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Victoria's Top 50 Public Access Golf Courses

The Golf Course Guide no longer publishes a list of Victoria's Top 50 Golf Courses, but here are all the VIC courses listed in the 2023 Guide's Top 100 List:
 
COURSE 2020 RANK
THE DUNES 4
BARWON HEADS 5
ST ANDREWS BEACH 8
THIRTEENTH BEACH - BEACH 10
MOONAH LINKS - LEGENDS 12
MOONAH LINKS - OPEN 18
PORTSEA 19
PORT FAIRY 21
THIRTEENTH BEACH - CREEK 27
CURLEWIS 37
CAPE SCHANCK 41
CRANBOURNE 46
SANCTUARY LAKES 50
CLUB MANDALAY 54
HERITAGE - ST JOHN 56
RANFURLIE 57
BALLARAT 59
EYNESBURY 63
FLINDERS 64
ROSEBUD - NORTH 67
HERITAGE - HENLEY 70
HORSHAM 74
WARRNAMBOOL 75
SANDS TORQUAY 81
SHEPPARTON 83
YERING MEADOWS - NURSERY 85

 

Here is the 2014 List:

COURSE 2014 RANK
THE DUNES 3
MOONAH LINKS - LEGENDS 5
BARWON HEADS 7
THIRTEENTH BEACH - BEACH 9
ST ANDREWS BEACH 10
MOONAH LINKS - OPEN 12
PORTSEA 19
HERITAGE - ST JOHNS 24
SORRENTO 26
HORSHAM 30
THIRTEENTH BEACH - CREEK 33
PORT FAIRY 34
CAPE SCHANCK 37
RANFURLIE 39
HERITAGE - HENLEY 41
CRANBOURNE 44
EYNESBURY 45
SANDHURST - CHAMPIONS 51
YERING MEADOWS - NURSERY 53
BALLARAT 54
CURLEWIS 57
EAGLE RIDGE 59
ROSEBUD - NORTH 60
SANDS TORQUAY 63
SANCTUARY LAKES 67
SETTLERS RUN 68
SHEPPARTON 75
SANDHURST - NORTH 76
WARRNAMBOOL 80
FLINDERS 84
FOREST RESORT 85
GROWLING FROG 89
WATERFORD VALLEY 95
KINGSTON LINKS 98

Here is the 2013 list which includes Murray River courses (not exactly in Vic):

COURSE GCG RANK DESIGNER
The Dunes 3 Tony Cashmore
Moonah Links (Legends) 6 Ross Perrett
Barwon Heads Golf Club 7 Victor East
St Andrews Beach Golf Course 8 Tom Doak
Thirteenth Beach - Beach 9 Tony Cashmore
Moonah Links (Open) 12 Peter Thomson, Michael Wolveridge, Ross Perrett
Portsea Golf Club 17 Jack Young, Sloan Morpeth, Michael Clayton
Port Fairy Golf Links 23 Kevin Hartley, Michael Clayton
Horsham Golf Club 30 Sam Berriman
Sorrento Golf Club 31 J.D. Scott
Ranfurlie Golf Course (Amstel) 33 Michael Clayton
Eynesbury Golf Course 37 Graham Marsh
Cape Schanck RACV Resort 46 Robert Trent Jones Jr
Cranbourne Golf Club Inc 47 Sam Berriman
Murray Downs  48 Ted Parslow
Curlewis Golf Club Inc 49  
Ballarat Golf Club 50  
The Sands Torquay 51 Stuart Appleby
Eagle Ridge Golf Course 57  
Rosebud (North) 59  
Warrnambool Golf Club 62 George Lowe
Shepparton Golf Club 66  
Creswick The Forest Resort 71 Tony Cashmore
Flinders Golf Club 79  
Growling Frog Golf Course 89 Graham Marsh
Lonsdale Golf Club Inc 97  

Here is the VIC ranking from the Golf Course Guide, 2004

VICTORIA (INC MURRAY RIVER) TOP PUBLIC ACCESS COURSES
* Murray River (NSW) Course

