Australia’s Top 100 Golf Courses 20226/27

The past two ranking cycles have now been conducted via a vastly expanded judging panel, which has yielded a much more complete bank of total course-evaluation data. Our national panel of 271 avid golfers voted on 824 different courses – more than half the approximately 1,600 golf courses in Australia – and lodged 7,899 total evaluations. Last time, those numbers read: 277 panellists, 809 courses and 7,026 evaluations, while in 2022 they were: 140 panellists, 321 courses and 2,952 evaluations.

Those numbers are only achievable if you have a dedicated collection of judges, so for their time, input and effort, we thank our entire panel [see page 74]. They visit and score courses out of 10 based on seven criteria:

Shot Options: How well does the course present a variety of options involving risks and rewards and require a wide range of shots? (Shot Options counts twice in our formula, because a survey of panellists 30-plus years ago felt it was by far the most important aspect of a course design and should be double-weighted.)

Challenge: How challenging, while still being fair, is the course for a typical scratch golfer playing from the tees designated as back tees for everyday play (not from seldom-used championship tees)?

Layout Variety: How varied is the physical layout of the course in terms of differing lengths (long, medium and short par 3s, 4s and 5s), configurations (straight holes, doglegs left and right), hazard/‘penalty area’ placements, green shapes and green contours?

Distinctiveness: How individual is each hole when compared to all others on this course? Additionally, how fun and enjoyable for all levels of golfers would this course be to play on a regular basis?

Character: How well does the course design exude ingenuity and uniqueness and possess profound characteristics that you would consider outstanding for its era?

Aesthetics: How well do the scenic values of the course (including landscaping, vegetation, water features and backdrops) add to the pleasure of a round?

Conditioning: How firm, fast and rolling were the fairways? How firm yet receptive were the greens? How true were the rolls of putts?

To arrive at a course’s final score, we total its averages in the seven categories, doubling Shot Options (from 10 to 20) to create a score out of 80.

