Michael Clayton

"As a kid playing golf, you don't care where you play," says Michael Clayton, "but growing up in Melbourne you're lucky enough to be exposed to some great courses, and you realize that there is an extra dimension to the game in the architecture of the golf course."

And since founding his first company, Michael Clayton Golf Design in 1995 with John Sloan and Bruce Grant, Mike has excelled in this extra dimension of the game.

Playing at Melbourne's various sandbelt courses as a schoolboy sparked an interest in the young Clayton early on, and perhaps shaped his skills on the course. For before he carved a distinguished career as a golf course architect, Mike was a professional golfer for over two decades; he played 17-seasons on the European Tour, as well as playing on the PGA Tour of Australasia where he won seven titles.

Nowadays, Clayton's business has changed its structure with the addition of new business partners and a new name. Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead (OCCM) was formed by Mike and his partners Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead. They are dedicated to, "designing, building and preserving wonderful golf courses around the world."

In Michael's eyes, there are two factors that make a golf course great. The first involves the architecture of the course, and how it plays - does the course ask interesting questions, and does it create more than just a place to hit the ball around?

"The other is the beauty of the surrounds you play in," argues Michael. "The best courses in the world are also very beautiful places to play. Which is what the average golfer judges most golf courses by, from the experience of playing the course - and not necessarily the architecture."

Website: https://www.claytongolf.com.au/

Golf Courses designed by Michael Clayton

Barnbougle Dunes

Bridport, TAS, Australia
Distance: 6148m Par: 72
Barnbougle, Tasmania is situated on the rugged northeast coast of Tasmania and is approximately one hour from Launceston and 90-minutes from Launceston airport. Australia's island state is one of the more ideal places in the world for a links golf course. It's on this coastal strip, where stark beaches fold into undulating farmlands, that two...

Bonnie Doon Golf Club

Pagewood, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Distance: 5947m Par: 71
Located just a few kilometers from the Sydney CBD and close to the International Airport, Bonnie Doon Golf Club is one of Australia's most influential golf clubs. This private club began with an assembly of golfing devotees at the home of Dr. Charles Adam Patrick in 1897. Now, more than a century later, it is...

Curlewis Golf Club

Curlewis, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6150m Par: 71
Curlewis Golf Club is just one hour from Melbourne and 15-minutes from Geelong Victoria's Bellarine. With a sandy base, a minimum of trees, and naturally undulating couch fairways of Vernon Morcom designed Links is one of the best courses on The Bellarine Peninsula. Following the opening of the course in 1970, the original design was enhanced...

Eastern Sward Golf Club

Bangholme, VIC, Australia
Distance: 4000m Par: 67
The members of Eastern Sward Golf Club say it's a 'hidden gem.' Like many others of that reputation, Eastern Sward is a course full of pleasant surprises and a rewarding visit for those who take the chance. A 9 hole course, its par 67 is more difficult than its numerical suggestion. At 4000 meters, it...

Lake Karrinyup Country Club

Karrinyup, WA, Australia
Distance: 6531m Par: 72
Lake Karrinyup Country Club is widely acknowledged as Western Australia's premier golf club and is now home to the ISPS Handa World Super 6. Just 13-kilometres north of Perth's CBD, Lake Karrinyup is a tranquil botanical haven for wildlife including native birds and marsupials. Founded in 1928 with a course layout designed by Alex Russell,...

Lanhai International Country Club - Yangtze Dunes

Chenjia, Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Par: 72
Lanhai International Country Club is part of a private 36-hole golf and resort complex located at Chongming on an island in the middle of the mighty Yangtze River, just northeast of Shanghai. Originally designed by Nicklaus Design, the 18-hole Yangtze Dunes course was overhauled by the Australian design team of Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking, and Mead...

Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club

Frankston, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6124m Par: 72
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club is just 35-minutes from central Melbourne and is situated at the southern tip of the famous Sandbelt region and the northern boundary of the Mornington Peninsula. The club comprises two 18-hole championship courses, both re-designed most recently by Australian golf architecture firm Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead. Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf...
Distance: 6124yd Par: 72
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club - Kingswood Course is just 35-minutes from central Melbourne and is situated at the southern tip of the famous Sandbelt region and the northern boundary of the Mornington Peninsula. The club comprises of three walk or cart18-hole championship courses, across two sites in Frankston and Dingle Village. Both Frankston courses...
Distance: 6124yd Par: 72
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club is just 35-minutes from central Melbourne and is situated at the southern tip of the famous Sandbelt region and the northern boundary of the Mornington Peninsula. The club comprises two walk or cart 18-hole championship courses, both re-designed most recently by Australian golf architecture firm Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead. Peninsula...
Distance: 6321 m Par: 72
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club is just 35-minutes from central Melbourne and is situated at the southern tip of the famous Sandbelt region and the northern boundary of the Mornington Peninsula. The club comprises three walk or cart 18-hole championship courses, across two sites in Frankston and Dingle Village. Both Frankston courses were re-designed recently...