This Year

COURSE

Aus Rank

Last Year

1

THE DUNES

3

1

2

THIRTEENTH BEACH

8

3

3

PORTSEA

9

2

4

BARWON HEADS

10

7

5

MOONAH LINKS - OPEN

12

4

6

MURRAY DOWNS *

20

6

7

HORSHAM

22

5

8

CAPE SCHANCK

27

10

9

CRANBOURNE

28

8

10

PORT FAIRY

34

11

11

ROSEBUD - NORTH

35

9

12

SORRENTO

40

23

13

KINGSTON LINKS

41

12

14

COBRAM BAROOGA - OLD *

42

18

15

ROSEBUD - SOUTH

45

14

16

THURGOONA *

46

13

17

EAGLE RIDGE

47

19

18

RICH RIVER - EAST*

50

15

19

TOCUMWAL - PRESIDENTS *

Top 100

16

20

TOCUMWAL - CAPTAINS *

Top 100

22

21

YARRAWONGA - MURRAY *

Top 100

17

22

WARRNAMBOOL

Top 100

21

23

TRAFALGAR

Top 100

26

24

CURLEWIS

Top 100

32

25

FLINDERS

Top 100

24

26

LAKES ENTRANCE

Top 100

30

27

COBRAM BAROOGA - WEST *

Top 100

44

28

MELTON VALLEY

Top 100

20

29

QUEENSCLIFF

Top 100

25

30

ANGLESEA

Top 100

42

31

GISBORNE

Top 100

37

32

MORNINGTON

Top 100

28

33

LONSDALE

Top 100

31

34

AMSTEL - PARKS

Top 100

36

35

LEONGATHA

Top 100

39

36

COROWA *

Top 100

29

37

SHEPPARTON

Top 100

34

38

COOMEALLA *

Top 100

27

39

LANG LANG

Top 100

45

40

RICH RIVER - WEST *

Top 100

41

41

YARRAWONGA - LAKES *

Top 100

35

42

BRIGHT

 

 

43

YARRAM

 

33

44

BAIRNSDALE

 

46

45

HOWLONG*

 

50

46

KYNETON

 

38

47

MILDURA

 

47

48

ROSEBUD PARK

 

nr

49

BARHAM *

 

43

50

BEACONHILLS - HILLS

 

nr

* Denotes Murray River (NSW) Course
nr = no ranking 2003.

 


Victoria and Murray River Top 50

“Victorian golf has long been recognised for Melbourne’s famous Sand Belt region, home to arguably the finest collection of golf courses in the world. That region is now complemented by extensive developments on the Mornington and Bellarine Peninsulas, many of which are top quality public access courses. Victorians have also laid claim to the Murray River courses that extend from Albury in the East to Wentworth in the West. Throughout the State there is a large variety of charming country courses noted for their accessibility and modest green fees.”

In keeping with previous editions, we not only list all (private and public) courses throughout the most compact mainland state, but we rank the best of the public access courses according to the same criteria as used for the Australian ranking.

The Dunes tops our list as it has since 1999 when we first published a Public Access Course ranking. This year, Thirteenth Beach (The Beach Course) moves up one spot to give designer Tony Cashmore and entrepreneur Duncan Andrews the quinella.

Barwon Heads moves into fourth place, just behind Portsea – two classic layouts that still hold their own with Cashmore’s creations, and the mighty Open Course at Moonah Links in fifth spot.

Other courses to improve their rankings include Sorrento, both Cobram Barooga layouts on the Murray, Curlewis, Anglesea and Gisborne. On debut at No 42 is Bright – yet another Cashmore design that opened in 1989 and has perhaps been overlooked by our panel in the past. Two other courses just crept into the Top 50 – Rosebud Park on the Mornington Peninsula and The Hills course at Beaconhills.

Whilst there is some movement in the rankings due to conditioning changes as perceived by our panel, and occasionally by design alterations, it is recognised that many of the assessments are extremely close, and necessarily subjective in nature. The list is strictly intended as guidance only.

I can only repeat Peter Thomson’s assertion:

"Generally speaking it is possible in Victoria to indulge oneself in golfing fare to the point of gluttony. The standard is unusually high, so that even the best players can have their skills put to the highest test." (Foreword to the first Edition of the Golf Course Guide, 1994)