Buying property in the Southern Highlands may be expensive, but the golf courses, hotels and restaurants are affordable, approachable and welcoming of visitors.
From one angle, the New South Wales Southern Highlands could be characterised as a weekend playground for the rich and famous. Last year, the Australian Financial Review wrote that the “Southern Highlands has become to Sydney what the Hamptons is to New York, or the Cotswolds to London, attracting some of the biggest names to its secluded estates”.
Perhaps, if you base that on celebrities who visit or live in the region. A royal family member, Zara Tindall, was once spotted in Bowral during a wedding, while King Charles, on his recent trip Down Under, bought a leasehold through The King’s Foundation for a heritage-listed estate in Sutton Forest, a village where Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban live when in Australia. The A-list goes on.
Visually, there is also a sense of beauty and grandeur when driving along the Hume Highway from Sydney and onto Moss Vale Rd into the suburb of Burradoo, minutes from historic Bowral Golf Club. Towering cypress and claret ash trees line the streets, while quant waterways like Mittagong Creek and lush, green parks punctuate multi-million-dollar houses.
From a golf and tourism perspective, this region couldn’t be more approachable. In fact, it would be downright far-fetched to compare golf in the Highlands – a region flush with great golf courses whose green fees are all less than $100 – to the Hamptons. New York’s affluent getaway destination may have $48 green fees at the publicly accessible Montauk Downs Golf Course, but the reality is it is home to a wave of uber-private clubs like Shinnecock Hills and the National Golf Links of America.
If you’re wondering how the Southern Highlands is approachable, consider Bowral Golf Club’s green fee for visitors is just $50. That’s hard to fathom when it is arguably among the most beautiful and thoughtful designs of any inland, publicly accessible golf club in Australia. The conditioning of the ryegrass and the enormity of the trees offers a sense of playing a delightful hybrid between Melbourne’s Kingston Heath and the iconic K Club in Ireland.
“It’s one hour, 15 minutes from Sydney, but the country-town feel and beauty makes it feel like the region could be a thousand miles from anywhere,” says Lee Hunt, a Highlands resident who commutes daily to Bankstown Golf Club in Sydney, where he is the head professional.
The region’s golf spread is highlighted by its namesake at Highlands Golf Club ($50 for 18 holes), as well as Park Proxi Gibraltar Golf Course ($40), Bowral Golf Club ($50), Moss Vale Golf Club ($60 on weekends) and Mt Broughton Golf & Country Club ($70 on weekends). Mt Broughton is the championship layout. “You could play at five different golf courses in the space of three or four days and travel no more than 15 minutes at a time,” Hunt says of a three-day Highlands golf trip.
The Highlands’ accessible golf landscape could be attributed to the humble beginnings of game there. Long before some properties were sold for tens of millions of dollars – a real estate demand caused partly by a ‘tree change’ that accelerated during COVID – the Highlands welcomed two Scotsmen who would greatly shape the region’s golf landscape and the wider Australian golf industry. Dan Soutar and Carnegie Clark, both from Carnoustie, migrated to Australia in the early 1900s. Soutar is perhaps best known for designing Kingston Heath among his portfolio of work, while Clark was a multiple Australian Open champion, golf club manufacturer and course architect. Both were seen as the founding fathers of the PGA of Australia.
Nowadays, when golfers check in at the quaint, old, white-brick pro shop at Bowral Golf Club, and tee off from the majestic first hole, the resemblance to Kingston Heath – or at least elements of its Melbourne Sandbelt style – are immediately recognisable. Bowral’s original nine holes were laid out by Soutar soon after World War I; the additional nine holes were designed
by Clark.
“The ryegrass fairways are like carpet and the small greens, plus the shape of the land and routing, add up to a wonderful golf course,” Hunt says.
Like Kingston Heath, Bowral’s routing is incredibly economical in changes in elevation, which are surprisingly plentiful for what first appears to be a flat property. There are simple, classic parkland holes like the 304-metre, downhill first or the 348-metre second with its sweeping dogleg. The par-4 third is where Bowral really channels Kingston Heath; after a 230-metre, downhill and semi-blind tee shot, the hole doglegs right and leaves what should be a simple short iron or wedge in, with a flat runway to the green eerily similar of its Melbourne cousin. The next hole is marvellously fun for what is one of the most difficult holes on the course – a par 3 measuring 193 metres uphill to a green sloping from right to left.
MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT
Accommodation options are aplenty in the Highlands, but perhaps the most stunning is Berida Hotel, a gorgeous, ivy-covered brick building 150 metres from the pro shop at Bowral. Berida was originally built as a private residence in 1925, but became one of the most picturesque hotels in the region. It’s a perfect venue for a weekend escape, romantic getaway, social engagement or corporate event. After a round of golf, Berida guests are often seen relaxing by the open fire in the guest lounge, sipping a drink on the terrace surrounded by lush gardens, or buying from the hotel’s local produce Store. The on-site European restaurant, Bistro Sociale, is one of the top-rated dining options in Bowral. And for those seeking to invigorate both mind and body, the hotel’s health club provides a state-of-the-art gym and tennis courts.
