Boonie Doon is a course that has kept rising on our ranking ever since completing its drawn-out redesign that saw almost a decade of segmented upheaval, yet was surely worth the wait. The then-Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead design team (Mike Clayton left in late 2019) transformed a site that had long oozed potential into an open, linksy arena with options galore.
OCCM made several telling changes to a layout where numerous designers had tinkered over time. Trees were felled, scrub cleared, and vistas and fairways opened. The greens – now sizeable and often bold in contour – became more of a defence for the petite, sub-6,000-metre layout. The shaping is wild enough in places for some greens to require equal parts luck and sound management for balls to finish close to the cup. Bonnie Doon occupies a windy site where the breeze can come from multiple directions, meaning a few holes seem to possess ‘half-pars’ depending on the strength. Throughout the journey are twists and turns to keep golfers ever-thinking. – Steve Keipert
THE DETAILS
Bonnie Doon Golf Club
Ranking for 2024-2025: 39th
Prior rankings: 39th (2022), 40th (2020), 47th (2018), 55th (2016), Omitted (2010-2014), 88th (2008), 85th (2006), 81st (2004), 78th (2002), 72nd (2000), 66th (1998), 69th (1996), 66th (1994), 55th (1991), 55th (1989), Sixth Ten (1986)
Where: Banks Ave, Pagewood NSW 2035
Phone: (02) 9349 2101
Web: bdgc.com.au
Photograph by gary lisbon