Highlands Golf Club

In the mid-1920s, Carnegie Clark designed the original 9-hole layout for Highlands Golf Club, which was known back then as Mittagong Municipal Links. A second nine didn’t appear until 1974, with the new layout officially opened in December that year.

Occupying a very compact, 85-acre site, the course plays to a par of 70 (37 out then 33 in), with only one par five and four par threes on the much shorter back nine (which, most unusually, ends with back-to-back par three holes). Water comes into play at several holes, most notably at the left doglegging short par four 7th (with a pond in front of the green) and the very short 18th, where the Nattai River cuts across diagonally in front of the home green.

Other holes of note include the first (and longest) of the par fives at the 546-metre 2nd (which runs parallel in the opposite direction to the par five 5th); the short par four 10th (where over hit approach shots might end up in an irrigation pond immediately behind the green); and the 327-metre 16th which has out of bounds running the length of the hole on the right, along the west perimeter of the property.