The Barwon Heads Golf Club is one of Australia’s top ranked public access courses, retaining its #1 ranking on the mainland for 2023 due to its challenging, Scottish links-style design across undulating, seaside terrain with natural hazards and sloped greens. The high-quality playing surfaces – couch grass fairways and Poa Annua greens – are maintained to excellent conditions year round, while the nearby Bass Strait provides sea breezes that constantly change the way the course plays. This links course demands strategic skill from golfers at every level yet offers an unforgettable experience reminiscent of legendary overseas seaside courses.

The Barwon Heads Golf Club is historically significant as Victoria’s first country club and early example of a private residential golf club, providing accommodation when it opened in 1924. Originally located in a more central location in Barwon Heads, the club moved to its current seaside location in 1919 on a treeless, links-style site. This allowed for an undulating, natural design by Royal Melbourne Course Superintendent Vic East, which was influenced by renowned course designer Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s 1926 visit. The club financed its new course through subdividing and selling off land along the southern boundary for building blocks, with 9 holes open for play by 1921 and the full 18 holes completed by 1922.