This week the eyes of the golf world will be on Melbourne and the Presidents Cup. It’s an event that has found it hard to capture the public’s imagination in the past, but this year’s event seems to have a lot more buzz around it than usual. Tiger Woods’ self-pick as playing captain and Patrick Reed’s blatant disregard for the rules of golf have been contributory factors for sure, but the venue is definitely another reason.

Royal Melbourne will be a star this week. It is one of the very best courses in the world, up 4 places to number 7 in the recent GOLF Magazine top 100 list. However, there is much more to see in a golf trip to Australia.

For those of us in Europe it may seem a long way to go to play golf, but the planes are getting better and there is so much accessible golf to discover when you get there, it’s well worth a trip. From the West Coast of the US it’s the same distance as a trip to Europe.

Earlier this year I wrote about a suggested itinerary for a trip to this golfing paradise and I’ve summarised it again below. If you are at all tempted to go, I would encourage you to bite the bullet.

The climate is pretty good for all year round golf but I settled on March when the weather is unlikely to be oppressively hot, it’s usually dry and the fly season as passed!

Here’s an itinerary, with prices, for a trip next March. It covers ten courses and twelve rounds, I have based the costs on 4 people travelling, with 2 to a room. Enjoy!

Monday morning - depart UK - fly to Melbourne with Emirates. £610.
There are even cheaper flights (£400 with Air China) but the Middle East airlines are fantastic and the times work out well.

Tuesday evening - arrive in Australia and stay in downtown hotel. $70 a night
I preferred to stay downtown to see a bit of the nightlife. The QT Hotel was great, but around $170 a night per person. If you go for one of the many three star hotels you can do it for $70 and there are plenty of Aparthotels available too.

You’ll need to hire a car for your trip but they were really good value. You can get something pretty big and decent for around $90 per person.

Wednesday - Play Victoria (click for my course review). $400
After a leisurely breakfast, head half an hour south from the city centre. Recently renovated by the talented people from OCCM, Victoria is will give you a great first taste of Sandbelt golf. Your opening drive on a 229m downhill par 4 will set you up for the fun to come!

Thursday - Play St Andrews Beach ($59) & The National, Moonah ($300)
It’s about 75 minutes drive south to Cape Schanck, so make an early start to beat the traffic. St Andrews Beach is a fun and challenging Tom Doak creation (he says its the course of his that he’d most like to be a member of) and provides phenomenal value.

Have lunch and a drink at St Andrews Beach Brewery before heading to The National where you will have the choice of 3 courses. We played the Moonah which was a high quality test. It’s a tough track but still playable with some superb bunkering and green complexes.

The redesigned Ocean course, now the Gunnamatta, from Tom Doak has opened recently and is garnering much praise so you may want to try that out instead. Others swear by the Old. Basically, you are spoilt for choice!

The Moonah Course is close to Melbourne and well worth the trip.

Friday - Royal Melbourne ($830 inc mandatory caddie). Fly to King Island ($150). Accommodation in Currie ($90)
This evening you’ll be heading to King Island and Tasmania for a few days. I would recommend leaving most of your stuff in the hotel storage as you need to travel light for the flights in and out of the island.

Royal Melbourne is the most famous Australian golf course and its reputation for brilliant architecture is richly deserved. This is golf on a grand scale. The ball will run forever so the length won’t be an issue, but get on the wrong side of the fairways and scoring is hard. If there is ever a course to be on the right side of the hole, this is it.

It is absurdly expensive to play without a member and international visitors need to take a caddie. The price is clearly ridiculous but you can’t come to Melbourne without playing here. Given the expense I’ve just included one round on the West course but, if you can befriend a member, then you may want to play the East as well.

Royal Melbourne is golf on a grand scale. It may play short from the tee but the greens will challenge even the best players in the world.

After the round, head to the airport and grab the Sharp Airlines flight for the 45 minute hop to King Island, then hire a car on the island for a couple of days ($25 per person). It’s a 10 minute drive to the Ocean Dunes hotel in downtown Currie. More details on my King Island blog here.

