Bonville Golf Resort – Built over 600 acres on the beautiful Coffs Coast, the 4-star Bonville Golf Resort is often compared to Augusta National for its magnificent trees and flora, as well as its rolling terrain. The resort’s accommodation is set in lush gardens alongside the first fairway. The golf course is a visually stunning mixture of uphill and downhill doglegs with plenty of water. It’s one of Australia’s most beautiful courses. 

Chateau at The Vintage – This 5-star resort is nestled among rolling vineyards overlooking manicured fairways. It’s one of Australia’s finest integrated golf and spa resorts located in the heart of the Hunter Valley. It’s home to an 18-hole Greg Norman designed championship golf course which is commonly ranked among the best in Australia, and one of the only Norman-designed public access golf courses in NSW.

Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley Resort – Just two hours from Sydney, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley is set on a sprawling countryside estate amongst picturesque wineries, sweeping vistas, and rolling hills. The rooms, suites and villas offer a secluded break, and there’s a spa and waterpark. It’s home to Hunter Valley Golf Course, a scenic 18-hole championship layout with impressive mountain views, an expansive lake and tree-lined fairways.

Western Australia

Joondalup Resort – Just half an hour from Perth and five minutes from WA’s Sunset Coast with its abundance of incredible beaches, Joondalup Resort offers an oasis of relaxation, comfort and state of the art facilities. its 27-hole championship golf course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Few golf courses anywhere in Australia offer its dramatic contrasts and scenic beauty. it’s a challenging test that sweeps across dense bushland and cuts through steep limestone cliffs and quarries around picturesque lakes.

The Vines Resort – Gorgeous 4-star comfort in the Swan Valley, WA’s oldest wine growing region, an area of unspoiled bushland 30 minutes from Perth. The rooms are cosy and there’s a top-level spa. It boasts two equally challenging 18-hole golf courses with lush bent grass greens, among the largest in the country, and unique bunkering. There’s also an 18 hole mini golf course and an abundance of superb resort facilities.

Queensland

Intercontinental Sanctuary Cove Resort – 5-star resort on the northern tip of Australia’s Gold Coast. It’s set by a beautiful marina and is close to the region’s cluster of action-packed theme parks. It’s a luxurious haven of hospitality with a one-acre Lagoon Pool and over 250 newly refurbished guest rooms and suites.

The resort is home to The Palms, The Pines and Links Hope Island golf courses. Palms is a manicured, traditional parkland course nestled within Cabbage Palms, with distinctive holes, deep greenside bunkers and boldly contoured greens requiring creative shot making. 

Pines is Australia’s only Arnold Palmer signature course and is as scenic as it is challenging, carved through 100 hectares of pine forest with huge lakes guarding the greens. Links Hope is a combination of natural and man-made hazards including 128 pot-style bunkers and is consistently ranked as one of Australia’s top 10 resort courses.

Tasmania

Barnbougle Golf Links – On the north-east coast of Tasmania, Barnbougle is home to three brilliant golf courses. You can stay on-site at the 3.5 star Cottages at The Dunes, the 4-bed Bunker Villas, the 2-bedroom Ocean Villas and the Luxury Golf Lodge at Lost Farm. Regardless of your group size and budget, Barnbougle has an accommodation option to suit your needs.

Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links is the closest you’ll find to a traditional seaside links in Australia. Built on sand dunes along the Bass Strait, it’s is a layout that could grace the shores of Ireland or Scotland. A 2004 collaboration between Tom Doak and Australian former golf pro Michael Clayton, there’s wide fairways routed along dunes, some 100-feet high.

Barnbougle Lost Farm is a Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw creation that’s probably more playable than the nearby Dunes. Whereas that plays along classic seaside links, Lost Farm sits inside huge perimeter dunes. Bougle Run is the 14-hole short course at Barnbougle. Designed by Bill Coore, it consists of 12 par-3s and two par 4s which sit on the tall, undulating coastal dunes between Lost Farm’s front and back 9. Together, all three courses have put Tasmania on the world golfing map.

Victoria

Peppers Moonah Links Resort – Located between coast and bushland less than two hours from Melbourne. It’s in the region of Mornington Peninsula, a seaside holiday destination and wine growing region. Accommodation here is wonderful, set in landscaped gardens and rolling green hills with great views from your deluxe room or suite. There’s also a thermal hot spring bath at the neighbouring Peninsula Hot Springs.

There’s two 18-hole courses here. The Open Course is one of the longest courses in Australia and is a great test for low handicappers. In addition to its lovely natural contours, it’s blessed with an ever-present breeze. The Legends course is easier and flows through a variety of landscapes ranging from ancient Moonah woodlands to open links land.

South Australia

Lady Bay Hotel Resort – Situated on magnificent Lady Bay adjacent to the seaside town of Normanville, around 60km south of Adelaide. Sand dunes, sweeping beaches and a village atmosphere just 30 minutes from McLaren Vale wine region. There’s lovely rooms and suites with splendid views over the 18-hole golf course and Lady Bay.

The championship golf course is a relaxing place to play and is reminiscent of St Andrews. It’s widely regarded as one of South Australia’s finest layouts. Some of the short holes would grace any of the most famous links courses in the world. The signature 17th hole, a challenging par 3, is one of Australia’s finest short holes.