Golfers paradise in Port Stephens
Looking for the perfect destination for a weekend escape? Stop searching, we’ve found it!
It’s time to stop depriving yourself and put the Port Stephens and Hunter Valley region on your must-do list for 2019.
Renowned for amazing golf, world-class wine and an abundance of culinary delights, this region is just a short 2.5 hour drive from Sydney, or an easy flight from many of Australia’s capital cities directly into Newcastle.
Make no mistake, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill golf courses. Leading course designers such as Greg Norman and Graham Marsh have left their architectural mark here with the region boasting four (4) courses in Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses ranking, as well as some of the leading resort courses found anywhere nationally.
No matter what your handicap, the six (6) marquee courses in the area will have you coming back for more, and with more than 140 wineries in the Hunter alone, you may well need to! With activities outside of golf including, wine and cheese tasting, five-star dining, amazing beaches and some of the best whale-watching charters anywhere in the world, now is the time to rediscover the NSW Hunter Valley and Port Stephens region.
SOME OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL COURSES
The 27 championship golf course by the sea, in a natural setting with native trees and flora, is home to an abundance of wildlife including kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and native birds. Ranked in the top 50 courses in Australia for rounds costing under $50, offers great value and an enjoyable experience to golfers of all levels.
With a bunch of awards and recognitions tucked under its belt such as being voted amongst the top golf resorts in Australia by Australian Golf Digest and hosting the NSW Men’s Open, and the European Tour co-sanctioned 2004 ANZ Championship, it is no surprise Horizons continues to draw the attention of many golfers in Australia and around the world.
The sleepy Port Stephens town of Medowie received a championship golf in the shape of Pacific Dunes. And whichever nine your round begins on, you’re in for an excursion highlighted by diversity. The front nine of the layout wends its way through woodlands that make the playing arena feel enclosed and rewards accuracy over bravado. In contrast, the open back nine is spacious but water-laden, with hazards in play on near enough to every hole coming home.
There’s something to be said about a course that welcomes you with open arms and the friendly folk at The Vintage are onto a winner. This is indeed a club that caters for everyone, yet does so without losing its true and original identity, that being one of the country’s premier resort golf courses.
Perfectly playable by novice golfers Cypress Lakes is as challenging as golfers wish to make it. Cypress Lakes is the course that began the evolution of golf in the Hunter Valley wine region. While tourists had been flocking to the area for years, it took until 1990s before they began visiting for the greens as much as the reds and whites.
Newcastle is one of only two courses in NSW given international recognition by the panel of experts rating the World’s Top 100 Courses. It has recently been rated “International Honourable Mention”, meaning that it has won sufficient points to be worthy of inclusion in the Top 100 courses outside the USA.