If you're in Sydney or Newcastle and looking for a great weekend golf getaway, The Vintage in the New South Wales Hunter Valley will be right up your alley.
Located in the small township of Rothbury, The Vintage boasts an awesome Greg Norman and Bob Harrison-designed 18-hole championship golf course which is one of the best in regional New South Wales.
Stretching to 6,242 meters and with a par of 71, The Vintage hosted the NSW Open for four consecutive years from 2007 to 2010. It's a very natural looking layout, flanked by beautiful gum trees on most of the holes. As is often typical with Norman courses, it's well guarded with bunkers off the tee.
And given that the golf course is in the heart of NSW's best known wine region, the Hunter Valley, the appeal of a golf trip to The Vintage extends beyond the fairways and into the vineyards. In fact, vineyards are well and truly at your fingertips at The Vintage with the seventh fairway bordering Bimbadgen Estate.
The signature hole at The Vintage is the long and extremely difficult par-three eighth hole which is guarded to the right by a lake and to the left by a row of three bunkers. It's such an intimidating tee shot that - for most golfers - the smart choice is probably to just try to lay up short and left of the green.
The Vintage offers on-course accommodation too in the form of private villas at Chateau Elan and there's also a restaurant in the clubhouse.
Another brilliant activity to do in the area is an early morning hot air balloon ride which takes you above the golf course.
