Sandhurst (North)

Sandhurst Club is the national base for the PGA of Australia (it moved its headquarters here in 2007) and the two Peter Thomson-designed 18-hole courses that are laid out on the property are set within a very modern Victorian residential development.

The North course was the first of the two layouts to open in 2004 and it’s characterised by large, undulating greens that demand full concentration all the way round.

The 199-yard 3rd hole pays homage to a number of great Scottish holes – such as the 1st at Prestwick and the 13th at North Berwick – where a stone wall plays a prominent part in proceedings. Here, a five-foot high, L-shaped dyke bounds the bunker-free green to the left and rear of the putting surface.

On the back nine, highlights include the 549-yard, par five 11th (“Purgatory”) and the 353-yard 14th, a delightful right doglegged par four, but the best is kept until last at “Woe Betide,” the 443-yard 18th, where water threatens down the left from the tee.

Because the fairway at the home hole also kinks slightly left, the smart play is to drive down the right then play a slightly longer approach to the green – all very well in theory but golfers also have to avoid the seven fairway bunkers and three greenside sand traps that await shots which stray too far off line.