The National Golf Club (Moonah Course)

Overview: The Moonah Course takes its name from the ancient coastal Moonah trees scattered across The National's Cape Schanck property. Designed by Greg Norman and Bob Harrison, it uses serpentine fairways, towering dunes, and open sandy ground to create a links-influenced course with a distinctly Australian sense of place. Strong tee shots help, but the best lines are rarely automatic. The width of a fairway changes the approach angle, the wind can alter the value of a conservative play, and the greens reward a player who has read the surrounding contours. The par 5s are a notable part of the rhythm, balancing length with the need to choose the right side of the hole. Moonah is an 18-hole, par-72 layout that asks for boldness without making every decision a power contest.

History: The National was established at Cape Schanck in 1984, initially around a vision for private and public golf on the same coastal property. After The Old Course was completed, the club expanded its Cape Schanck golf offering with Moonah. The official club history records that the Moonah Course opened on 2 October 2000, with Greg Norman Golf Course Design responsible for the layout. Its arrival helped establish the modern multi-course identity of The National and added a more open, contemporary companion to the original Jones course.

Did You Know? During two and a half years in the late 1990s, approximately 55,000 Moonah trees were planted on The National site. The name therefore describes more than a course style or visual theme: it connects the routing to a characteristic native tree and to a major landscape project that shaped the property around the time the course was developed.