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victoria’s seascapes
Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is to Australian golf what the Monterey Peninsula is to America. Across Port Phillip Bay, the Bellarine Peninsula has its own special charm. What more could golfers want? By Louise Johnson.
Mornington PENINSULA: Australia’s home of golf
With its stunning coastal and bay views and wide choice of world-class golf courses, the Mornington Peninsula deserves its reputation as one of Australia’s best golf destinations. Developments over the past 10 years have elevated the region to the national home of golf, with Moonah Links resort developed in 2003 to host the Australian Open and the Australian Golf Museum, and expansion and development of other courses to match this standard, such as the luxurious National with three courses, offering members and guests 54 holes.
Just an hour’s drive from Melbourne CBD, the region is swamped on weekends with visitors sampling wine, food and the great surf beaches of Bass Strait and calmer swimming beaches of Port Phillip Bay.
Starting at the south-western tip of the Peninsula, the links course at Portsea is one of the oldest in the region, first opening for play in 1923. The popular Portsea Pro Am is held on the windswept layout in January each year.
The clubhouse has sweeping views over the hilly 18 holes that twist and turn, exuding loads of character. The pros say it’s a fun course, but challenging with plenty of natural hazards, including crosswinds from Bass Strait.
The 9th is one of the toughest holes on the course, a par 4-of 407 metres which doglegs to the right with a series of fairway bunkers down the right side, demanding a long straight drive down the middle. This hole is much built in the style of renowned Scottish course architect Alister Mackenzie. The 13th is another troublesome hole with a windswept green on the short 268-metre par-4.
If you’re seeking great links golf, The Dunes Golf Links is regarded as the best examples in Australia. Set on 60 hectares of rolling coastal sand dunes along the southern coastline of the peninsula, its natural bunkering, firm greens and rough areas torment players who stray from the fairways.
The controversial 6th, a 208-metre par-3, trips many players with a reedy water hazard behind the large green. Players find club selection difficult on what designer Tony Cashmore describes as an “eccentric hole” that is true to classic Irish or Scottish links holes.
The 13th presents a tough tee shot with nasty pot bunkers on the right rear flank, and the 17th and 18th are magnificent holes to round off a memorable course.
Peppers Moonah Links hosted the Australian Open in 2003 and 2004 and the annual Moonah Classic began here in 2008. The February 2010 Moonah Classic is part of the US PGA Nationwide Tour and will bring many top international players to the peninsula to compete for a prize pool of $US650,000. The inaugural Moonah Amateur Classic will be staged at the same time.
There are two courses on site – the tough Open Course designed by five-times British Open champion Peter Thomson and the friendlier Legends Course, which was built as a tribute to the past champions of Australian golf.
Thomson didn’t let up when designing the 18th hole on the Open Course, a par-5 of 582 metres. There are a total of 12 bunkers lining either side of the fairway and the pros recommend sending your tee shot down the left to avoid trouble. The fairway narrows, with each shot making players concentrate on landing areas.
The fourth hole on the Legends course has a highly elevated tee box, giving players the option of laying up before a row of bunkers across the centre of the fairway, but big hitters might take on the bunkers to a landing area at 265 metres. The elevated green on this par-4 is surrounded by dense trees and slopes to the left and back towards the fairway, which can undo shots that don’t land on the top right of the green.
At Eagle Ridge Golf Club, which was built on the former Carlogie Golf Course, designer Kevin Hartley modelled holes on Royal Melbourne. The original 40-acre site was extended in 1998 with an additional 40 acres purchased at the south end to create an 18-hole resort-style championship course. It features rolling well-groomed fairways, three lakes, plenty of bunkers, fine bent grass greens and is a good wet weather course.
The RACV Cape Schanck Resort is one of only three courses on the east coast of Australia designed by American golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones Jnr. The 18-hole links course overlooks Bass Strait and resort facilities include a driving range with grass tees, practice bunker and putting green and a full chipping and pitching area.
The course boasts massive greens – the 6th is 70 metres long – and while not a long course, the pros say to make par you need to concentrate on positioning your drive. Distance markers around the course help players judge their shots.
The 14th, a par-3 of 158 metres, is the standout hole. The green sits high on the hills looking straight down the peninsula with views of Bass Strait to your left and Port Phillip Bay on the right.
There are three courses to choose at the National: the original Old Course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, the Moonah Course, designed by Greg Norman, and the Ocean Course, designed by Thomson, Wolveridge and Perrett.
The National is a private club that takes written requests from interstate or overseas guests for play Monday to Thursday. You can play a maximum two courses in a day.
The Old Course was built and opened in 1988 and was cut from native vegetation within the sand dunes. Not technically a links course, its undulating greens make putting a challenge. The seventh is the signature hole, with magnificent coastline views. A par-3, it has a wide green and anything hit short, long or left is best forgotten.
The Moonah course has a definite bunkering style, with long grass edges, well-manicured fairways and fast greens. The 12th, at 532 metres, requires careful placement on the green to make par, while the 16th is a great driving hole, with shots hit short of the green feeding into four deep bunkers.
Huge views over the Ocean course at the first tee make a distracting start. The course is a complete contrast to the Moonah, with links-style pot bunkers placed strategically in the middle of fairways encouraging risk-takers. The long 18th, 445 metres par-4, is a strong hole and players need to save their two best shots to make the green. Be happy to achieve par here.
