Golf in Sydney

Sydney, NSW is known by many visitors to our shores as the host of the 2000 Summer Olympics. It is also well known for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour itself. Beyond all of this though lies a collection of great golf courses - all fairly well located relative to the centre of the city. The extent of these courses is not as great as say the famous Melbourne Sandbelt however there are still a number of world class golf courses which are well worth playing.

At the top of this list is the spectacular NSW Golf Club (La Perouse). Located 25 minutes south of the city on an outcrop of land called La Perouse, NSW Golf Club offers the true golf lover a piece of just about everything. In addition to being beautifully scenic with ocean views on all but 5 of the holes, NSW combines a great variety in the style of holes (short, clever par 4's in addition to the testing par 3's and the four tough finishing holes) with a stately clubhouse overlooking the course.

Another great feature of NSW Golf Club is that in the par 72 layout (combining 4 par 3 holes, 10 par 4's and 4 par 5's) each of the par 3 holes and par 5 holes plays in a different direction (N,S,E,W). What this means is that when you are standing on one of the par 5 holes (such as the 5th) and thinking "gee this is great the hole is playing downwind" your respite is short because later on in the round you can assured that another par 5 (in this case the 18th) will be playing back into the wind!

Just down the road from NSW Golf Club (about 15 minutes back towards the city) is the aptly named The Lakes Golf Club. As you would imagine with a name such as The Lakes the layout has a number of holes where water comes into play. In fact the course presents 2 distinct sets of 9 holes. The front nine heads away from the clubhouse, under the busy Southern Cross Drive and into an area a fair distance from the clubhouse. The stretch of holes here are best described as parkland in nature with no real water hazards to contend with. It is on this nine that your score needs to be made. The 9th hole (a mid length par 3) heads back to the clubhouse.

The back nine opens with a short yet testing par 4 and then the real fun begins. Holes 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 contain water of some description or another. Add this to the wind which invariably picks up towards early afternoon and you are faced with a testing series of holes. If you are not worried too much about your score then these holes are quite scenic (but what golfer is not concerned about their score!)

Located a short 5 minute drive from The Lakes another golf course worth playing (if you can get on) - The Australian Golf Club. Remodelled by Jack Nicklaus in the early 1980's the course is testing to say the least. The winds which exist at The Lakes are also present here and the testing par 3's, brutally long par 4's and challenging par 5's make for an interesting round. The Australian is an extremely private golf club which boasts amongst its members Australia's richest man Kerry Packer.

Another very private golf course which has hosted the Australian Open on a number of occasions is located in the expensive eastern suburbs of Sydney. Royal Sydney Golf Club is very much a parkland style golf course with a clever combination of short and long par 4's as its main feature. The imposing clubhouse watches over the course and the 5,000 members enjoy the 18 hole championship golf course, the 9 hole executive course, numerous tennis courts and first class dining facilities.

A wide selection of other golf courses exist in Sydney and offer varying styles of golf. St. Michaels Golf Club is a neighbour to NSW Golf Club and, whilst not offering the same absolute oceanfront holes of its neighbour, is a course well worth experiencing. Just down the road en route to Sydney Airport is Bonnie Doon Golf Club whose Scottish name gives you a small taste of what is to come.

The Northern shores of Sydney offer more quality golf including the private members courses at Castle Hill Country Club, Avondale and Pymble who accept visiting Interstate and Overseas visitors.

Heading west the relatively young Twin Creeks Golf & Country Club offers immaculate playing surfaces and a challenging layout. If you have the time head about 2 hours north of Sydney and play Newcastle Golf Club, a delightful course which has many overseas critics raving about how good it is. The layout is very interesting combining a series of well matched holes into a testing round of 18 holes.

You can easily spend a week in Sydney playing a different golf course each day and still have not played them all. But what about the sightseeing? Well for a whirlwind tour go to Sydney Harbour, take a ferry to Manly, eat some seafood and return for a short stroll through The Rocks. Pop into Darling Harbour at night, choose a restaurant at Cockle Bay and just enjoy yourself!

Useful Facts and Figures

Below are some useful facts and figures for the Sydney Region. Use these to work out the best time to visit this region.