Stuart Cooper, Cameron Hart, Steven Davis, Wayne James, Tom Catoggio, Jonathan Roennfeldt, Colin Bloomfield, John Brugman, Craig Seckold, Steve Bray, Chris Dugan, Doug Turek, Ron Sankey, Scott Newman, Rob Henschke, John Renshaw, Ian Greenwood, Tristan Heath, Joseph Kahn, Andrew Heffernan, Robert Mead, Ru Macdonald, Gary Shaw, Raphael Jose, Hayden Marshall, Greg White, Jamie Woodhill, Fletcher Ivey, Geoff Steer, Dean Jennings, Mandy Lee, Dan Madden, Drew Hallam, Mark Taylor, Nick Shute, Chris Pezzimenti, Brad Trpchev, Wayne Moriarty, Mark Hand, Grant Naylor, Alex McCormack, Catherine Tucker, Peter Phillips, Tony Moore, Andrew Whitaker, Mark Henricks, Ryan McDonough, Salim Rahmati, Chris Peckett, Shane Corben, Craig Duffy, Tyson Flynn, Jacqui Morgan, Michael Chapman, Scott Martin, Andrew Cozens, Steve Keipert, Roger Prentice, Leanne Taylor, Anthony Martin, David Chantrell, Luke Clark, Andrew Coghlan, Chris Francis, Ross Hildebrand, Leigh Martin, Kevin Pallier, Adam Brennan, Simon Appleby, David Bishop, Robert Shakeshaft, Steven Slappendel, Basil Hourmouzis, Anthony Hackland, James Howes, Richard Crago, Tony Ellis, Nigel Hutton, Joseph Crabtree, David Pratt, Nick Stawiski, Brad Downes, Cameron Green, Heath Okely, Tim Browne, Wesley Milsom, Tom Pearce, Jeynelle Wilcox, Andrew Lamble, Rod Holmes, Raj Narayan, Nick White, John Zelenjak, Aaron Spalding, Scott Logan, Daniel Adams, Paul Burgin, Ben Flavel, Luke Gallant, Ben Martin, Scott Muller, Karen Van Vliet, Robert Law, Steve Thomas, Ben Bell, Peter Ellison, George Kidman, Mitch Morgan, William Park, Margaret Potter, Trevor Roberts, Nicholas Stewart, Adam Wallace, Cherrie Genat, Paul Smerdon, Ben Martin-Henry, Tim Roberts, Paul Bittar, David Cuda, Phil Heads, David Raymond, Jason Van Vliet, Grant Gerber, Tom Curran, Edward Sinclair, Robin Wolfson, Craig Gallie, Richard Maxwell, Mark Panopoulos, Zoee Dolling, Shannon Moore, Nick Welsh, Chris Ryan, Stewart Woodhill, Cameron Turner, Jesse Ford, Andrew Hockey, Quintyn Fisher, Jason Paterson, Tom Pennington, Trent Pilgrim, Enzo Cavallo, Graeme Elgie, Rod McLeod, Jeremy Peck, Brendan Meagher, Matt Davies, Gerard Wild, Luke Collins, Shane McPhee, Evan Wilkinson, James Irwin, Steven Griffiths, Dimitri Pepas, Edward Dowling, Jason Gullaci, Gary Lisbon, Les Coles, Karl Kirsten, Chris Hurt, Wayne Carlson, David Bailey, Luke Roolker, Dominic Pearson, Josh McGowan, Tony Bradley, Haydn Fyffe, Jason Gluch, Lachlan Miller, Peter Sherry, Damien Tarbox, Craig Millen, Dan Cook, Simon Ovenden, Greg Brearley, Clayton Gunning,
Ivan Anticevic, Ian Markus, Matthew Toomey, Scott Ware, Rohan Stewart, Brian O’Reilly, Ian Curley, Glenn Domigan, Will Stubbs, Damian Grace, Jonathan Buck, Chris Perry, Luke Bolden, Scott Campbell, Paul Bucan, Anthony Tse, Tony Hicks, Brad Pole, Frank Gurren, Matthew Green, Chris Ninopoulos, Ben Caruso, Nathan Cassilles, Jacob Slimmon, Bob Freeman, Liam Keenan, Andrew Dalgairns, Glenn Hildebrand, John Fox, Josiah Trinder, Chris Moyle, Graeme Morissey, Rey Saballa, Stephen Worner, Andrew Morris, Loren Justins, Nicholas Tuddenham, James Ward, Scott Dial, Rod Doak, Andrew Hinchliffe, Marcus Lancaster, Matthew MacMahon, Daniel Lewis, Robert Loewenthal, Chris Thomas, Gavin Armstrong, Selwyn Berg, Rahim Lalani, Warren Rankine, Adam Ringrose, Patrick Davoren, Christian Hampson, Sam Fung, Doug Hannaford, Flinn Shiel, Paul Watts, Ken Russell, Rohan Adams, Bree Arthur, Ben Hall, Simon Anderson, Susan Brooker, Kim Piavanini, Shane Hooton, James Prineas, Aaron Gent, Ben Tullipan, Callum Tranter, Nick Wall, Peter Farlie, Greg Fraser, Holly Ibbotson, Joseph Pringle, Jayden Lawson, Michael Caridi, Mitchell Thorne, Troy Scott, Ali Terai, Rohan Clarke, Ben McIlwain, Charlie Vincent, Storm McGrath, Gracie Richter, John Martin, James Ponder, Scott Hannah, Adam Scott, Paul McLean, Calum Hey, Jason Hill, Andrew Priory, Dene Heath, Stuart Rankine and Jessica Eden.

Quietly slinking away amid this year’s newcomers and returning courses was a Melbourne golf course of true substance. The permanent closure of Cranbourne Golf Club on February 28, 2026 – which coincided with the final day of this ranking cycle – marked the last chapter in the club’s colourful history.

The Cranbourne land will be converted into a housing estate after the site’s purchase by former Carlton AFL player Fraser Brown for $190 million. Brown Property Group bought the 70.4-hectare property in Melbourne’s south-east growth corridor after approval was given to rezone the land as residential in 2024. As many as 1,350 homes could be built on the Cranbourne layout that was originally built for the Jewish community and opened in 1954. The sale came two years after Cranbourne’s $120 million merger with Huntingdale Golf Club on the Sandbelt. Under the deal, Huntingdale received an immediate injection of $10 million in exchange for accepting Cranbourne’s members.

