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Links Hope Island Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-72 links-style resort course at Hope Island on the northern Gold Coast. The course opened in March 1993 after a three-year construction program and was designed by five-time Open champion Peter Thomson with Mike Wolveridge. Its current championship configuration measures 6,492 metres, with the Black men's course rated 74 and carrying a slope of 129.
The site was originally very low and flat, so construction required the golf course to be raised between two and six metres, followed by a sand cap sourced from the nearby Coomera River. The routing is characterised by numerous pot-style bunkers, man-made water hazards and strategic angles rather than heavy tree-lined corridors. Major changes were made to the front nine beginning in 2021: a new par-3 ninth was built across a lake and the third hole was subsequently converted from a par 3 to a short par 4, restoring the course to par 72.
The course is an 18-hole links golf course. It plays to par 72, 6,492m, course rating 74 and slope rating 129. Designed by Peter Thomson and Mike Wolveridge, the course originally opened in 1993. It is open to the public. On-site facilities include Driving Range, Putting Greens, Chipping Green, Practice Bunkers, Golf Shop, Golf Lessons, Golf Cart Hire, Club Hire, and 10 more.
Hope Island's golf course was conceived as the centrepiece of a 360-hectare residential resort development on the northern Gold Coast. The site presented an unusual challenge for a links-inspired course because the original land was low, flat and subtropical rather than naturally sandy coastal dunes. Peter Thomson and design partner Mike Wolveridge were engaged to create the layout, and construction proceeded under Thomson, Wolveridge and Associates from 1991 to 1993.
To make the site workable, the course was raised between two and six metres above its original level. Fill was sourced within the resort development and from excavation of the lake beside the 18th fairway, before approximately one metre of sand from the nearby Coomera River was placed over the golf course for final shaping. The finished course officially opened on 6 March 1993.
Thomson brought to Hope Island the strategic ideas he had absorbed from British and Irish links golf during his career as a five-time Open champion. Rather than depending principally on length, the course was designed around angles, wind, pot-style bunkers and decisions about how much risk to accept from the tee and on approaches. The artificial landform was deliberately shaped to evoke links terrain despite the subtropical location.
The club currently lists 117 pot-style bunkers and a series of man-made water hazards. Thomson described the course as the product of long-range planning across landscape and environmental disciplines and intended it to reward serious strategic play.
The most substantial alteration to the original routing occurred as adjoining residential development and practice-facility requirements changed the front nine. Planning began for replacement of the original par-4 ninth and relocation of the former water-based driving range. Mike Wolveridge worked with Ross Perrett and Warren Duncan on a new 156-metre par-3 ninth played across a lake to an elevated green; it opened in July 2021 as part of a roughly AUD 2.3 million project.
Because replacing a par 4 with a par 3 temporarily reduced the overall par, the club subsequently converted the old par-3 third into a short risk-reward par 4 while retaining its original green complex. That hole opened in 2023, restoring the course to par 72. The old ninth-hole corridor became the present 300-metre driving range.
Hope Island received unusually strong recognition almost immediately after opening. Australian Golf Digest's historical rankings placed it eighth nationally in 1994 and 11th in 1996. In 1997 the club hosted the Johnnie Walker Classic, jointly sanctioned by major professional tours, with Ernie Els winning the event.
The course has remained a regular presence in Australian national rankings, although its position has varied as newer courses have opened. Golf Australia and Australian Golf Digest continue to feature it among notable Gold Coast and Australian resort layouts.
Links Golf & Wellbeing operates as a public-access resort golf club as well as a membership facility. The present championship configuration is par 72 and extends to 6,492 metres, with public tee times offered every day subject to limited competition restrictions. Green fees include a shared GPS-equipped golf cart.
The practice complex includes an 18-bay, 300-metre driving range, two putting greens, a chipping green and practice bunkers. The Mediterranean-style clubhouse provides dining, locker and shower facilities, while the broader property also includes Champions Day Spa, yoga and wellbeing services and spaces for weddings, conferences and other events.
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| Fee Type | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Other | ||
| 18 Holes - Monday to Sunday & Public Holidays | $175 | Current visitor green fee. Shared Club Car golf cart with GPS is included. |
| Junior 17 & Under - 18 Holes | $95 | Current junior rate. Cart included when playing with a paid adult green fee. |
| Sunset | $99 | Monday to Sunday and public holidays. Play is limited by available daylight. |
| 9 hole | ||
| Sunrise - 9 Holes | $110 | Available at selected times Tuesday to Friday, Sunday and public holidays. |
| Junior Sunrise - 9 Holes | $60 | Available at selected times Tuesday to Friday, Sunday and public holidays. Cart included when playing with a paid adult green fee. |
| Twilight | ||
| Twilight | $125 | Monday to Friday, Sunday and public holidays. Play as many holes as daylight permits, up to 18; a full 18 holes is not guaranteed. |
Prices are indicative and subject to change. Contact the course to confirm current rates.
| Front 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 36 |
| Metres | 341 | 501 | 330 | 402 | 140 | 372 | 351 | 502 | 156 | 3095 |
| Back 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Metres | 368 | 511 | 351 | 389 | 192 | 407 | 320 | 194 | 515 | 3247 | 6342 |
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