Golf’s grandest city offers first-class facilities but also so much more.
Is there another city in the world where eight world-class golf courses reside within a handful of kilometres of each other?
Just a few suburbs apart – and only a half-hour drive from Melbourne’s bustling CBD – sit the courses ranked first (Royal Melbourne’s West course), second (Kingston Heath), fifth (Peninsula Kingswood’s North course), eighth (Royal Melbourne’s East course), ninth (Victoria), 12th (Metropolitan) 16th (Peninsula Kingswood’s South course), 27th (Yarra Yarra), 31st (Commonwealth) and 53rd (Huntingdale) in Australia.
It’s a collection of golf magnificence that no other city can boast. Why? The golf architecture is a starting point, along with the scale of how the great course designers of yesteryear built things with an eye for shaping. But it’s also the components to do with turf management, the climate and the soil type for which the Sandbelt gets its name. That rich vein of sandy loam subsoil beneath the playing surfaces of these courses provides the basis for great golf.
And the world’s best golfers know it. “You would never get a chance to see bunkering like this in any other place in the world,” Tiger Woods has famously said. “I just love coming [to Melbourne] and playing these golf courses, it’s a treat. You don’t need a golf course to be 7,500 yards to be hard; you can build it just like this and have it nice and tricky.”
For travelling golfers, each Sandbelt course is open to tee-time bookings by interstate visitors, too, with green fees that pale in comparison to the elite courses of Britain or the USA. Yes, it is possible to play Royal Melbourne – the only venue outside America to host the Presidents Cup more than twice – plus its sister Sandbelt layouts as a non-member [see package details, below].
The Sandbelt courses hold a siren-like appeal for golfers. However, away from these elite eight clubs lies a world of attractions to entice once the final putt finds the cup.
For more information visit: visitmelbourne.com/golf
The Ultimate Sandbelt Package
Includes: four nights’ twin-share accommodation in the beautiful clubhouse at Peninsula Kingswood CGC with breakfast, four games of golf including Kingston Heath GC, Peninsula Kingswood CGC (two games) and Huntingdale GC, and private transfers to each club. $2,150 per person, twin share. For bookings, phone (03) 9789 2222 or e-mail [email protected]
PLAY
1 Royal Melbourne Golf Club (either course)
2 Kingston Heath Golf Club
3 Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club (either course)
4 Victoria Golf Club
5 Metropolitan Golf Club
6 Yarra Yarra Golf Club
7 Commonwealth Golf Club
8 Huntingdale Golf Club
EAT
Farmer’s Daughters – With three levels to explore, go on a seasonal journey from the city to the rolling hills, mountains, rivers and beaches of Victoria’s ‘food bowl’: the Gippsland region (farmersdaughters.com.au)
Tipo 00 – With a name that references the flour used in the pasta, this is a restaurant that showcases a passion for Italian food, pasta and beverages (tipo00.com.au)
Maha Restaurant – For flavours and textures that inspire and delight, the most exciting Middle Eastern experience in Melbourne is at Maha (maharestaurant.com.au)
DRINK
Fable – Storytelling from the Mediterranean through tantalising cocktails and thoughtful share plates (fablemelbourne.com.au)
Stomping Ground Brewery & Beer Hall – A neighbourhood brewery in Collingwood, which a century ago was the epicentre of Australian brewing (stompingground.beer)
Bar Margaux – A late night bar and brasserie serving cocktails, wine and French comfort food until the early hours (barmargaux.com.au)
STAY
W Melbourne – With its rebellious Flinders Lane address, W Melbourne takes its design cues from the streets of Australia’s cultural capital, holding the back-lane entrance keys to what’s new/next in the CBD (marriott.com)
QT Melbourne – So boldly Melbourne that you’ll wake up smelling the batch-brew coffee, this is accommodation that weaves you into the fabric of the city (qthotels.com/melbourne)
Ovolo South Yarra – Blending past, present and progressive, Ovolo is a place where retro chic and pop art collide (ovolohotels.com/ovolo/south-yarra/)
DO
Rising – Melbourne’s new winter super arts festival, from June 1 to 12 (rising.melbourne)
NGV Melbourne Winter Masterpieces – Showcasing the Picasso Century from June 10 to October 9 (connect.ngv.vic.gov.au)
AFL at the MCG – The 2022 AFL season continues until the end of September (mcg.org.au)
