The National Golf Club – Gunnamatta Course

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

About

Course Architect: Peter Thomson, Tom Doak
Number of Holes: 18
Par: 71
Distances: 7,165 Yards / 6,552 Metres
Course Type: Links
Club Type: Golf Club
Address: The Cups Dr., Cape Schanck VIC 3939
Contact Us: [email protected]

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The National Golf Club is one of the World’s best golfing facilities, with access to 72 holes of golf, 3 courses on site and 1 course a 30-minute drive away, it doesn’t get any better. The National Golf Club is a private members club that allows guests through invites by current members, external group play on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and reciprocal rights with select clubs, so playing there is easy enough to do with any degree of forward thinking. The Golf Club’s three onsite courses were designed by the greats: The Old Course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, the Moonah Course by Greg Norman, and what was the old Ocean Course was designed by Peter Thomson & Mike Wolveridge, although it has been refurbished and redesigned by Tom Doak in 2019 and named The Gunnamatta Course. The offsite Long Island Golf Course was designed in 1938 by Oliver Gordon. The extensive onsite facilities at The National Golf Club are available to use if you have a green fee on the day. Various images supplied by Gary Lisbon.

Golf Course Information

The old Ocean Course, originally designed by Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge, was the closest of the three National Golf Club courses to the ocean, with expansive views over the famous Gunnamatta surf beach and Bass Strait offered from the first tee. Many members complained of raised greens being too difficult to play with, especially considering the elevation changes amongst the sand dunes that differed from traditional Scottish or Irish sea-side links courses. In 2019 the course opened after it had been refurbished and redesigned by Tom Doak. The changes to the original course involved substantial rerouting of the holes, the construction of a new 18th green and alterations to the design, style and number of existing bunkers.

The result of Doak’s alterations to the new Gunnamatta Course is fantastic. It is a course that properly compliments the Old Course and Moonah Course in style, design, and challenge. The greens are superior to the old and the routing of the course gives off a greater links-like feel to the experience. The raised greens and difficulties of the old Ocean Course were completely eradicated, and the new Gunnamatta Course is considered a crowd-pleaser to say the least. It’s an easy course to walk and the new routing has eliminated the old elevation changes. Overall it is a fantastic golf course that seamlessly integrates into the National Golf Club’s world-class reputation and a must-play for anyone travelling for golf to the Mornington Peninsula.

Venue Information

Practice Facilities

The National Golf Club’s practice facilities are enormous and available to anyone playing golf that day. It comes with a 300-metre driving range with 10 covered bays and 15 open bays, utilising artificial grass mid-week and real turf every weekend. There are two short-game pitching areas with numerous practice bunkers, as well as two very large putting greens to practice on. There are also two nets to practice your swing before your round. There are also golf tuition programs that run on the practice facilities for either individuals or groups, with golf academies for juniors often running year-round. The golf pros at The National offer the full range of lessons and can accommodate any need.

Clubhouse

The Clubhouse at The National Golf Club is extremely large with coffee-to-go and a range of take-away meals before your round, as well as a restaurant that is open every day of the week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The clubhouse also houses the pro shop which offers all the latest brands in golf accessories, shoes, outerwear, equipment and The National’s own-branded attire.

Rental Equipment

You can rent motorised buggies as well as electric trolleys, but manual pull-trolley’s are complimentary for your round as the complex is large and lots of walking is involved. Standard and premium sets of rental clubs are also available to rent from the Pro Shop. The National Golf Club is a world-class facility and the standards of their rental equipment meet the high calibre of their reputation.