Take the time to explore the city and settle in at your hotel.

Overnight Melbourne

AM                  Depart your hotel for The Melbourne Sandbelt.

Enjoy a round of golf at Yarra Yarra Golf Club

The primary architect of this renowned Sandbelt course was Alex Russell who, in 1926, had formed a partnership with the famed Dr Alister MacKenzie during his brief visit to Australia. Today, Yarra Yarra remains substantially the same as the original layout and, like all great golf courses, has stood the test of time. Many of the world’s greatest golfers have competed in tournaments here. This includes, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch, Karrie Webb, Annika Sörenstam, Jan Stephenson and Rachel Teske. What’s more, Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby both launched their professional careers from their membership as amateurs at Yarra Yarra.

Designers: Alex Russell, Dr. Alister MacKenzie

Length: 6155/Par: 72

PM                  Refuel with lunch in the Private Dining Room.

Transfer to the Yarra Valley – famed for its many vineyards and cellar doors. Sample a local tipple at the likes of Yering Station, Dominique Portet or Oakridge Wines before checking into your accommodation at Balgownie Estate Vineyard Resort.

Overnight Yarra Valley

Balgownie 450 Hot Air Balloon in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. Image: Global Ballooning Australia.

AM                  Sunrise hot air balloon ride

Start your day with an unforgettable hot air balloon experience with breathtaking views of rolling hills and green landscapes. After your flight, enjoy a sumptuous sparkling breakfast.

Enjoy a unique wildlife experience at the internationally renowned Healesville Sanctuary. Wander through the tranquil tracks and meet over 200 species of Australian animals, including the iconic koalas, kangaroos, platypus, dingoes, wombats and emus in their natural surrounds.

Stop by Giant Steps Winery & Cellar Door for a leisurely lunch in the town of Healesville.

PM                    Transfer back to your Melbourne hotel.

Overnight Melbourne. 

Enjoy a buffet breakfast at your hotel’s restaurant before teeing off at Commonwealth Golf Club. 

Commonwealth is revered among the Sandbelt courses for its challenging driving holes and subtle sloping greens which call for accurate shot making when playing from the fairway. The trees that line these fairways have long been considered amongst the finest stands in golf seen in Australia.

Designers: Sam Bennett, Charles Lane and Sloan Morpeth

Length: 6380/ Par 73

PM                   Meander through Melbourne’s famous laneways or take a tour with local operator Hidden Secrets, Walk Melbourne or Localing and discover the city’s secrets.

Melbourne is famous for its graffiti-adorned laneways renowned for their street art and dotted with hidden bars. Give ‘Main Street’ a miss and head down alleyways to find walls covered with stencil work, light boxes and sculptures that point you to the door of quirky bars in basements and on rooftops. Check out Bar Americano in Presgrave Place, Section 8 in Tattersalls Lane, Croft Institute in Croft Alley and Cherry Bar in ACDC Lane. Find the hidden doors that open into velvety jazz clubs and flashy wine bars, bare-bone student hangouts and dimly lit hideaways and experience the essence of Melbourne.

Overnight Melbourne

Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of Australia’s best golf courses. Ranked #19 in the world by US Golf Digest, Kingston Heath enjoys an enviable reputation for its superb conditioning all year round. Kingston Heath has hosted many major national and international tournaments including the 2009 and 2012 Australian Masters and the 2016 World Cup of Golf.

Designers: Dan Soutar (1925)/Alister Mackenzie (1926)

Length: 6436/ Par 72

PM                  Explore the city’s fabulous museums and galleries, including the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

The NGV has two magnificent galleries located a short walk for each other. Both offer free entry to the permanent collection and boast an enviable line-up of temporary exhibitions. NGV International houses a whole world of international art, displaying the gallery’s collection of European, Asian, Oceanic and American art. Since it opened in 1968, the total collection has doubled in size to more than 70,000 works of art. A truly iconic Melbourne building, the gallery has been totally redesigned to house one of the most impressive collections in the Southern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, NGV Australia at Federation Square presents Indigenous and non-Indigenous art from the colonial period to the present day.

Overnight Melbourne

Tucked away quietly in Melbourne’s southeast, just 25 minutes from the CBD, The Metropolitan Golf Club enjoys a reputation as one of the best-conditioned and most beautiful courses in the country. Pure couch grass fairways with large, fast bent-grass greens, hand-mown to the edges of the greenside bunkers, add greatly to the challenge of the course. Throughout its rich history, Metropolitan has challenged the best players in the world. In total the Club has hosted seven Australian Opens, five Australian PGAs, ten other professional tournaments and in 2001 hosted the Australian Amateur Championship for the fifth time.

Designers: J B MacKenzie (original) – Dr Alister MacKenzie, Peter Thomson (previous modifications) – Ogilvy Clayton Golf Design (current)

Length: 6430/ Par 72

PM                   Make the most of your  final evening in Melbourne and take in a show at one of the city’s heritage theatres or see the Melbourne Theatre Company perform at the Southbank Theatre.  

Woodlands is a typical first class championship course with relatively small greens and tees. Befitting a course of its class, it has hosted a number of professional events and numerous State and National championships. Together with pure couch fairways, firm bent grass greens, brilliant bunkering and striking tree lines, it is a true test of golf.

Much of the course today is as it was designed by English architect, Mr J D H Scott. In particular the traditional bunkering epitomises the highly strategic and characteristic influence of Dr Alistair MacKenzie.

Golfers will remember Woodlands because it tests all aspects of their shotmaking ability. The greens are small, hard and generally very fast, the fairways are bordered by indigenous vegetation including magnificent Red Gums, many of which are hundreds of years old.