Golf in Melbourne Sandbelt

Golf in Melbourne, Australia comprises an amazing collection of different styles of golf courses all located within a 60 minute drive of one another and often much closer. The golf course offerings are plentiful and varied catering for all types of golfer - from the keen golfer seeking to walk in the footsteps of some of the world's great golfers to the casual golfer wishing to play a relaxing game of golf on a well designed and interesting to play layout. 

At the centre of Melbourne Golf (both in terms of history and location) lies the famous Melbourne Sandbelt. The Sandbelt is a collection of over 15 championship quality golf courses within a 20 mile radius that have been built on natural sandy terrain which is common in the South East of Melbourne. 

The obvious benefit of the sandy terrain is the natural, almost instant drainage which occurs when the course is subject to rain. Additionally the sandy soil is ideal for the growth and development of pure couch fairways that, in many cases, are like layers of carpet. The thought of taking a divot from such fairways is enough to cause golfers to hit shots skinny to avoid ruining the appearance of the fairways. 

The most recognised of Melbourne golf courses is the world famous Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Comprising the East and West courses Royal Melbourne has hosted numerous famous golf tournaments including the 1998 Presidents Cup. Regularly ranked inside the top 10 golf courses in the world (and as high as number 5), Royal Melbourne is a wonderful course with a rugged, natural beauty. 

Complete with perfectly shaped, cavernous bunkers (courtesy of Dr. Alistair MacKenzie), lightning fast greens and a varying hole lengths it brings into play almost every club in the bag. The course used for tournaments is known as the Composite course and it comprises a selection of 12 holes from the West Course and 6 holes from the East Course. The Composite course is not open for general play and is only available for play twice a year - once for a member's competition and once for the popular Composite Course tournament open to members of recognised golf courses who flock from around the world to play this magnificent course (GOLFSelect can arrange for you to play in this event if you are interested). 

Kingston Heath Golf Club is somewhat of a contrast to its famous neighbour. Its 18 holes were built on only 125 hectares (most courses in the modern era are built on over 250 hectares), it is perfectly manicured and its bunkering and clever use of swales and hollows visually fools the non observant golfer. Many people argue it is a more aesthetically pleasing course than Royal Melbourne, however if you wildly deviate from the fairway, the rough (comprising long grass, tea tree and sandy scrapes) will test your ability to get the ball back into play. The three par 3 holes are a feature of Kingston Heath and show off the classic, natural bunkering. The fifteenth hole, in particular, is a real test (not necessarily needed towards the end of your round). 

An uphill par 3 of moderate length, the path to the hole is surrounded by a myriad of bunkers (some of them very deep) all waiting to swallow the errant tee shot. If you reach the putting surface par is still not guaranteed as the undulating green gives up more 3 putts than 1 putts. 

Metropolitan Golf Club is the Australian equivalent of Augusta National. The perfect fairways, marbletop greens and blindingly white bunkers all combine to offer a test of golf not seen previously in Australia. Host to the 2001 World Matchplay Championship, Metropolitan is a tough but fair test of golf. 

What is truly exciting about the Sandbelt is that, in addition to the famous courses listed above is the large selection of other highly rated courses located often within driver distance of their famous neighbours. Victoria, Commonwealth and Huntingdale are three courses which have been ranked in the top 100 courses in the world, have hosted National tournaments and are enjoyable to play as well as being a good test of golf. 

The proliferation of Melbourne Sandbelt courses continues with Yarra Yarra, Woodlands (wonderful bunkering), Spring Valley, Kingswood, Southern, Peninsula (36 holes of golf with accommodation) and Keysborough to name a few.

Useful Facts and Figures

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