Another fantastic accommodation open for golfers is Mittagong Hotel, where a charming and chic restoration of a hotel dating back to 1890 has created a rustic and inviting atmosphere. Located on the main street of Mittagong, the hotel underwent a complete renovation in 2023, performed by a team of skilled local tradespeople and designers. That provided a classy refresh of the rooms, bistro, kitchen and bar, but with a concerted effort to preserve its heritage.
“With the proximity of the hotel to a number of golf courses – it’s two minutes from Highlands Golf Club and less than 10 minutes to Bowral – it’s perfect for golf groups,” says manager Mike Savic. “There are 14 excellent rooms – six with ensuite bathrooms and eight with shared bathroom facilities.”
The ensuite rooms feature king-sized beds and elegant furnishings, while the shared accommodations provide a comfortable, budget-friendly option with modern amenities. Beyond its stylish rooms, the hotel boasts an inviting bistro serving high-quality fare, making it an ideal base for a golf getaway. Discounts of up to 10 percent for groups are often available, making it even more appealing for travelling golfers. “Our renovations have really tipped the cap to the hotel’s almost 130-year history but with a modern touch, which has kept the character of the property,” Savic says.
Fifteen minutes’ drive down the road is Mt Broughton Golf & Country Club, nestled in the rolling landscapes of Sutton Forest. The entrance to Mt Broughton is elegant, with a gravel driveway leading to a clubhouse that looks like a country manor in the UK. Or, as co-owner James Erskine describes it, “It could be a sort of Scottish castle, couldn’t it? It’s got all the Australian charm of the kangaroos and wildlife and I think 14 different types of duck, trout and perch in the lake. There’s water running right through the golf course.”
Although, like the rest of the region’s golf offerings, Mt Broughton is far more inviting than some may think. Yes, the club has been known to have celebrity visits and members, such as the late Shane Warne, who Erskine managed and who frequented the club when in the area. Fellow cricket star David Warner is an honorary member. But it’s an open-door golf club welcoming of visitors.
“People think it’s exclusive, which it’s not,” says Erskine, the former boss of IMG Australia. “We do have members, but we encourage people to come here and pay to play. We are only 90 minutes from Canberra or Sydney in the opposite directions. There’s a relaxed atmosphere here.”
Erskine is originally from England and grew up “a stone’s throw from Royal Birkdale”. He says Mt Broughton reminds him some of the English and Scottish links courses he grew up playing, but with an Australiana landscape. The layout has a distinctive character drawing from the natural beauty of the Highlands and the refined aesthetics of a top-tier golf club. It’s a place where lush, green fairways contrast strikingly with the long, dry, brown grasses that frame them. Measuring 6,800 metres from the blue tees and stretching to 7,200 metres from the back, Mt Broughton presents a tough test, but with more room than the eye perceives. Signature holes include the dramatic, downhill, par-3 second or the Railway Hole, a memorable par-5 at the seventh. The par-3 10th is another standout, as is the short, par-4 18th, where leaves falling from trees near the green create a stunning picture, especially in autumn.
Highlands Golf Club, 20 minutes north of Mt Broughton – and, at an hour and 10 minutes, is even closer to Sydney – is wedged delightfully between Mt Jellore in the background and the Nattai River, which meanders in front of the 18th green. The Highlands course boasts natural beauty, historic charm and a welcoming vibe. The club began its journey in the mid-1920s when Clark designed the original nine-hole layout that later expanded to 18. Highlands boasts several standout holes, such as the par-5 second, the longest on the course at 546 metres, while the par-4 sixth offers stunning landscape views and ascends triumphantly up to a green perched on the highest point of the property. The quirky, short par-4 seventh demands a layup tee shot of about 170 metres followed by a delicate wedge over water to the elevated green. The shorter back nine finishes with back-to-back par 3s, the first of which is a long iron. The 18th is a short, downhill tee shot that should require nothing more than a sand wedge over a water fountain while the clubhouse crowd watches on.
Highlands is a club on the rise, with a noticeably friendly atmosphere under PGA professionals Luke Bessant and Anthony Storich from Measured Golf. Exciting renovations are also planned.
“It’s under-utilised as a golf getaway,” Hunt says. “It’s closer to Sydney than the Hunter Valley. It might be cold in winter, but it’s a charming place to visit. There are excellent wineries, restaurants, accommodation, cafés and shopping in the Southern Highlands. The golf courses have a boutique, cottage-golf vibe, which makes them great and affordable.”
And most importantly, approachable.
