With cost-of-living pressures being what they are at the moment, you don’t need to avoid the golf course to save your pennies.
Over the following pages we reveal the best golf you can play throughout regional Australia – including cities with a population under 200,000 – where the green fee presents a real bargain.
To qualify for the list, a course’s most expensive green fee was not to exceed $50. From there, we poured through notes and observations made by Golf Australia editors and Top-100 ranking judges to come up with the courses we believe present great, enjoyable golf at a price that won’t break the bank for an afternoon of fun.
The green fees listed are the rack rate for visitors and we prioritised the courses in order of their lowest green fee available across the week.
$50-$46
ALBANY GC
Albany, Western Australia
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Albany is not only the oldest town in Western Australia; its golf club was one of the first formed in the state. From nine-hole beginnings in 1898, Albany did not become an 18-hole layout for more than 50 years and today is one of only a few true links courses found outside Britain and Ireland with such a long history. Thick woolly-bush and peppermint trees line most of the naturally undulating fairways, which run predominantly in a north-south direction parallel to Middleton Beach, about three kilometres from the town centre. It is not a hard course in sublime weather conditions, but it bares its teeth when the wind whips in across King George Sound. Once you've played Albany you'll understand why Tour pro Craig Parry rates it as one of his favourites in Australia and is widely regarded as one of the best valued golf experiences in the country.
BRIBIE ISLAND GC
Woorim, Queensland
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Bribie Island is one of the biggest sand islands of Brisbane’s Moreton Bay and this sandy base has given rise to a wonderful course that is ranked in the Top-100 Public Access Courses in Australia.
This is evident from the 1st hole with Melbourne Sandbelt-style bunkering lining the edge of the fairway.
Bribie Island has some memorable holes with the 172-metre par-3 16th being one of the best. Played across the edge of a lake and a sandy wasteland, the only place to miss this green and still save par is from the front right of the putting surface.
BUSSELTON GC
Busselton, Western Australia
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Busselton Golf Club dates back to 1907 so its not surprising the course winds between beautiful redgums and peppermint trees.
Extensively redesigned in 1979 by Murray Dawson, Busselton is widely regarded for having some of the best playing surfaces in regional WA.
A feature of many holes is Dawson’s green complexes, where the putting surface is protected by sand and is angled to your approach. One of the best examples of this is on the 169-metre par-3 6th hole where the green, sitting beyond two bunkers, lies at almost a 45 degree angle to your tee shot. The right-hander who can fade the ball has a distinct advantage here but it’s still a precise shot to leave yourself a putt for birdie.
CLUB CATALINA
Batemans Bay, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Natural water hazards, well-placed bunkers and tree-lined fairways offer an enjoyable challenge at this 27-hole layout. Club Catalina is an established course with some of the finest playing surfaces in regional New South Wales, where the scenic views of Batemans Bay and its surroundings add to the round.
In recent years, the club commissioned acclaimed course architect Harley Kruse to develop a 27-hole masterplan, which has already yielded improvements with the redesign of several holes and the implementation of a tree clearing program.
COFFS HARBOUR GC
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
Green fee: $50 (seven days).
Coffs Harbour is one of the most challenging and best-maintained layouts in regional NSW.
Heavily tree-lined fairways, punctuated by clever fairway bunkering or one of the many water hazards scattered throughout, cover a good mix of undulating and easier-walking flat areas.
Last year, the club enlisted former PGA Tour player and course designer, Craig Parry, to create a masterplan that will elevate the course further over the next decade.
