Golfing in Hume City Council
On Melbourne's northern fringe, from Broadmeadows out to Sunbury with Melbourne Airport in the middle, Hume's golf is all public parkland, and each of its three courses is a full 18. Goonawarra in Sunbury is the pick: a 1981 Tony Cashmore design about eight minutes from the airport and a past Australian Open qualifying venue, split by a road, with white sand bunkers, water, a strong set of par 3s, a couple of drivable par 4s and a 250-metre driving range. Melbourne Airport Golf Club is the novelty round, laid out beside the north-south runway, where planes pass low overhead, most memorably at the 17th; it is rarely crowded and its small, elevated greens demand accurate approaches. Craigieburn-Willmott is a relaxed, accessible parkland course with a practice range and a well-liked bistro.