Descend on Melbourne, golf clubs in hand, and then make your way around Port Phillip Bay from the city's famous Sandbelt region, down to the Mornington Peninsula, then across to the Bellarine. Swing your club at championship courses, savour international flavours at renowned restaurants, and visit local wineries along the way.

  • Arrive in Melbourne

    Welcome to Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, and a city known for its dazzling food and wine, cutting-edge architecture, lush parks and high fashion. Home to the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Melbourne Cup horse race, and the Australia Open Tennis Grand Slam, Melbourne is also famous for its Sandbelt corridor, sacred ground to golfers from around the world.

    Eight of the best golf courses in Australia can be found in Melbourne's southern suburbs, in an area known as the Melbourne Sandbelt. Built on a rich vein of sandy loam subsoil, these clubs are mainstays of Australian championship golf and have hosted the Australian Open, Johnnie Walker Classic, Australian Masters, World Match Play Championship, Women's Australian Open, and the Presidents Cup.

    Above and beyond

    Choose from a plethora of luxury accommodation across the CBD, from boutique apartments to five-star classics. Relax and unwind into your home-away-from-home before heading south for dinner at Australia's most celebrated restaurant – Chef Ben Shewry's Attica in Rippon Lea. Sample the degustation menu with matched wines and see why it recently cracked the top 20 in the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards. 

  • Golf at The Metropolitan Golf Club

    Day two brings you to the The Metropolitan Golf Club, which is tucked away quietly in Melbourne's southeast, just 25 minutes from the Central Business District. The Club enjoys a reputation as one of the best-conditioned, most beautiful courses in the country. Pure couch grass fairways with large, fast, bent-grass greens, hand-mown to the edges of greenside bunkers, make for a multi-faceted, challenging course.

    The Metropolitan continues to challenge the best players in the world. In total, the Club has hosted seven Australian Opens, five Australian PGAs, ten other professional tournaments, and in 2001 it hosted the Australian Amateur Championship for the fifth time.

    Metropolitan Golf Club
    Designer: Oscar Damman, William Meader & Alister Mackenzie (1927)
    Length: 6278m / Par 72

    Laneway happenings

    After hitting that spectacular birdie on the 18th, pack away your clubs and spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Melbourne's hive of laneways, alive with the hustle and bustle of local artists and barkeeps, baristas, chefs and fashion designers. Admire the stencil work, colourful street art and sculptures, and revel in the scent of fresh roasted coffee. Wend your way through the labyrinth to find hidden basement bars, hole-in-the-wall cafes, fashion boutiques, and specialty restaurants. 

  • Golf at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club

    Enjoy a quick breakfast at your hotel before cruising down to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club. The club's two courses, the East Course and the West Course, are each ranked among the best in the world. Designed by Dr. Alister McKenzie, Royal Melbourne West is possibly the most famous of Australia's golf courses. However both the East and West tracks are renowned as two of the best golf layouts in the world (both are ranked in the US Golf Digest World Top 100). 

    Royal Melbourne has hosted numerous national and international events, most famously the 1970 World Cup of Golf and the 2008, 2011 and 2019 Presidents Cups. These events are played on the challenging Composite Course – a combination of the best holes (12 holes from West and six holes from East) from each course.

    The Royal Melbourne Golf Club
    Designer: Alister Mackenzie (1931)
    Length: 6061/Par 72

    Peninsula bound

    Throw the clubs in the car and head down to the Mornington Peninsula for more golf, fine wine and good times. Hit the Wine Food Farmgate Trail and sample local varietals and regional flavours at cellar doors as you travel from village to village. Come sundown, spend an evening savouring the sumptuous offerings of hatted winery restaurants across the peninsula. Full to the brim, it's time to rest up in the lavish surrounds of Jackalope, a unique pairing of hospitality and unbridled creativity.  

     
  • Golf at Moonah Links Golf Club

    Your next challenge is the Moonah Links Golf Club, a 36-hole course located at Rye on Victoria's spectacular Mornington Peninsula. It's one of Australia's ultimate golfing experiences. Moonah Links boasts two championship courses, with the centrepiece being the Open Course, designed by Peter Thompson. A links-style stadium layout, the Open Course was purpose built among the sites' expansive dunes to regularly host the nation's Open Championship. While the Legend's Course, designed by Ross Perrett, is more playable, both are extremely enjoyable, memorable golfing experiences.

    Moonah Links
    The Open Course
    Designer: Peter Thomson
    Length: 6783m / Par 72

    Legends Course
    Designer: Ross Perrett
    Length: 6315m / Par 72

    Across the bay

    Stick around for lunch at the Moonah Links Clubhouse before cutting across to the coastal town of Sorrento where you board the Searoad Ferries service to Queenscliff across Port Phillip Bay. Kick back and revel in views across the water while keeping an eye out for dolphins and seals playing in the wake of the ferry.

    Book into your luxury hotel suite at Thirteenth Beach, situated right on the Thirteenth Beach Golf Course, and take a wander through the grounds. The course boasts a 36-hole layout and is home to the first ever joint men and women's championship events, the Victorian Men and Women's Open.

  • Golf at Thirteenth Beach Golf Club

    Start the day with breakfast in the clubhouse before teeing off on the Beach Course designed by Graham Marsh. The Thirteenth Beach development stretched for two miles along Barwon Heads' famous surf beach. The Beach Course, designed by Tony Cashmore on a former asparagus farm, complements the raw glamour of the natural landscape and the severity of the coastal winds. With generous fairways, large sensible putting surfaces and rugged bunkering, the course loops away from the shore through low-lying farming pastures and rugged sandhills to provide golfers with a diverse range of challenges and scenery.

    Thirteenth Beach Golf Club
    Designer: Tony Cashmore
    Length: 6445m / Par 72

    View of the city

    Reward your efforts on the greens with a delectable late lunch at Jack Rabbit winery. Choose from the seasonal menu, sample the local varietals, and take a moment to appreciate the uninterrupted views of the Melbourne skyline across Port Phillip Bay. Appetite sated, it's time to head back to your luxury hotel in Melbourne.

  • Brunch and gardens in Melbourne

    Coffee is the lifeblood of Melbourne, so make your last day in the city count with a brew and a brunch to remember at a city cafe. Whether you like a latte, flat white or macchiato, filter, pour-over, single press or syphon, the city's obsessive baristas and coffee roasters will have you covered. And with cafes on every corner, you're free to take your pick from any number of brunch favourites, from Asian fusion and contemporary Australian to huevos rancheros, fresh salads or old-school fry-ups.

    Round out the morning with a wander through the magical Fitzroy Gardens – one of the city's famous parks – before preparing to leave.