On the east side of the Peninsula, Flinders Golf Club is worth playing just for its spectacular clifftop views and 106 years of golfing history. There’s also the famous fourth hole designed by Alister Mackenzie and affectionately dubbed “the coffin”.
Heading back towards Melbourne, Peninsula Country Golf Club is another private members’ course with two courses located on the Peninsula’s sand belt. It has couch fairways, bent grass greens and typical sand belt bunkering.
The ‘big” championship South course has long wide fairways and large greens. The 8th is the most difficult – a par-5 at 518 metres with a hogs-back fairway that takes some careful negotiating. The renovated North course requires careful planning. The second hole is a par-3 running across a beautiful valley to a green set in the opposite hill. Its design is based loosely on the principles of the fifth hole at Royal Melbourne West.
Bellarine PENINSULA: beauty by the bay
Just 90 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD, the Bellarine Peninsula is often overlooked as tourist crowds head west to the Great Ocean Road or east for the wine and food of the Mornington Peninsula.
But “the Bellarine” has just as many charms and is the perfect option for visitors wanting to squeeze the coast road, wine tours, surf beaches and some golf on each Peninsula’s famous links-style courses into a holiday.
An hourly car ferry between Queenscliff on the Bellarine and Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula ensures easy access between the two peninsulas. It takes just 40 minutes, with great views of Queenscliff’s historic buildings, Port Phillip Bay, the turbulent rip waters of the heads and the clifftop homes of Portsea.
Golf on the Bellarine is mostly links-style, ranging from newer resort-style courses to the century-old Portarlington club and the unique island-based Queenscliff course.
Torquay, 25 kilometres south of Geelong, marks the start of the tourist route along the Great Ocean Road, and is home to Peppers The Sands Resort, an 18-hole links course that winds along the coast behind the sand dunes of Zeally Bay. Designed by Stuart Appleby and opened in 2004, it boasts great sand bunkers and five tee positions on each hole. At 6575 metres, the black course is an extreme challenge.
The long 11th hole (343 metres from the black tee) embodies all the natural elements of the Torquay site, with sand dunes, tall grasses, Moonah trees, and rocky outcrops. The wind is normally behind golfers here and strong tee shots should clear trees on the left centre of the fairway. The green is well protected, gently tucked into the dunes landscape.
Driving east along the Peninsula, golfers have the choice of two courses at Thirteenth Beach on Barwon Heads Road. The Beach Course, which opened in 2001, is an 18-hole links-style layout designed by Tony Cashmore. In contrast, the Creek Course, which was six-time major winner Nick Faldo’s first Australian design project, offers 18 holes of parkland design.
Thirteenth Beach is a semi-private club where one course is allocated to members and one to public players each day. Guests staying on site can sometimes be accommodated if their course of choice is allocated to members, but only on the day they are there.
The beach course is the better known of the two, with plenty of holes worth noting. The 7th, a par-3, has stunning views across the lagoon towards the clubhouse from the enclosed tee. The 12th, another par-3, is challenging, but take advice from the pros and use half a club more.
On the Creek Course, designer Nick Faldo set the inaugural course record, shooting 69 with six birdies in the first 10 holes. The 6th is the signature hole on this course, a par-3 with a greenside bunker that Faldo believes will one day rank among the world’s best.
Head towards the beach as you arrive at Barwon Heads and you’ll find Barwon Heads Golf Club nestled behind the sand dunes. The course is a true links style, with open windswept fairways that can be difficult in the changing winds. The course pros say it never plays the same twice in a week.
The most challenging hole is the third, which has a huge sand crater running up the right-hand side of the fairway and a moonscape of exposed limestone. The 13th, called “the postage stamp”, is a short 130-metre par-3 at the back of the course. Judging distances is the big challenge, as is negotiating a severe drop-off if you miss the green.
On the northern side of the peninsula, east of Geelong, Curlewis Golf Club runs close to the shores of Corio Bay and has firm, fast greens. It’s a windy course with minimal trees and naturally undulating fairways. There are many high points across the course, with long views back towards Geelong and Melbourne and the You Yangs mountain range.
At the northern tip of the peninsula is Portarlington Golf Club, which celebrated its centenary in 2009. The club’s popular Carnival of Golf is held each September. It is a week-long event that includes championship rounds as well as partner and mixed player events. The 17th is the signature hole here, a par-3 that requires a water carry of about 120 metres to a sloping green. Putting can be difficult and it isn’t uncommon for balls to roll off the green. Most golfers are happy to walk off with a par.
Lonsdale Golf Club stretches alongside the heads of Port Phillip Bay and looks across the water to Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula. The front nine is laid out towards the marshland of Lake Victoria with its abundance of native birdlife. This is a tricky course with many dogleg holes, relatively small greens and some great contouring that makes putting a real challenge.
The unique Queenscliff Golf Club is set on Swan Island and is reached by a causeway from the mainland. It offers one of the most picturesque links-style courses in the region, but is a challenge. The treacherous 13th hole, a par-4 with right dogleg trips up many players. The club’s Friday nine-hole sunset golf tournament is popular during the summer, with participants invited back to one of the Queenscliff restaurants or bars for after-dark post-mortems.
at a glance
Getting there: With Melbourne at the apex of the triangle, it’s just a 60-90 minutes drive south-east or south-west to either the Mornington or Bellarine Peninsula. A car ferry that runs hourly between Sorrento and Queenscliff links the two regions, enabling easy access and the opportunity to sample different attractions and experiences.
www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org and/or www.geelong.ws/Bellarine-Peninsula
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