Lake Karrinyup Country Club

Magazine Ratings

It started out as a trip to catch up with friends and watch the Red Bull Air Race in Perth. Now having decided that I should really start to try and play the Top 100 Australian courses I thought it a good opportunity to try some of Western Australia’s finest golf courses.

Lake Karrinyup Country Club is situated around 25 minutes north of Perth.  It was established in 1928 and designed by Alex Russell.  The course is surrounded by flora and fauna, and has a variety of wildlife, from birds in the wetlands to kangaroos hopping around through the native trees.

To play on the course, if you live in Western Australia you must be accompanied by a member or have joined a club with reciprocal rights.  If from interstate or overseas you will be able to play but at a much heftier price (I was wondering why my wallet felt a lot emptier when I left).

I had booked ahead, a month or two in advance, and had to start relatively early due to a corporate function being held the day of my visit.  The staff were fantastic in helping to organise my game, so this was a great start.

Arriving at Lake Karrinyup Country Club I was greeted by a locked security gate.  Due to it being so early the gate remains locked.  Luckily a member arrived right behind who let me into the course.  Unfortunately the pro shop was still closed, so that was a 15 minute wait.  I must try to get later tee times to avoid such trouble.

Scorecard for Lake Karrinyup Country Club

As I was playing the round by myself, the pro recommended playing the back 9 first to avoid the traffic.  Good plan, but I didn’t listen.  On the way to the tee I noticed another group with only 3 players, so I thought I would take advantage and offer to make up a foursome.  Funnily enough two of the players in the group were from Sydney as well, over for a holiday.  They also knew members from my club, so even more of a coincidence.  One was from Elanora Country Club, so things were on the up.  I had managed to avoid playing a lonely round and made a contact for another club in the Top 100 list.

The first hole is a very short par 4 (274m), which the longer hitters could reach in one shot.  I prefer safety until I’ve warmed up so a fairway wood puts you in great shape if hit straight to get on the green easily.  There are quite a few bunkers on the first so you must hit accurately.  The hole plays from the top of a hill with a gully between the tee and the green.  The first thing I noticed was the sand colour with a tinge of orange in the bunkers.  This is typical in Western Australia and is a stark difference to the normal sandy beach type bunkers found on most course on the eastern states of the country.

Hole 3, par 5 (472m) has a lake running on the left side running the full length of the hole.  This is now empty but I was told by the local in our group that it used to be full.  My thought was that it would be a very intimidating hole if this were still the case, as trees also run the length of the hole on the right.  With a tee shot away safely there is not much danger bar the creek next to the green.  The fairway narrows at the approach to the green so the water comes more into play.  The greens on the course were relatively firm, but would hold the ball.  There was good run on the greens which always makes putting more enjoyable (when you read them properly anyway).

I was noticing that there were quite a few hills on the course as we teed off on the fourth.  Already two of the holes had blind tee shots where you had no idea how your ball would end up.

As we reached the 8th hole, a beautiful par 3 (181m), hitting over water and a man-made fountain.  If you get across then pray you don’t hit the back bunkers as the green slopes from back to front, with more bunkers waiting for any shot hit to strong.  There is a large layup area to the left of the green, but on a hole like this you have to go for broke.

The par 4 (342m) 9th hole brings you back up the hill to the club house.  It is quite a large rise so the hole plays at least a bit longer.  The fairway is protected by a few bunkers on the right to try and stop those short cuts direct to the hole.  Hit too far left and the trees may come into play, but more importantly the hole become longer.  The green has a large front to repel any balls hit short and has multiple tiers, so if you are on the wrong plateau, there is not guarantee of a par.

The 12^th par 3 hole seemed out of place on the Lake Karrinyup golf course.  It was a very short hole at 135m but all downhill.  The green was not overly large and there was a small bunker to the left.  Not sure if the designers ran out of room or what the story was, but it was my least favourite hole.

The stretch hole gave included some of the hardest holes on the course to finish, being index 4, 5 and 2.  Hole 16, although dead straight and running up a slight slope, was 400m, so not short for a par 4.  This hole had the fairway getting smaller, with trees encroaching and out of bounds down the right.  The green is surrounded by bunkers (although by this stage I was use to that) and had some significant slopes.  Bogey on this hole is something to be proud of.

For the long par 3 (187m), the green is wide open sitting below the tee box but requires a great tee shot.  A large bunker protects the entire front of the green so anything slightly short will be caught by the sand.  The green has some big undulations, so even a two putt you can walk away happy.  This is a great visual hole and leads to the big finale on the last.

The 18^th hole (par 4 at 373m) plays like a roller coaster.  The tee shot is blind, hitting up a large hill.  Long hitters will find the down-slope on the other side and pick up valuable distance, but leave a down hill shot for the approach.  The green has bunkers left and right, so hitting directly in the middle is a good option.  The green has a couple of tiers, sloping from back to front, so best to hit to that where the pin is located.  Par here and you deserve a nice cold drink in the clubhouse (well you probably deserve that no matter what).

After the round I enjoyed a few cold ones in the outdoor area of the clubhouse (watching preparations for the corporate event).  There is a large dinning and bar area, as well as plenty of outdoor seating around the clubhouse

In all the experience at Lake Karrinyup Country Club was great, the staff were friendly, course was challenging and in tremendous condition and the clubhouse was nice and relaxing, where tales from the course can be enjoyed.  Certainly a course that shouldn’t be missed.

Playing at Lake Karrinyup Country Club can be done in the following ways:
1. Playing with a member
2. Interstate or overseas visitor