The Best Golf Courses in Sydney

If you’ve ever marvelled at Sydney’s natural landscape and built environment, from its iconic landmarks to its vibrant culture, you’re not alone. But for diehard golfers, there’s something to be said about the luscious greens of the exquisite golf courses that are scattered throughout Sydney and its surrounding suburbs. While Tasmania lays claim to the oldest golf course in Australia at Ratho Farm, established in 1822, Sydney has gained a reputation for world-class courses that are as demanding as they are picturesque .

From cliff-side holes offering sweeping ocean views, to lush inland greens surrounded by native wildlife and bushland, Sydney’s golfing landscape presents as both beautiful yet incredibly challenging for all those who dare to play the great Scottish game.

Among the myriad of options, we’ve narrowed down some of the best golf courses in and around Sydney. Now’s the time to work on your backswing, adjust your alignment and prepare to yell ‘fore’.

But first…

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Where is the most expensive golf course to play?

One of the most expensive golf clubs to play in Sydney is arguably The Australian Golf Club. While this remains a private golf course reserved for members and their guests only, it costs upward of $8000 per year to play at The Australian, with a joining fee in excess of $50,000 (depending on age).

How many golf courses are there in Sydney Australia?

Across metropolitan Sydney, there is an abundance of courses ready for you to tee off. According to Golf NSW, there are 83 golf clubs that make up the Sydney Metropolitan area including clubs from Palm Beach to Cronulla. State-wide, there’s a total of 238 golf courses in NSW. The eastern suburbs provides the greatest density of golf courses, with 13 golf courses occupying about 7.5 per cent of the eastern suburbs in total.

What are the best golf courses in Sydney?

Here is a list of some of the very best golf courses to play in and around Sydney…

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New South Wales Golf Club

This is perhaps one of the most spectacular links-style golf courses in Australia (and an inevitable challenge for those prepared to tackle its greens, particularly on a windy day). With mesmerising views that overlook Botany Bay, the course provides an unforgettable playing experience, whether you score an eagle or a double bogey. Designed by Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1926, the New South Wales Golf Club has remained one of this country’s finest golf courses.

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Ellerston

A little further out from the Sydney metro area, the story goes that Ellerston in the Hunter Valley was exclusively built by Greg Norman for his Australian media mogul mate Kerry Packer, who at the time was the country’s wealthiest individual. The course, which Norman executed to Packer’s specifications—”build a golf course that penalises poor shots, and makes the golfer think and play hard,” was Packer’s directive—is undoubtedly one of his finest designs (and stands as one of the best courses in Australia). Keen golf enthusiasts may be disappointed to learn Ellerston and its undulating greens remain largely a private preserve of the Packer family.

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The Lakes Golf Club

The Lakes Golf Club at Eastlakes has long been one of Sydney’s premier golf clubs; it has played host to a number of historic championships, like the Australian Open, and it sits as one of the country’s oldest venues for golf, first designed in 1928. While lakes are one part of the hazards to expect at this golf course, upon arriving at the back nine holes, you will also be presented with some of Australia’s toughest bunkers, as well as an abundance of trees that have claimed many a golf ball. Players, you’ve been warned.

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The Australian Golf Club

Founded in 1882, The Australian Golf Club at nearby Rosebery is one of the oldest golf clubs in Australia and is another of Dr Alister MacKenzie’s designs (until Kerry Packer commissioned golfing great Jack Nicklaus to completely redesign the course in 1976). Today, The Australian GC is a championship course, with many great golfing battles played out at this spectacular course. For those lucky to get a chance to get into the swing here, while an absolute pleasure, it will also prove a strong test of your game.

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Bonnie Doon

With what is the third oldest club in Sydney, Bonnie Doon at Pagewood is designed to “mimic the work of nature with a mix of irregular undulations, wispy roughs and rugged bunker lips that appear to have been formed from years of wind and rain,” Bonnie Doon’s design architects, Ogilvy Clayton Cocking and Mead, said upon the course’s redevelopment in 2011.

Playing at Bonnie Doon is a fun, but trying, experience for many golfers. There is an abundance of undulating sandy ground and some deceptively difficult vegetation which makes precision a key prerequisite of playing this course.

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Royal Sydney Golf Club

Not only one of the country’s finest golf courses, but Royal Sydney at Rose Bay is one of the leading social clubs in all of New South Wales, boasting a strong membership of more than 5,000 golfers of all abilities. While sign up fees aren’t easy on the pocket, in return members and their guests are able to bask in a championship golf course with one of the nicest harbour-side clubhouse facilities you’re likely to find. Celebrating its 120th anniversary last year, this iconic golf course is a must-play for anyone serious about their golf.

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Bonville Golf Resort

Ok, technically, this golf course is a bit of a drive from the Emerald City but we couldn’t resist. South of Coffs Harbour in New South Wales lies Bonville Golf Resort, one of the most picturesque golf courses in the country—so much so that it is often considered Australia’s “Augusta National” by golfing enthusiasts. Made up of an 18-hole championship course that meanders through rainforests and is renowned for its isolation, Bonville is a dream course for golfer looking to challenge themselves.

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Monash Country Club

A course lauded for its slick greens and incomparable bushland setting, the Monash Country Club at Ingleside is renowned for more than just its star-studded member base of ex-footballers and politicians. Monash Country Club is, in fact, one of Sydney’s most difficult courses, where the formula is simple: you must hit fairways to score. Be sure to be on your game when playing here, for Monash takes many prisoners. It’s said that Monash has the fewest plus-handicappers in Australia among its membership base.

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