Alice Springs Golf Course

Alice Springs is acknowledged as the hottest golf course in the world, and I'll attest to that. It's located on the east side of the Todd River in the Northern Territory in Central Australia. The course is routed around the valley floor within the MacDonnell Ranges, and was a beautiful setting for this desert style golf course. The course was a bit of target golf in order to navigate the fairways and stay away from the rocky outcrops and desert brush and stones along the edges. The course was designed by Peter Thomson, during the early 1980's, and is currently rated 53rd in Australia by Australian Golf Digest. Mostly level course, but a couple of holes with some change in elevation. Parkland style of layout through a scattering of trees, some water in play as well as bunkering, the greens were good sized, and generally modest amount of undulation. This is a fantastic course, tough but well worth a game. The fairways are great, but don’t miss them or you will be playing off either rocks or bare dirt. The green fees were reasonable, and if you're staying longer than a day, they have weekly rates. The setting is truly unique. It is not overly long, but there’s a nice design element, with the front 9 nicely utilising the surrounding rocky hills. with some houses that are too close for comfort on a few of the holes. Would consider this course as the quality courses like Horsham, Bonnie Doon and Mt Lawley. Not out of the top shelf, but safely in the second tier and well worth a visit if you’re in Central Australia.