Plenty of top-shelf golf can be found along the 391-kilometre stretch between the pioneering settlement of Swan Hill and the winemaking region of Rutherglen.
Golf on the Murray River has undergone a revival thanks to professional golf returning to the iconic waterway. The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia has visited the Murray for the past four seasons in a significant boost to the region.
Ripper GC captain Cam Smith and teammate Lucas Herbert ventured to Murray Downs Golf & Country Club this past spring when it hosted the 2024 Ford New South Wales Open. Herbert emerged victorious after a titanic struggle with Smith to register his first professional title in Australia.
Murray Downs sits on the NSW side of the border just a few kilometres from the Victorian township of Swan Hill, 338 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. Ted and Geoff Parslow designed the treelined layout ranked No.98 on Australia’s Top 100 Golf Courses. Murray Downs features river gums, arid scrubland, man-made billabongs and large greenside hazards that have a striking ochre-coloured bunker sand. The neighbouring Murray Downs Resort has 50 self-contained cabins and a large tropical-themed outdoor swimming pool. Local attractions include The Pioneer Settlement depicting early life on the Murray.
The eastward journey along the Murray Valley Highway finds Rich River Golf Club near the twin towns of Moama (NSW) and Echuca (VIC). Rich River was the home of the Rich River Trainee Classic for 34 years. It returned to the PGA Tour of Australasia when the East course hosted the 2023 NSW Open. David Micheluzzi prevailed to beat the strongest field assembled on the Murray for a tour event in more than 35 years.
Rich River will host this year’s Women’s Indulgence Golf Tournament from May 27-30. Many attendees will stay at the 63-room motel adjacent to the clubhouse. The resort provides a Murray River Paddlesteamers Package that combines a two-night cruise with 36 holes of golf on both of Rich River’s championship layouts. Barmah Wetlands and Echuca’s shopping precinct are other notable tourist attractions.
The 36-hole facility at Club Tocumwal is the long-time home of the Southern PGA Trainee Championships for aspiring professionals. Tocumwal is currently undergoing a major clubhouse redevelopment at a cost of $7.5 million to address ageing infrastructure and inadequate amenities. Stage 1 will see the addition of a new pro shop, junior golf academy, grand entrance and revamped bar area. Stage 2 involves the renovation of the old building, which is anticipated for completion this October. The aim is the make the new facility a community hub for golf, bowls and
non-sporting patrons.
Cobram Barooga Golf Club’s Old course has hosted the Webex Players Series Murray River in honour of Jarrod Lyle for the past four years. The treelined layout has proven to have the right balance for the unique mixed format where male and female professionals compete for the same trophy but play from different ‘scaled’ tees to offset the men’s physical advantage. Hannah Green and Sarah Jane Smith won the first two tournaments while Kazuma Kobori and Blake Proverbs claimed the most recent editions.
Cobram Barooga’s West course is slightly longer with wider fairways, more water and larger undulating greens. In October, the West course will stage the PGA Associate National Championship, the major tournament for trainee professionals in the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program.
Cobram Barooga is thriving since the 2009 amalgamation with Barooga Sports Club and the subsequent relocation of its golf clubhouse in 2020. Renamed Sporties Barooga, the new clubhouse has a fully serviced dining area, five indoor sports simulators and a mini-golf area. The Cobram Barooga property is also the setting for Bullanginya Dreaming, an indigenous-themed laser light show that meanders through bushland near Bullanginya Lagoon. The trail begins and ends on the edge of Cobram Barooga’s West course where on Friday and Saturday evenings visitors can pair the experience with dinner at The Sporties Bistro.
Luxurious cabins, hotel rooms and villas
Murray River golf has a new destination hub that’s ideal for couples and small groups after the completion of major renovations at the Barooga Hotel. The hotel’s new spacious two-bedroom cabins have modern furnishings and can accommodate up to four people for a midweek or weekend getaway. Barooga Hotel also tailors stay-and-play packages for golfers at the region’s best courses within a 30-minute radius. Barooga is 20 minutes from Tocumwal, 30 minutes from Yarrawonga and Rutherglen wineries, 45 minutes to Corowa and Shepparton, and an hour from Rich River/Moama/Echuca.
Further east but this time on the Victorian side of Australia’s longest river, The Sebel Yarrawonga is an award-winning 5-star hotel that forms part of a $35 million recreational hub in the 900-lot Silverwoods residential community on the bank of Lake Mulwala. Voted best Luxury Lakeside Resort for Australia/Oceania at the World Luxury Hotel Awards, the Sebel has 63 rooms and apartments, an infinity swimming pool, day spa and three dining areas. (Another 60 rooms are pending approval as part of the hotel’s Stage 2 development.) The Sebel offers a Winemakers of Rutherglen Tour while the Murray Farm Gate Trail also features wine as well as cheeses, liqueurs, olive oil, beef, fresh fruit and vegetables.
The centrepiece of the Silverwoods community is the Black Bull Golf Course designed by five-time Open champion Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett. This year marks the 10th anniversary since all 18 holes opened for play on a layout ranked No.75 on Australia’s Top 100 Golf Courses. It’s been described as a “resort links course” such are the fast-running fairways and heavily bunkered greens. Fourteen holes feature water of which two require heroic carries. Attached to the driving range is McCully Golf Schools. The modern teaching academy and clubfitting centre is the longest-running golf school in the southern hemisphere.
Just five minutes away is Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club, which is Australia’s largest public-access complex with 45 holes and three very different layouts. The Murray course designed by Thomson and Mike Wolveridge (1986) meanders through creeks and towering river red gums. (Down on the riverbank it’s tempting to pull out a driver and thrash a ball across the Murray into Victoria.) Since opening in 1957, the Lake course has seen design input from Sam Berriman, Thomson and Wolveridge. It’s more open but has 56 bunkers and several man-made water hazards. The short Executive course (2,248 metres, par 33) is a more forgiving layout without any par 4 exceeding 350 metres. Yarrawonga Mulwala is a delightful setting and the family friendly resort has a mixture of accommodation from large villas to twin suites. The expansive clubhouse also has an interactive gaming area specifically for children.
“Golf on the river has always been strong. It’s 12 months of the year where you can actually play. The clubs are healthy,” says Yarrawonga-based PGA professional James McCully.
“You could literally just continue to play great courses for over a month if you really wanted to between here and Adelaide.”
