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Bonnie Doon Golf Club is a private 18-hole golf club at Pagewood in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The club itself dates to 1897, when it began as Marrickville Golf Club, while Bonnie Doon moved to its present site in 1947 after taking over the New Metropolitan Golf Club. The current course is built on deep sandy ground and plays to a par of 71 from the Black tees, measuring 5,964 metres with a Golf NSW scratch rating of 73 and slope of 134.
A major redesign was undertaken between 2010 and 2018 by Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking and Mead, with Mike Cocking acting as lead designer. The project opened fairway corridors, rebuilt greens and bunkers, created new holes and made greater use of the site's sandy undulations and native vegetation. The course is relatively compact but places an emphasis on angles, positioning and varied shot options rather than length alone.
The course is an 18-hole sandbelt golf course. It plays to par 71, 5,964m, course rating 73 and slope rating 134. The course originally opened in 1947. It is a private members' club. On-site facilities include Golf Shop, Driving Range, Putting Green, Short Game Area, Practice Bunkers, Indoor Golf Simulator, Golf Lessons, Golf Cart Rental, and 5 more.
The club's history begins in 1897 at the Marrickville home of Dr Charles Adam Patrick, where a group of golf enthusiasts formed what was initially Marrickville Golf Club. Its first course had 12 holes among the estates around Tempe and included a memorable hole requiring a shot up a roughly 15-metre cliff. Women were invited to play from February 1898, and the club later became closely associated with the early development of women's and interclub golf in Sydney.
In 1907 it moved to a grazing property at Arncliffe named Bonnie Doon, adopting that name and expanding to an 18-hole course. World War II-era plans to enlarge Mascot aerodrome ultimately consumed land containing 13 of the club's 18 holes, forcing another relocation.
The modern course reflects the redesign philosophy of Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking and Mead. The club describes the shaping as an attempt to resemble natural processes, using irregular sandy undulations, wispy rough and rugged bunker edges rather than highly manicured forms. OCM says the redevelopment was intended to create holes with multiple options and choices, particularly through angles and strategic positioning.
The designers rebuilt three formerly weak short par fours—the current 8th, 12th and 16th—and used previously undeveloped land for new 14th and 15th holes. Large, contoured greens and broad playing corridors place greater emphasis on approach angles and recovery options than simply keeping the ball in a narrow corridor.
Bonnie Doon arrived at Pagewood in 1947 by taking over the younger New Metropolitan Golf Club. The site was then a links-style layout through sandy heath and banksia scrub. Numerous alterations followed over subsequent decades, but the most comprehensive change began after Ogilvy Clayton was engaged in 2010 to prepare a new master plan.
The project later proceeded under the Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking and Mead name, with Mike Cocking acting as lead designer. OCM records construction from 2010 through 2018, staged over much of a decade so the busy club could remain operational. New holes were created, others reversed or rebuilt, trees and scrub were removed, sightlines opened, and the practice facilities were substantially expanded.
The completed redevelopment materially improved Bonnie Doon's standing in national course rankings. Australian Golf Digest ranked it 39th in Australia for 2024-25, matching its highest position in that publication at the time. The magazine highlighted shot options as the course's strongest ranking criterion and noted its progression from 55th in 2016 to 47th in 2018, 40th in 2020 and 39th in both 2022 and 2024-25.
Golf NSW likewise describes the redesigned course as strategically demanding despite measuring under 6,000 metres from the back tees.
Bonnie Doon remains a private members' club at Pagewood, within eight kilometres of central Sydney. Its championship Black course measures 5,964 metres at par 71, with a scratch rating of 73 and slope of 134. The course sits entirely on sandy ground and is divided by Heffron Road.
Members and their guests have access to a full-length driving range, putting facilities and a large short-game area with a 65-metre green complex surrounded by five bunkers. The club also provides carts, hire clubs, shoes and pull buggies.
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| Front 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 38 |
| Metres | 427 | 331 | 386 | 390 | 432 | 147 | 467 | 268 | 434 | 3282 |
| Back 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 34 | 72 |
| Metres | 417 | 170 | 293 | 166 | 505 | 120 | 310 | 284 | 417 | 2682 | 5964 |
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