St Andrews Beach Golf Course — Attraction in Melbourne

Located on the Mornington Peninsula an hour and a half south of Melbourne, St Andrews Beach is Tom Doak’s first effort in Australia. The front nine is a wonderful and engaging ride with a links design and feel while the back nine is there to test your merit. Like so many of the great courses in Australia, St Andrews Beach is highlighted by its short par fours and the risk/reward element that comes with it. In high winds the fairways are generous enough to still hit but your skill will be tested on the approach shots where the sloping edges are quick to shed off shots that aren’t spot on. When you miss the green you’ll likely be in a bunker or on short grass where you’ll need to pinch a wedge off a tight lie or simply pull out your putter and roll it across the fairway apron and onto the putting surface. While some courses on the famous Melbourne Sandbelt are routed on flat terrain, going south to the Mornington Peninsula guarantees you’ll get to enjoy undulated ground with St Andrews Beach laying along nicely rolling earth that is engaging to play golf on while still lending itself to walking. Conditioning isn’t as impressive as the clubs in Melbourne but is certainly good enough to not detract from the enjoyment of the round. Power carts are available to take for players that prefer not to walk and the modest clubhouse offers logo gear and food. If you’ve come to Australia to see a kangaroo (or the smaller wallabies) then St Andrews Beach is quick to please you as they are commonly found bounding along the property with the early morning and evenings being the prime time for them to be...

I played at St Andrew’s recently after pre-booking for 4 players at the cost of $420. We retired after 3 holes due to the wind/rain and unplayable conditions particularly with no rain covers on carts to keep our clubs/equipment dry. We also spent money on rain jackets, balls, caps, shirts, coffee, food, in total we spent approximately $600. After returning to the club house I was greeted by an arrogant male who I explained to that we couldn’t continue and is it possible to get a credit to return. He laughed and rudely told me that they don’t give credits as it was still playable. Moona Links next door closed at the same time due to the conditions. We booked this for a mates Birthday who lives locally but we certainly wouldn’t recommend playing here and to try at another course. The attitude of the management is very poor as I have not received a response from several emails. We are part of a large network of golf courses and businesses and we definitely will not be recommending this place which is a shame for other hard working staff who are obviously directed by the...

It's an interesting layout and quite beautiful, but tough playing for the first time. Prior knowledge of where to hit and miss would have helped. Given what I'm about to write, it's unlikely I'll use the round as a learning experience any time soon. Our four were in carts and it still took five hours off the white tees. Far too long. It cost approx. $150 each and we had some very poor course conditions. This included cored and sanded green surrounds. Chipping was a lottery. The greens themselves were recently scarified and the tram tracks sent golf balls off on tangents. Divots were absolutely everywhere on the fairways, so much so that we decided to lift and place so that we'd get some enjoyment and value for money. Noosa main beach has fewer footprints than the bunkers. Again, we lifted and placed. The greens and surrounds will overcome the maintenance with water, sun and time, but masses of divots and very poor bunker conditions are unlikely to improve without some management vigilance. Overall, I'd say play somewhere...