The Sam Berriman-designed course occupied mostly flat terrain with towering gums a feature of the native flora that gave holes a sense of separation. Geography precluded Cranbourne from being classed as part of the Sandbelt, although the layout possessed many of the same features.

The club was a tournament haven, especially in the 2000s as a multi-time Victorian Open and PGA Tour of Australasia Qualifying School venue, while Cranbourne hosted the Australian Amateur Championship as recently as 2022 and 2025. Four-time Australian Open winner Ossie Pickworth served as the club’s first professional, while current tour pro David Micheluzzi called Cranbourne home, joining as an 11-year-old and winning the club’s junior championship at 14.

Cranbourne accumulated an erratic history on our ranking. First included in 83rd place in 1994, it peaked at No.74 in 2002 but then fell outside the Top 100 two years later. Overall, it made the grade nine times (most recently in 2022) and even though 74th was its zenith, the course ranked in the 70s on five occasions. Part of five straight rankings from 1994-2002, it only managed back-to-back appearances at best thereafter. We elected not to consider Cranbourne this year, even as a last hurrah, as it was always slated to be closed by the time the list was published. (This ranking is officially labelled the 2026-2027 list, making it more of a throw-forward than a look back at the previous two years.)

Cranbourne Golf Club began life in somewhat inauspicious fashion – founder Syd Kaufman was famously rejected by another Melbourne club for being Jewish – and ends it in a similar way. Closing for development while under financial duress is the price suburban golf clubs occasionally pay for their location, especially as larger cities grow.

The end of any ranking list means the beginning of another rundown of who or what missed out. Our Top 100 Courses ranking is as competitive as ever, as illustrated by the calibre of the layouts that didn’t make it.

Here, listed alphabetically rather than ranked, are 25 courses that narrowly missed out this time but could contend in 2028 and beyond:

• Araluen
• Belmont
• Cypress Lakes
• Eynesbury
• Flinders
• Forster-Tuncurry (Tuncurry)
• Growling Frog
• Kew
• Lakeside Camden
• Mount Broughton
• Nudgee (Kurrai)
• Pacific Dunes
• Pymble
• Queenscliff
• RACV Healesville
• RACV Royal Pines (Green/Gold)
• Ranfurlie
• Rich River (East)
• Royal Fremantle
• Sandhurst (North)
• Secret Harbour
• Southern
• The Vines (Championship)
• Twin Waters
• Yarrawonga Mulwala (Murray)

The high volume of course redesign work taking place across Australia meant six courses were intentionally left off this ranking as they remain out of play (whether partially or in full) or are inaccessible. Newcastle’s long-awaited, Bob Harrison-led redesign project is in full swing, and we await its return in the 2028 ranking. In a similar boat this time are Sydney’s Pennant Hills, where Gary Player’s design firm is mid-renovation, and The National’s just-reopened Long Island course, which re-welcomed golfers after this ranking cycle ended. Elsewhere, the clean-up exercise after extensive flooding continues for the Bungool course at Riverside Oaks, keeping it from re-opening all 18 holes.

Two more courses once again aren’t part of this ranking. For a third consecutive time, not enough of our judging panel saw the Packer family’s outstanding Ellerston course in the Hunter Valley, nor the exclusive Capital course in Melbourne (which hasn’t been considered since 2002).

Meanwhile, Cranbourne, which achieved Top 100 Courses status nine times since our ranking began in 1986, closed forever in February [see page 77]. As its pending closure was known for some time, our panellists were instructed not to evaluate it this cycle.

With so many returning courses and a brand-new inclusion towards the top, this ranking feels like one of great volatility. Meanwhile, the 2028 list looks set to be in a similar mode. Most anticipated will be Darius Oliver’s layout at The Cliffs Kangaroo Island [below], which is scheduled to open this spring on an incredible site on the island off the South Australian coast, plus 7 Mile Beach’s North course – if the King Collins Dormer design is ready in time. The 2030 ranking is perhaps more likely there.

Returning next time will be The National’s Long Island course (OCM), which members began touring in late March, plus the extensive makeovers performed on Newcastle (Bob Harrison), Sydney’s Pennant Hills (Gary Player Design) and Country Club Tasmania (Robin Gibson) in Launceston. Other layouts to recently go under the knife will also benefit from two further years’ worth of maturity.