New South Wales
Amateur golf in the state is administered by GolfNSW, a governing body formed in 2010 by the amalgamation of the NSW Golf Association and Women’s Golf NSW. Over 350 clubs are divided into three metropolitan zones around Sydney with 20 outlying districts for men and 13 districts for ladies. There are also two offshore clubs affiliated from Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. New South Wales golfers are fortunate to have a number of fine old courses on their doorstep, some of which – like the Australian and Royal Sydney – have been in existence for more than a hundred years. Another two older layouts that first opened for business in 1928, New South Wales and Lakes, are also much admired and cherished. Amongst the more recent courses unveiled in the state, Graham Marsh’s Terrey Hills and Ross Watson’s Magenta Shores have received plenty of plaudits. Our New South Wales Best In State Rankings were last updated in January 2024.
New South Wales Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
New South Wales Golf Club
New South Wales Golf Club is one of the most spectacular golf courses in Australia and it’s one of the toughest tests in the country.
The Lakes Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
The Lakes Golf Club
Lakes are not the only hazard at the Lakes Golf Club. In fact, the front nine – with the exception of the opening hole – is water free...
Newcastle Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Newcastle Golf Club
Given its manifest qualities and historical significance, Newcastle Golf Club is somewhat of an anomaly.
The Australian Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
The Australian Golf Club
The venue of the inaugural Australian Open in 1904 (host to twenty-one in total) and most recently in 2019, the Australian Golf Club is a wonderful championship venue.
Magenta Shores Country Club
New South Wales, Australia
Magenta Shores Country Club
Ross Watson was the architect who laid out the links-like resort course at Magenta Shores Golf & Country Club...
Bonnie Doon Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Bonnie Doon Golf Club
The third oldest club in Sydney, Bonnie Doon began life as Marrickville Golf Club in 1897 when members played on a 12-hole course laid out in the Sydney suburb of Tempe.
Concord Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Concord Golf Club
Founded in 1899, Concord Golf Club is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious clubs where Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design has breathed new life following a course renovation…
The Royal Sydney Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
The Royal Sydney Golf Club
Royal Sydney Golf Club celebrated its centenary in 1993 and the championship course has evolved over 100 years into one of the finest in the country.
Bonville Golf
New South Wales, Australia
Bonville Golf
Literally carved through rainforests, the holes at Bonville are played in virtual isolation to each other, with huge Blackbutt, Ironbark and Tallowood trees framing every fairway.
Elanora Country Club
New South Wales, Australia
Elanora Country Club
The name Elanora comes from the Aboriginal word meaning “home by the water” and the Country Club certainly satisfies this geographical description...
The Vintage Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
The Vintage Golf Club
The course at Vintage Golf Club borders the Beggars Bridge and Bimbadgen vineyards in the fertile Hunter Valley, near Cessnock and opened in 2003.
Terrey Hills
New South Wales, Australia
Terrey Hills
Graham Marsh designed a challenging championship golf course at Terrey Hills, the first to be constructed in the Sydney area for over twenty years...
Riverside Oaks (Bungool)
New South Wales, Australia
Riverside Oaks (Bungool)
The upscale 36-hole Riverside Oaks Golf Resort occupies a 600-acre property overlooking the Hawkesbury River, adjacent to the heavily forested Cattai National Park.
Avondale Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Avondale Golf Club
Avondale Golf Club sits within one of the most densely populated metropolitan districts in Australia but, after passing through its under stated entrance, you are transported to another world...
St Michael's Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
St Michael's Golf Club
It’s no easy task living in the shadow of one of the world’s Top 50 ranked golf courses but that’s exactly what the 18-hole layout at St Michael’s has had to do...
Pacific Dunes Golf
New South Wales, Australia
Pacific Dunes Golf
Situated on the lower north coast in the Port Stephens area of New South Wales, the 18-hole Pacific Dunes course is the focal point of a multi-million dollar golf and residential development.
Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club
Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club holds the distinction of being the first Greg Norman-badged course to debut in Sydney and it finally opened its doors to golfers in 2012, after almost five years of permitting and building delays.
Cypress Lakes
New South Wales, Australia
Cypress Lakes
Steve Smyers designed the course at Cypress Lakes Golf & Country Club and the gently undulating front nine contrasts markedly against a more challenging back nine that’s laid out on hillier terrain, with great views of the Hunter Valley.
Narooma Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Narooma Golf Club
Narooma Golf Club is famed for having some of the best kept greens in New South Wales and the course throws up one or two surprises with several blind tee shots to be negotiated...
Murray Downs
New South Wales, Australia
Murray Downs
Course architect Ted Parslow fashioned the fairways at Murray Downs in the late 1980s with the official opening taking place in 1991.
Macquarie Links
New South Wales, Australia
Macquarie Links
Macquarie Links is marketed as an Australian version of a Scottish links but, in truth, the only design aspect that comes close to matching a Caledonian seaside course is the quality of the sand traps...
Pymble
New South Wales, Australia
Pymble
Officially opened in 1928, Pymble Golf Club’s 18-hole course was designed by Dan Soutar and Carnegie Clark and refashioned twenty-five years later by Eric Apperley when additional land was acquired, allowing three of the original holes to be eliminated at the expense of more favourable hole locations.
