6 Day Australia East Coast Golf Itinerary
Three world-ranked days in Sydney, one inland stop at Bonville near Coffs Harbour and a Gold Coast finish: New South Wales Golf Club above Botany Bay, The Lakes, The Australian, then Bonville Golf Resort and Sanctuary Cove's Pines. Six rounds, one long coast, one carry-on bag.
Photograph: New South Wales Golf Club, via Google
Who this trip suits
Australia's east coast holds one of the most compressed collections of world-class golf anywhere. The Sydney courses alone, New South Wales Golf Club at La Perouse, The Lakes in Eastlakes, and The Australian at Kensington, rank among the top 50 to 100 courses on Earth and sit within about 30 minutes of each other. Add Bonville Golf Resort as a scenic midpoint and the Gold Coast's resort golf as a finish and you have six rounds that span cliff tops, heathland, woodland corridors and tropical fairways without ever backtracking. See our full Australia golf destination guide for the wider context.
This route works well for visitors flying into Sydney and out of Gold Coast on a one-way ticket, or for anyone building it around a week of combined work and golf. It is not the Melbourne Sandbelt (see the 10 day sandbelt and Tasmania itinerary for that), and it is not a volume trip of 36 holes per day. The pace is one course per day, with travel between cities handled by a single domestic flight and a rental car in each city. For fully arranged versions, see our Australia golf holidays page.
The 6 day plan
New South Wales Golf Club, La Perouse
The trip starts at one of the most dramatic opening vistas in Australian golf. New South Wales Golf Club sits on the northern headland above Botany Bay, where two holes run right beside the Tasman Sea and the prevailing southerly pushes any offline shot toward the cliff. Carnegie Clark laid the original routing and Alister MacKenzie contributed to the design when he visited Australia in 1926 to build Royal Melbourne; the course opened in 1928. It is a private members club, but overseas and interstate visitors can access it on Monday afternoons, Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings with advance booking and a letter of introduction from their home club. From Sydney Airport the club is about 15 minutes by car, making it the logical first stop off a long-haul flight. Green fees are not published; indicative 2026 rates are comparable with the upper tier of Sydney's private clubs. Always confirm current rates directly before booking.
The Lakes Golf Club, Eastlakes
The Lakes began life in the 1920s amid sandhills near Sydney Airport, and by the time Mike Clayton finished his restoration in 2009 it had been transformed back toward the open, windswept feel the original designers intended. Clayton cleared enormous areas of trees to widen corridors and restore the sense of a genuine links-heathland hybrid, and the result consistently ranks in Australia's top ten. Visitor access is limited to Mondays and Thursdays for non-members, so coordinate the day-two slot around whichever works for your timetable from Day 1 at NSW. Indicative 2026 rates are around AUD 300 for members of an Australian golf club and AUD 500 otherwise; always confirm current fees directly before booking. Read more in our Australia green fees guide.
The Australian Golf Club, Kensington
The Australian Golf Club has been host to more Australian Opens than any other course, and its current form owes everything to a radical Jack Nicklaus redesign commissioned in 1977, when media mogul Kerry Packer paid Nicklaus to transform what had been a links-style layout into a parkland course with water hazards, heavy mounding and sculpted bunkering to international tournament standard. Nicklaus won his sixth Australian Open at the course the following year. Alister MacKenzie had also visited and contributed ideas to the earlier layout during his 1926 Australian tour, so the design lineage is layered. Overseas and interstate visitors require an introduction; affiliated members of a reciprocal club can play at an indicative 2026 rate of around AUD 240. Always confirm current rates directly before booking. See the best golf courses in Australia for how it ranks nationally.
Bonville Golf Resort, near Coffs Harbour
Fly from Sydney to Coffs Harbour in around one hour and ten minutes, collect a car, and drive about 20 minutes south to Bonville Golf Resort. The Terry Watson and Ted Stirling design from 1992 sends every hole through corridors of towering Flooded Gums, each isolated from its neighbours so that the course feels entirely different from the city layouts of the day before. Bonville was voted Australia's Favourite Golf Course seven years in a row by Golf Australia Magazine's national readers poll, and the resort setting means you can stay on site and walk to the first tee. Public visitor play runs on Mondays and Tuesdays, or seven days for resort guests; indicative 2026 fees are around AUD 175 for 18 holes with cart on the public play days (high season, September to May). Always confirm current rates directly before booking. If you prefer to drive the Pacific Highway from Sydney, allow around five and a half hours.
Sanctuary Cove: The Pines, Hope Island
Fly from Coffs Harbour to Gold Coast (about 50 minutes) or drive straight up the coast from Bonville in roughly four hours. Sanctuary Cove's Pines course is Australia's only Arnold Palmer signature design, laid out with Ed Seay in 1989 as the centrepiece of the Hope Island resort. The course is primarily available to resort guests and members, making a stay at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort the cleanest route in. Indicative 2026 green fees are AUD 350 for local and interstate visitors and AUD 400 for international visitors; resort guests receive priority access and packages that bundle accommodation with rounds. Always confirm current access and rates directly before booking. Check our green fees guide for context on Queensland pricing.
