Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club

Overview: Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club occupies a former Cheetham Salt Works site at Point Cook, where a large lake complex, open fairways, water edges and planted islands define an unusual 18-hole setting. Chris Honey and Bob Harrison of Greg Norman Golf Course Design shaped the course around a reclaimed industrial landscape rather than hiding its broad, open character. The result is a par-72 layout with a strong relationship between golf holes, water and the surrounding residential development. The official course tour lists 6,489 metres from the championship tees. Wind off the lake, deep pot bunkers and firm, undulating putting surfaces make strategic placement more important than simply chasing distance.

History: The site was transformed from an abandoned salt-works landscape beginning in 1994. Construction of the golf course and its central 50-hectare lake complex began in 1998, and the course was shaped and ready for growing in by 1999. The course and clubhouse opened on 7 February 2000, with Chris Honey and Bob Harrison of Greg Norman Design credited for the architecture. The foundation story is therefore part of the golf itself: water, reclaimed land and the surrounding development were planned as one connected project.

Did You Know? The official foundation history identifies the course's butterfly islands as a design feature created by Chris Honey. They sit within the central lake complex and help give the course its distinctive visual language, while also marking the unusual origin of a golf landscape built on former industrial salt-making land.