Ocean Shores
New South Wales, Australia
Ocean Shores
Configured with six par threes, six par fours and six par fives, the course at Ocean Shores Country Club is an early 1970s Bruce Devlin and Robert von Hagge co-design where water comes into play at many of the holes.
Castle Hill
New South Wales, Australia
Castle Hill
The Castle Hill Country Club lies in the northwest Sydney suburb of Baulkham Hills and the 18-hole layout here is a high calibre private member's course...
Duntryleague
New South Wales, Australia
Duntryleague
Eric Apperly designed the course at Duntryleague Golf Club in the mid-1930s when the property was acquired from the local diocese of the Catholic Church. The original manor house still serves as the clubhouse, complete with rooms used for guest accommodation.
Cobram Barooga (Old)
New South Wales, Australia
Cobram Barooga (Old)
Located north of Melbourne on the Murray River, Cobram Barooga Golf Club is a 36-hole operation featuring the Old course and newer West course. The club offers extensive stay and play packages for visiting golfers using the on-site facilities.
Twin Creeks
New South Wales, Australia
Twin Creeks
Another quality layout from the design studio of Graham Marsh, Twin Creeks Golf & Country Club is a private member course within a rural residential development...
Mollymook (Hilltop)
New South Wales, Australia
Mollymook (Hilltop)
The 18-hole Hilltop course at Mollymook Golf Club is a tough test – carved from native bush with water in play at nearly half the holes – and it’s complemented by a short 9-hole course overlooking Mollymook Beach.
Lakeside Golf Club Camden
New South Wales, Australia
Lakeside Golf Club Camden
Lakeside Golf Club Camden was formed in 1993, when Peter Thomson fashioned the links-style layout. To keep pace with modern golfing developments, the club embarked on an ambitious 3-year course renovation program at the start of 2016.
Yarrawonga Mulwala (Murray)
New South Wales, Australia
Yarrawonga Mulwala (Murray)
One of two impressive 18-hole layouts at the 45-hole Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort, the Murray course lies to the west of a sprawling 500-acre residential property, next to the flowing waters of the Murray River.
Kooindah Waters
New South Wales, Australia
Kooindah Waters
Opened in 2008, the Investa Property Group’s resort course at Kooindah Waters Golf Club is located near Lake Tuggerah and the layout is marketed as a central component of an ambitious residential development.
Rich River (East)
New South Wales, Australia
Rich River (East)
Geoff and Ted Parslow laid out the East course at Rich River Golf Club in 1985. Peter Thomson installed quite a few pot bunkers in the late 1990s before Ross Perrett developed a master plan for the club.
Tocumwal (Presidents)
New South Wales, Australia
Tocumwal (Presidents)
Tocumwal Golf & Bowls Club offers golfers two 18-hole championship layouts; the 6272-metre Captains course relies on water for much of its strategic challenge, whilst the shorter Presidents course is a tighter test, featuring tree-lined fairways and deep bunkers.
Murwillumbah
New South Wales, Australia
Murwillumbah
Situated close to Mount Warning National Park, the course at Murwillumbah Golf Club has been operating in recent years under the watchful eye of architect Richard Chamberlain, who drew up a master plan for the club in 2012.
Forster Tuncurry (Tuncurry)
New South Wales, Australia
Forster Tuncurry (Tuncurry)
The Tuncurry course at Forster Tuncurry Golf Club is a mid-1980s Kel Nagle and Mike Cooper co-design that was literally hewn from the seaside bush. With Banksia and Tea Tree plants lining the fairways, it’s renowned as a testing track.
Belmont Golf Club
New South Wales, Australia
Belmont Golf Club
First opened for play in 1952, the course at Belmont Golf & Bowls is draped across a very scenic strip of land between Lake Maquarie and the Pacific Ocean, where sandy soiled fairways overlook a two-kilometre beach frontage.
Coolangatta & Tweed Heads (River)
New South Wales, Australia
Coolangatta & Tweed Heads (River)
Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club lies on the banks on the Tweed River, close to where it empties into the Pacific Ocean, and it manages two highly regarded 18-hole public access courses, the West and the River.
Port Macquarie
New South Wales, Australia
Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie Golf Club moved to its present location in 1953, when six holes were brought into play. Another five holes quickly followed but it wasn’t until 1967 that the club had a full 18-hole layout in operation.
Pennant Hills
New South Wales, Australia
Pennant Hills
Situated within a forest of blue gum, blackbutt and turpentine trees just off the M2 motorway in the northwest of Sydney, Pennant Hills Golf Club was founded in 1923, which makes it the fourth oldest club in the city still playing at the same location.
Riverside Oaks (Gangurru)
New South Wales, Australia
Riverside Oaks (Gangurru)
The Gangurru course at Riverside Oaks is the club’s original layout and it’s the very competent understudy to the highly rated Bungool layout. Undoubtedly one of the country’s best public access layouts, Gangurru has recently upped its game following a bunker refurbishment programme.
Cromer
New South Wales, Australia
Cromer
The course at Cromer Golf Club dates back more than ninety years, with Deputy Premier E.A. Buttenshaw hitting the first tee shot on 8th June 1929. Interestingly, the name of the club at that time was Dee Why Golf Links. Within three years, eighteen holes were in play.
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