The Glades Golf Club, Robina
The Glades in Robina, about 25 minutes from Sanctuary Cove, is the work of Greg Norman and Bob Harrison, opened in 2000 across 65 hectares of natural bushland threaded with lakes and creeks. At 7,264 metres from the championship tees it is one of the longest courses in Queensland, with 98 bunkers and a routing that keeps every hole private from the next, a quality it shares with Bonville but in a very different subtropical landscape. Visitors are welcome seven days a week, making it the easiest access of the entire six day trip. Indicative 2026 green fees are around AUD 150 with motorised cart. Always confirm current rates directly before booking. The Glades sits near Gold Coast Airport and is a comfortable 25 minute drive if your return flight is the same evening. See our best Australia courses list and Melbourne Sandbelt guide to compare regions before you go.
Green fees, travel times and logistics
| Course | Indicative 2026 fee (AUD) | Travel from previous stop |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Golf Club | Not published; comparable to Sydney private tier (enquire directly) | ~15 min from Sydney Airport by car; Mon pm, Thu pm, Fri am visitor days |
| The Lakes Golf Club | ~AUD 300 (Aus club member) · ~AUD 500 (other visitors) | ~20 min from NSW Golf Club by car; Mon and Thu visitor days |
| The Australian Golf Club | ~AUD 240 (affiliated reciprocal members, 2025 rate) | ~15 min from The Lakes by car; letter of introduction required |
| Bonville Golf Resort | ~AUD 175 with cart (Mon to Tue, high season Sep to May) | ~1h 10 min flight Sydney to Coffs Harbour, then ~20 min drive south; or ~5.5h drive |
| Sanctuary Cove The Pines | AUD 350 (local/interstate) · AUD 400 (international) | ~50 min flight Coffs Harbour to Gold Coast, then ~30 min drive; or ~4h drive |
| The Glades, Robina | ~AUD 150 with cart | ~25 min from Sanctuary Cove by car; open to visitors 7 days |
All fees are indicative and subject to change by season, day and booking channel. Always confirm current rates and availability directly before booking. Check Australia tee times · Find accommodation on the east coast.
When to go and how to run it
March to May and September to November are the most reliable windows. Sydney's private clubs are accessible year round but the tee sheet loosens in the shoulder months, weekday slots at The Lakes and NSW Golf Club are easier to hold, and the temperature stays in the low to mid 20s Celsius. The Gold Coast is subtropical and receives most of its rain in the January to March summer period, so the September to November window works particularly well for the final two days. Australian school holidays in late June to early July and the Christmas to late January period tighten availability at both resort and private courses; avoid those peaks if flexibility matters.
A one-way car hire from Sydney to Coffs Harbour, or simply a return hire in each city with a domestic flight between them, keeps the logistics clean. Sydney has a good short-term rental car market at both the international terminal and the city. Book the Sydney private club tee times first, months ahead if possible, and build the Bonville and Gold Coast legs around those fixed dates. For the managed version of this trip, see Australia golf holidays. For those extending south after Sydney, the 10 day sandbelt and Tasmania itinerary picks up where the Sydney chapter ends, adding Kingston Heath, Royal Sydney and the Tasmanian wilderness to an already formidable list.
Plan your Australia East Coast trip
Tell us roughly when and who is travelling. One concierge handles the Sydney letters of introduction, locks Bonville tee times, sorts the Gold Coast resort stay and prices the trip to the head. No obligation, and the Sydney private clubs need lead time so the earlier the better.
East Coast Australia golf questions
What is the best 6 day golf itinerary on the Australia East Coast?
Base three days in Sydney to play New South Wales Golf Club at La Perouse (the Alister MacKenzie layout above Botany Bay), The Lakes (with Mike Clayton's 2009 restoration) and The Australian (Jack Nicklaus's 1977 redesign). Then fly or drive up the coast to Bonville Golf Resort near Coffs Harbour for a change of scenery, and finish two days on the Gold Coast at Sanctuary Cove and The Glades. Always confirm tee times and current green fees directly before booking.
How much do green fees cost for top Sydney golf courses in 2026?
Sydney's private top-tier courses are accessible to overseas and interstate visitors under a letter of introduction or via a member. Indicative 2026 rates: The Lakes around AUD 300 to 500 by visitor type, The Australian around AUD 240 for affiliated reciprocal members. New South Wales Golf Club does not publish a standard rate publicly; expect comparable pricing and book months ahead. All fees are indicative for 2026; always confirm current rates directly before booking.
Is Bonville Golf Resort worth the stop between Sydney and the Gold Coast?
Yes. Bonville was voted Australia's Favourite Golf Course seven years running in Golf Australia Magazine's national poll. The Terry Watson and Ted Stirling design from 1992 sends each hole through corridors of towering Flooded Gums, so no two holes share the same skyline. Indicative 2026 visitor fees are around AUD 175 for 18 holes with cart on Monday and Tuesday, the public play days. Always confirm current rates directly before booking.
When is the best time of year for an East Coast Australia golf trip?
March to May and September to November are the sweet spots. Sydney's courses play well year round but summer (December to February) brings heat, humidity and the occasional thunderstorm. The Gold Coast is subtropical and receives most of its rain in summer. The shoulder seasons offer settled weather, better tee-time availability at the private Sydney clubs and reasonable temperatures across all six courses.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, course histories and indicative fees verified June 2026 against club websites, Golf Australia Magazine, Planet Golf course guides and published transport schedules. Last reviewed June 2026.