Golfing in Southern Grampians Shire Council
In the heart of the Western District, long-time wool country with Hamilton at its centre, all five courses are public and sand greens remain part of the local game. The Grampians Golf Club at Dunkeld sits at the foot of Mount Abrupt; built with help from local soldier settlers, it is a laid-back sand-greens bush course where Peter Thomson set a course record of 71 in a 1967 exhibition, a story locals still enjoy telling. Hamilton Golf Club plays to a par of 74, a peaceful, well-presented parkland course of tree-lined couch fairways and well-bunkered grass greens, regarded as one of the district's leading layouts. Balmoral offers wide fairways, sand greens and free-draining ground in picturesque bush, Parklands in Hamilton has sandscrapes and plenty of wildlife, and Coleraine is a compact par-68 that rewards accuracy.