Saturday - Cape Wickham *2 ($260 for 2 rounds)
Drive the 45 minutes to incredible Cape Wickham. This is one of the very best golf courses built in the last 50 years anywhere on the planet. It is simply magnificent, providing thrills on virtually every hole and in the most spectacular setting. Read my review to understand why I rate it so highly - just make sure you have time for 36 holes at this wonder of the golfing world.

The 1st at Cape Wickham gives you a taste for the pure thrills that are to come.

Then head back to Currie to see how the locals live it up on a Saturday night. You are likely to make it to bed by 11!!

Sunday - Ocean Dunes ($230). Fly to Launceston ($220). Accommodation at Barnbougle ($117.50)
Ocean Dunes is just a few minutes drive from Currie. As you’ll be driving right past the front door, it’s worth seeing. Although it is overshadowed by Cape Wickham and the routing makes for some long walks between greens and tees at times, you should have 18 holes here. After your round it’s a short drive to the airport and a flight to Tasmania proper to experience the delights of Barnbougle.

We flew directly to the golf course, but a more cost effective option is to fly to Launceston and then get a 90 minute transfer ($50 each way) to Barnbougle. The accommodation is functional but perfectly acceptable at Barnbougle and you are right on the property.

Monday - Barnbougle Dunes *2 ($155)
Michael Clayton (who designed the course with Tom Doak) calls this out as the best value green fee in the whole world of golf and I think he’s spot on. It’s $124 for one round, but if you play the same course twice in a day it’s only $155. The course is a triumph. Doak and Clayton have created a true links course with wonderful options from the tee and challenges around the green. Play it twice and try to keep the smile off your face!

The Tasmanian Devil at Barbougle is one of the most fun, and infuriating, par 3s in the world.

Tuesday - Lost Farm ($124). Fly to Melbourne ($60)
If you get up early you can squeeze in two rounds at Lost Farm at Barnbougle. I have just budgeted for one though because you are likely to be feeling a little tired by now! This Bill Coore course is a bit more ‘resorty’ than Barnbougle Dunes. I found it a little less thrilling, but for many it is at least an equal to its neighbour. You won’t want to miss it if you’re here for sure.

Lost Farm at Barnbougle plays between spectacular dunes.

Transfer back to Launceston which has plenty of connections to Melbourne at really reasonable prices. On your return to Melbourne, head back to your hotel to be reunited with your bags for the last couple of nights.

Wednesday - Metropolitan ($350)
Metro probably doesn’t quite count as a ‘must play’ but it is one of the most famous courses in the area and I was really glad we had it on the schedule. It is one of the best-conditioned courses in the world, with the most distinctive bunkers I have ever seen. The blade tops are razor sharp!

The razor sharp bunkers at Metropolitan need to be seen to be believed.

Thursday - Kingston Heath ($400). Fly back to London.
Kingston Heath was my favourite Sandbelt course. It’s a magical place which you absolutely must play. I’ve never seen a better par 3 than the 15th. The staff were really friendly and you will enjoy being an honorary member for a day. It’s a perfect place to finish your trip before heading off to the airport for a late night flight.

Kingston Heath has 3 fantastic par 3s, none better than the 15th.

With the magic of time zones you will be back in London for lunch on Friday!

Total costs, in £, for this itinerary would look like this:

Flights - £900
Accommodation - £390
Car Hire/Transfers - £125
Golf - £1700

Total - £3,115 (c.$4,000 US).

If you can find members to host you at any of the Melbourne courses you will find the visitors’ fees far kinder on the pocket, at around $125 per round. So you could cut the price of golf to £900, reducing your total to £2,315.

It’s clearly a lot of money, but I would thoroughly recommend saving up to do it if you can. You won’t get a warmer welcome anywhere, and the golf will thrill you from beginning to end.

You can read more detail about my trip in my blog here:

Part 1 - From Edinburgh to King Island, and something very special
Part 2 - Barnbougle - Two Modern Classics
Part 3 - Sandbelt Golf and a podcast debut
Part 4 - A day trip to the Mornington Peninsula
Part 5 - Metropolitan and Victoria
Part 6 - How to Plan a Golf Trip to Australia