The Courses

The Cut - #36 Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 in 2022

Opened early in 2005, and designed by James Wilcher, The Cut is just about as exciting as a golf course could ever be. Routed predominantly through dramatically undulating dunes land within a stone's throw of the Indian Ocean, the course takes in wonderful views, is beautifully conditioned, expertly designed, and provides loads of thrilling golf. Boasting a par of 72, and a total course length from the back tees of 6385 metres, The Cut features a lone par 3 and par 5 on the front side, and a pair of each on the back. Eminently playable from the blue tees at 6077 metres and 5209 metres from the women's tees, the course has been constructed with strong and consistent prevailing winds in mind.

James Wilcher has designed a course that maximises the wonderful block on which it lays. The routing forays towards the ocean at its earliest opportunity, ventures back near the middle of the round, and provides a stunning conclusion with the final two holes in close proximity to the ocean. The course has a wealth of wonderful short par 4's and strong, longer 2 shot holes, which bend both left and right. The Cut is a course built on a stunning property, which has been exploited to its full extent, providing shot after shot of challenging, exciting and memorable golf. The course doesn't really boast a poorly designed hole, and features many A-grade holes which are strategically sound, eminently playable, and great fun on sensational land.. Any golfer who takes the game seriously owes themselves a game at this wonderful course.

The Links at Kennedy Bay 

If you want to experience the tradition of true links golf there is nowhere better than The Links Kennedy Bay. Acclaimed as one of Western Australia's best golf courses, The Links Kennedy Bay is beautifully undulating and a true links course in the Scottish and Irish traditions. The course is fully irrigated however dry all year round, with its sandy base exceptionally fast running and tight. The gently undulating Windsor Green fairways wind through sand dunes amongst western coastal wattle, grevillea, sedges and lilies. The excellent large Bent greens are all one would expect on a true links - firm, fast and true.

Running alongside the vast blue waters of the Indian Ocean, this beautifully manicured course, with its 115 pot style bunkers with revetted faces, is a delight to play from the white tees and nothing short of a challenge both mentally and physically from the black tees. Opened in 2000 and designed by Michael Coate and the late Roger Mackay, in conjunction with 1991 British Open Champion Ian Baker Finch, this par 72 championship links golf course has been described by many as a true test of your golfing skills. Consistently Ranked in the "Top 20 Golf Courses" and "Top 5 Public Access Golf Courses" in Australia, it was recently named in the 2011 Rolex Top 1000 Golf Courses in the World.

Joondalup (Quarry Dune) - #21 Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 in 2022

Joondalup has gained worldwide fame for its spectacular and sublimely manicured 27-hole golf course crafted by Robert Trent Jones Jr. He describes it as “Unquestionably one of the world’s finest golfing experiences” and anyone who has taken on his superb creation will be hard pressed to disagree. Built on a hilly site, part of which was a disused limestone quarry, the course is routed past and over rocky ravines, bordered by lush bushland and affording frequent sweeping vistas of the surrounding countryside and suburbs.

The course meanders through a network of majestic quarries, lakes and dunes, providing a picturesque landscape on every hole. The course quality is accompanied by a high level of customer service. Few golf courses anywhere in the world offer the dramatic contrasts, the scenic beauty and the sheer golfing challenge of Joondalup. One minute you are playing an approach shot beneath a 30-metre limestone cliff, the next you are adapting to the fresh ocean breeze on an undulating links style fairway.

Lake Karrinyup - #17 Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 in 2022

The Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth is a beautiful golf course and is widely acclaimed as the best private golf club of Western Australia. The Lake Karrinyup Country Club was designed by famed architect, Alex Russell in 1928, and created amidst natural undulating bushland. The Lake Karrinyup Country Club Course is a peaceful arboretum for wildlife, native birds along with numerous kangaroos that appear on the beautiful greens. The 18 hole Lake Karrinyup Country championship golf course layout consists of a course crafted through natural bushland. With lush couchgrass green fairways lined with trees, and well trimmed bentgrass greens trimmed with bunkers, all set around a natural lake, the Karrinyup course is famous for its challenging layout.

While smaller lakes and various creative bunkers add to the level of difficulty, the natural lake comes into play especially on the 475m par five third hole. Some of Golf's greatest that have played at the LakeKarrinyup course are Bruce Devlin, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Norman Von Nida. The magnificent clubhouse of the Lake Karrinyup Country Club, with its lovely washed limestone and hardwood jarrah timber-lined walls, is a club of strong traditions and it reflects the history of its many famous visitors.

Cottesloe - #78 Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 in 2022

The club started out in 1908 as a nine-hole course on the site occupied today by Sea View Golf Club – a stone’s throw, as the name suggests, from the water. Over the ensuing decades the cream of Australian golf – von Nida, Nagle, Thomson – walked Cottesloe’s fairways. The quality of the course was reflected in the standard of homegrown players. Graham Marsh, the late Roger Mackay and Brad King were all Cottesloe club champions. Anderson’s original layout remained unchanged until 1980 when Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge made some major alterations, bringing about a change in the course’s boundaries. In 1994 Marsh, who is still a club member, was commissioned to come up with a masterplan. A decade-long rebuilding program began and was completed in time for the club’s centenary in 2008. The new Marsh layout, combined with the impeccable conditioning of the playing surfaces, has vaulted this undulating par-72 into the top echelon of Australian golf courses.

While some length was added to the course, it is the modern bunkering and new green complexes that really impress. The view from the elevated 1st tee sets the scene. The fairway of this seemingly tame 274-metre par-four dips into a valley before rising gradually. Large Melbourne sandbelt-style bunkers cut into the fairway from the right, while more bunkers can be found left of the sloping green. Long hitters might fancy their chances of reaching the green from the tee – a hefty 259-metre carry over the bunker just short of the putting surface. But with a helpful sea breeze, it’s certainly a tempting little proposition that Marsh offers up first. The diversity of Cottesloe’s par-fours is one of its strengths. After the short opening hole, the next two-shotter is the 397-metre 3rd, where your drive must hug the left edge of the fairway to give yourself the best possible view of the green. Again, bunkers short of the putting surface will penalise anything mishit, while missing the green right can see your ball sail out of bounds. Perhaps Cottesloe’s best two-shot hole is its longest: the dogleg-right, 400-metre 10th. From an elevated tee, players must drive on to a plateau that lies short of a fairway bunker about 210 metres away. If you are less than perfect with your tee shot, your approach to the green will be blocked by a clump of big tuart and peppermint trees. Even if you do hit it just right and earn yourself a clear view of the raised, multi-tiered green, you will see there is plenty of sand to dodge in your bid to make par.