Great Golf on the Melbourne Sandbelt
Great Golf on the Melbourne Sandbelt presents an intimate, contemporary portrait of one of the world's greatest golfing regions — eight clubs, ten courses, and a stretch of sandy, fast-draining soil in Melbourne's southeast that has produced a concentration of world-class golf unmatched anywhere on the planet.
With the majority of images captured in 2026, acclaimed golf photographer Gary Lisbon documents the Sandbelt at the peak of its beauty and conditioning.
Never have these courses collectively looked as good — the product of over a decade of faithful restoration by a new generation of architects honouring the original visions of Alister MacKenzie, Alex Russell, C.H. Alison and their contemporaries.
The book features over 210 images, ground-level and aerial, spanning all ten courses: Royal Melbourne's East and West, Kingston Heath, Metropolitan, Victoria, Yarra Yarra, Commonwealth, Huntingdale, and Peninsula Kingswood's North and South.
Each is presented in full, capturing the distinctive character, strategic brilliance and natural beauty that have made the Sandbelt famous the world over.
Each club is accompanied by original artwork from illustrator Daniel Hille, whose clubhouse renderings and course maps add depth and context, while essays from respected club members offer a personal insight into what it means to call these places home.
A foreword by Geoff Ogilvy — major champion and product of the Sandbelt — sets the tone for a book that celebrates place as much as photography.
Book will ship end August 2026
Chapters
5
Visionaries, Stewards & Custodians
The people who built the Sandbelt and look after it for future generations.
6
Beyond the Eight: More great golf
The great golf courses in Victoria extend beyond the 8 Sandbelt clubs. A profile on other courses to consider when visiting.
7
My Sandbelt Composite
Creating the ideal Sandbelt Composite course choosing from 180 holes over 10 courses. Try it out yourself.
8
Acknowledgements
The people we need to thank who helped bring the project to life.
1
Introduction
Why is the Sandbelt such a good golf region?
2
Table of Contents
Pulling it all together
3
Foreword by Geoff Ogilvy
Sandbelt local and Major Champion provides his thoughts on this world class golf region
4
The Melbourne Sandbelt
Each of the 8 Sandbelt clubs showcased through breathtaking imagery, course maps and clubhouse renderings alongside an insightful club penned essay
The book
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Hardcover
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112 pages, 210 + images
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380mm wide x 173mm high
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Weight: 1kg (2.2 pounds)
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Foreword by Geoff Ogilvy
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Price - AUD$105
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ISBN: 978-1-7648065-0-3
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Pre order for delivery from end August 2026
Sample spreads from each club
The Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Alister MacKenzie's 1931 West Course remains the Sandbelt's masterwork — bold, sprawling bunkers cut into sandy heathland, and greens of ferocious pace and cunning contour. Paired with Alex Russell's East, the Composite Course has staged Presidents Cups and World Cups, and stands consistently among the world's finest.
Kingston Heath Golf Club
Dan Soutar's compact 1925 routing, bunkered with genius by Alister MacKenzie, packs more variety into 150 acres than courses twice its size. The par-3 15th is arguably Australia's finest short hole, and the couch fairways and glassy greens make Kingston Heath a constant rival to Royal Melbourne.
Victoria Golf Club
Sharing a fence with Royal Melbourne, Victoria packs quiet brilliance into rolling Sandbelt terrain — Oscar Damman's routing refined by MacKenzie's bunkering. The short par-4 5th and the sweeping run home are pure strategy. Peter Thomson's home club, and a five-time Australian Open host.
Huntingdale Golf Club
Long celebrated as the home of the Australian Masters, Huntingdale has now been comprehensively remade. Trees cleared, sand exposed, bunkers and greens rebuilt with true Sandbelt boldness — the ground finally breathes. Wider, brighter and far more strategic, a storied championship course reborn for a new era.
The Metropolitan Golf Club
Perhaps the finest turf in Australia — fairways like carpet, greens of flawless surface. J.B. Mackenzie's 1908 layout was reworked after land loss, yet Metropolitan retains an elegant, uncluttered strength. Long, demanding par-4s and immaculate conditioning have made it a favourite of touring professionals for decades.
Commonwealth Golf Club
Undulating and understated, Commonwealth rewards the shotmaker who can shape the ball both ways. Charles Lane's routing, later touched by Sloan Morpeth, moves over some of the Sandbelt's most interesting ground. The closing stretch is genuinely testing, and the greens complexes are subtly, wickedly defended.
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club
Two courses, North and South, transformed by Ogilvy Cocking Mead's sweeping renovation into arguably the Sandbelt's most complete facility. Sand exposed, trees cleared, greens re-imagined — the ground now breathes. Bold, wide and strategic, it feels both entirely new and utterly of the Sandbelt.