Cathedral Lodge Golf Club

The verdict

Cathedral Lodge is the rarest of things in Australian golf: a brand new private course, in a spectacular and remote setting, built without compromise and shown to almost no one. The story begins with owners David and Sonya Evans, who had the land in the Cathedral Ranges and, after a 1997 trip to the Masters that left David in love with everything Augusta stands for, the ambition to build a course of their own. They brought in Greg Norman, and the result, opened in 2017, is a layout the Great White Shark counts among his finest recent work.

What sets it apart is the site and the way Norman used it. The property is a dramatic canyon with a ridge running through it, and the course climbs one side of the valley and returns down the other, routed around natural creeks and gorges with minimal earthmoving. Unlike Norman's other ultra exclusive Australian design at Ellerston, Cathedral Lodge was conceived as a balanced course that genuinely caters for everyone, from a player who carries the ball eighty meters to one who bombs it three hundred. It is among the most expensive and private clubs in the country, so for the travelling golfer it is less a tee time to book than a near legendary course to aspire to, and proof of just how good modern Australian golf design has become.

The holes worth the trip

The character of Cathedral Lodge comes straight from its extraordinary site. The course occupies a valley shaped like a canyon, with a ridge down the middle, so a round climbs up one flank of the valley and works its way back down the other. That routing gives constant changes in elevation, dramatic views across the Cathedral Ranges, and tee shots that play uphill and down throughout, the kind of natural drama that no amount of earthmoving can manufacture.

Norman built the course around the land rather than over it. The holes are routed around natural creeks and gorges, which become the strategic hazards, and the minimal disturbance of the topography means the course feels as though it has always belonged in the valley. Crucially, it was designed to be playable as well as beautiful: Norman set out to create a balanced layout that rewards the short hitter and the bomber alike, with width and options off the tee and greens that ask for thought rather than punishing every miss. The comparison the Evans family chased was Augusta, and the conditioning and presentation are pitched at that level.

Because the club guards its details closely, the scorecard is not a matter of public record, and the experience is as much about the place, the lodge and the privacy as it is about a number on a card. What is clear from those who have played it, and from Norman's own assessment, is that this is one of the most special inland courses built anywhere in recent years.

Where to stay nearby

For invited guests, the lodge on the property is the natural base, designed so that the golf, the accommodation and the privacy of the valley come as one experience in the Cathedral Ranges. The surrounding high country around Alexandra and the Goulburn River is a scenic part of Victoria, with country towns, wineries and the Yarra Valley within reach for those building a wider trip.

Most travelling golfers will pair an aspiration to play Cathedral Lodge with the more accessible great courses of Victoria, the world class Melbourne sandbelt of Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne, and, for fellow Greg Norman exclusivity, his other private gem at Ellerston in New South Wales. A trip based around Melbourne and the sandbelt is the realistic centerpiece, with Cathedral Lodge the dream round to chase.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts in Victoria.