Australia’s top four suburbs for golf lovers

More than one million Australian play golf, according to a recent AusPlay survey on sport participation, making it the eighth most popular sporting activity for adults. And when it comes to club sport, golf nabs the No.1 spot. So it stands to reason that property that rubs shoulders with glorious greens and fine fairways could make a golfer’s heart skip a beat.

Michael Matusik, director of independent property advisory Matusik Property Insights, says homes in golfing estates can fetch a premium of up to 10 per cent, and properties with an outlook directly over a golf course typically attract higher prices than comparable properties a block away.

“Often it’s about the visual amenity,” says Matusik. “It means you can enjoy well-maintained, manicured open space.”

Offering a “guaranteed gap” between you and your neighbours, a golf course can help shift the perception of density.

“One of the things that comes with apartment living in particular is that you must offset the density,” says Matusik. “If you’re going to live in a one- or two-bedroom apartment then your loss of private space has to be offset by better public space.”

So where are some of the best suburbs for lovers of golf and lovers of pristine green spaces?

Eastlakes, Sydney

There aren’t too many suburbs that can claim four golf courses on the doorstep.

With Eastlake, Bonnie Doon, The Lakes and The Australian golf clubs all within cooee of Eastlakes, this pocket of the eastern suburbs is about to blossom with a $1 billion development from Crown Group. Eastlakes Live is a two-stage, four-building project that will transform the area.

“Eastlakes is a long-forgotten gem,” says project director Roy Marcellus. “If you go there now it’s quite run down, the shopping centre is quite old. But the golf courses are very lush and green and people love golfing. With Eastlakes Live, the suburb will become a brand new destination.”

Marcellus says stage one of the development will launch on June 2 with 134 apartments. This stage is due for completion in the first quarter of 2021 above the northern precinct of a brand new shopping centre.

Stage two of Eastlakes Live will include a mix of residential and retail components, with details still to come, completing the modern new town centre.

Matusik says having so many golf courses next to a new residential hub is a great selling point. He says the types of buyers attracted to high density living often have golf high on their checklist of things they do or want to do.

Cape Schanck, Mornington Peninsula

Imagine a leisurely breakfast overlooking The National Golf Club and Bass Strait, followed by a short trip by golf buggy from your garage to one of The National’s three, world-class, 18-hole championship courses. It’s all yours for the taking in Cape Schanck at the southern-most tip of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. Architect-designed properties in the clutch of country roads surrounding the fairways are a mix of permanent and weekender residences.

There are two more golf courses in neighbouring Fingal, and one in Boneo, leaving residents with the rather pleasant dilemma of which course to play today.

Benowa, Gold Coast

Home to the Royal Pines Resort Golf Club, a Graham March-redesigned course which hosts the Australian PGA Championship and the RACV Ladies Masters, Benowa is only a few minutes’ drive from the golden beaches of Surfers Paradise.

Buyers can choose from established homes along the suburb’s canals, homes along the fairways within Bell Park, the residential estate fronting the eastern border of the golf course and new apartments boasting coastal, hinterland or fairway views.

For those who enjoy a scenic walk as much as a round of golf, the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens share an eastern border with The Royal Pines Club and offer 31 hectares of diverse plant life, boardwalks and interpretive trails as well as a coffee shop and playground.

And if you need a dose of shopping to celebrate a birdie or two, you can head to local shopping centres Benowa Gardens and Benowa Village or the mega-mall that is Pacific Fair, a 12-minute drive away at Broadbeach Waters.

Chirnside, Melbourne

A round of golf followed by a long lunch at a nearby winery? The weekend has never looked so good when you call The Heritage Golf and Country Club in the Yarra Valley home. Offering a residential estate alongside two championship golf courses split by the meandering Yarra River, one designed by Jack Nicklaus and the other by Tony Cashmore, the club has its own day spa, a fully-equipped gym and a 20-metre heated indoor pool.

You’ll find the Henley Course a few minutes’ drive further north, and the Eastern Golf Club and Yering Meadows Golf Club in the neighbouring town of Yering.