The Lakes Golf Club

Overview: The Lakes Golf Club occupies sandy ground in Sydney’s Eastlakes, where lakes, wetlands, wind and waste areas shape the playing strategy. Its broad corridors can invite an aggressive line, but the water and 97 bunkers quickly punish a poor decision. The course’s coastal setting is softened by its parkland scale, giving the routing a distinctive mix of open sandy ground, planted edges and bold carries across the hazards.

History: The club was established in 1928 on the sandhills near Gardeners Road, with an original plan by Eric Apperly and Tom Howard. Construction of the Mascot Freeway closed the course in 1968, after which Robert von Hagge and Bruce Devlin redesigned the layout. Ogilvy Clayton undertook a major redesign beginning in 2007, building on that earlier work and helping prepare the course for another run of Australian Opens.

Did You Know? The Lakes has hosted eight Australian Opens, most recently as a co-host in 2023. The course’s lake strategy is also part of its origin story: the body of water on the site was once part of Sydney’s water supply, and the club’s founders deliberately made it a strategic element of the championship layout.