10 Best Golf Courses on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia
by Henry Peters on Aug 04, 2024
One of Australia’s very best golf destinations is Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula – a scenic stretch of coastal land between 60 and 90 minutes south of Melbourne’s CBD.
In this article, we’ve outlined our list of the 10 best golf courses on the Mornington Peninsula and we’ll also tell you which of these courses you can stay at.
10. Rosebud Country Club (North Course)
A nicely undulating layout with some impressive playing surfaces, Rosebud’s North Course was long underrated but in recent years has hosted the Players Series Victoria event on the PGA Tour of Australasia and is getting the recognition it deserves. You might also enjoy this video of Geoff Ogilvy playing a few holes at Rosebud.
9. Sorrento Golf Club
Rarely is a blade of grass out of place at Sorrento - which is a private golf course - and the greens are generally an absolute treat to putt on. There are some pretty dramatic elevation changes at Sorrento which isn’t a long course so it features some interesting short and medium length par-fours.
8. Moonah Links (Open Course)
Moonah Links' Open Course is an absolute beast from the back tees, stretching close to 6800 metres. In fact, the course was designed to host the men’s Australian Open which it did twice in 2003 - won by Peter Lonard - and for Robert Allemby's triumph in 2005.
Thankfully there’s plenty of forward tee options on the Open Course which is fairly wide open but there are plenty of little pot bunkers littered around the course to trip you up.
7. Moonah Links (Legends Course)
Like the Open Course, the Legends was designed by Peter Thomson, Mike Wolveridge and Ross Perrett. However, the Legends Course is a gentler test and perhaps more fun for the average golfer.
The layout is shorter, a little bit tighter with plenty of rugged terrain surrounding the holes and some interesting undulations too.
6. Portsea Golf Club
There’s a rugged and natural feel to Portsea and plenty of elevation change but that doesn’t stop the wind from sometimes roaring which really adds to the challenge of Portsea. A highlight at Portsea is the 10th hole, named 'Little Devil', which is a drivable par-four played across the top of a ridge with a sloping fairway and a wall of bunkers short and left of a narrow green.
5. The Dunes Golf Links
A links style course set on rolling dunes as the name suggests, The Dunes opened in 1995 and, you could argue, started the wave of premium public access golf courses on the Mornington Peninsula. There’s about 1300 metres difference in course length from the front tees to the back tees so you need to think about which tees suit your skill level.
The holes at The Dunes are routed in just about every direction which leads to a great variety of shots.
4. St Andrews Beach Golf Course
Widely regarded as the best public golf course on mainland Australia, St Andrews Beach was designed by world renowned American course architect Tom Doak and first opened in the mid 2000s. Originally intended as a private golf course, St Andrews Beach has been open to the public since the late 2000s and is a course with a tremendous variety of holes.
Generally speaking, there is lots of room off the tee – it’s your approach game that is put under a microscope with many of the greens are closely guarded by swales and steep runs offs.
You might enjoy this video which features European Tour golfer David Micheluzzi playing some holes at St Andrews Beach.
3. The National Golf Club (Old Course)
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, and first opening in the late 80s, The Old Course is one of the most dramatic golf courses you’ll find with daring forced carries off the tee and some steep slopes on the greens.
The high point of the round comes at the par-three 7th (check out this video) where you play to a wide but shallow green perched on the edge of a ravine with sensational views of nearby Bass Strait.
2. The National Golf Club (Gunnamatta Course)
The youngest course at The National, the Gunnamatta Course was designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2019 as a comprehensive redesign of the previous layout which was known as The Ocean Course. The fairways are wide but bunkers are often used to guard the side of the fairway you want to be on.
A favourite is the par-three 16th – with its infinity green against the backdrop of Gunnamatta Beach. Check out this video featuring the Gunnamatta Course.
1. The National Golf Club (Moonah Course)
Designed by Greg Norman and Bob Harrison, The Moonah Course opened in 2000. It’s reasonably generous off the tee and features some brilliant green complexes.
On quite a few holes, there are side slopes and back stops you can use to bring your ball onto the green which keeps it fair and fun for the higher handicapper. The past two years, the Moonah Course has hosted the season-ending event on the PGA Tour of Australasia known as The National Tournament.
As for which of the above courses have accommodation, Rosebud Country Club has rooms on the property, at Moonah Links there’s a Peppers Resort on site, Portsea has a 4-star Mercure with boutique rooms, The Dunes has rooms perched above the 18th green and St Andrews Beach has apartments you can stay in.