Port Fairy Golf Club

Port Fairy, VIC, Australia
Par: 72
Port Fairy Golf Club is less than five minutes from the center of historic Port Fairy, which lies west of Melbourne along the Princes Highway in the Shipwreck Coast and Great Ocean Road Tourism regions. This 18-hole links-style course - which first opened in the early 1960s - was redesigned by Michael Clayton in 2002,...

Portsea Golf Club

Portsea, VIC, Australia
Distance: 5747m Par: 71
Portsea Golf Club is situated on Victoria's magnificent Mornington Peninsula, just an hour and a half drive south of Melbourne. Set amongst rolling sand dunes and coastal vegetation with spectacular views across Port Phillip Bay, this 18 hole course has fast-draining fairways and is kept in fantastic playing condition all year round. A links-style layout,...

RACV Healesville Country Club

Healesville, VIC, Australia
Distance: 4944m Par: 68
Set among the rolling hills of Victoria's Yarra Valley and dotted with native trees the RACV Healesville Country Club is the perfect spot for a round of golf. Recently redesigned by Michael Clayton the par 68 course at the Healesville Club presents a unique, tree-lined opportunity for golfers of all levels. The greens are some...

Ranfurlie Golf Club

Frankston Rd, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6105m Par: 72
Located at Cranbourne, close to Melbourne, Ranfurlie Golf Club opened for play in 2001 and is a member-only course that allows limited public access. The 18 holes feature wide fairways, big putting surfaces, and visually intimidating bunkering from tee to green. Ranfurlie combines elements of traditional links with sandbelt-style bunkering to produce a true test of...

Royal Queensland Golf Club

Eagle Farm, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6443m Par: 72
Located beside the Brisbane River and only a 10-minute drive from the Brisbane CBD is the Royal Queensland Golf Club which is the premier golf club in Queensland, boasting the number one golf course in the State. Although a private club limited visitor access is available to this highly ranked walk or cart championship course....

Spring Valley Golf Club

Clayton South, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6161m Par: 71
Situated just 30-minutes southeast of the CBD, the private Spring Valley Golf Club is home to one of Melbourne's famous Sandbelt courses, with a layout that ranks amongst Australia's best. First opened in 1948, the course is held in high regard and was recently rated by Golf Australia Magazine as the 42nd best course in...

St Andrews Beach Golf Course

Fingal, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6000m Par: 70
St Andrews Beach is nestled along the south-western coast of Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula, near the thundering surf of Gunnamatta Beach and the Bass Strait. This classic 18 hole links style members course debuted as the 9th best nationwide in 2006 before opening for public access play in 2009. Designed by world-renowned course architect, Tom Doak,...

Sun City Country Club

Yanchep, WA, Australia
Distance: 6275yd Par: 72
Sun City Country Club is located only 45-minutes north of Perth and is nestled between two unique local landmarks; the Yanchep National Park and Lagoon Foreshore. Open to the public, this picturesque 18-hole, walk, or cart course is full of mature trees and abundant wildlife, especially kangaroos and emus, and is one of WA's favorites....

The Grange Golf Club (West Course)

Grange, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Distance: 6341m
The Grange Golf Club (West Course) is perfectly situated along the coast of Adelaide, a half-hour drive from its CBD and even less from the international airport is the Grange Golf Club. Impressive is the fact its two courses are both revered top 40 Australian courses. In 1976, a then trainee Greg Norman earned his...

The Lakes Golf Club, Sydney

Eastlakes, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Distance: 6210m Par: 72
The Lakes Golf Club is one of Australia's premier golf course and is located in Eastlakes; just 10 minutes drive from the Sydney CBD. Although a private club, limited visitor access to the serene environment and outstandingly presented playing surfaces is available. The club was founded in 1928 when a group of local golfing purists...

The Metropolitan Golf Club

South Oakleigh, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6556yd Par: 72
The Metropolitan Golf Club is one of the renowned sandbelt courses of Melbourne and is widely recognized as one of the finest championship courses in Australia. This private members club is located in Oakleigh South, in the city's south-eastern suburbs, approximately a 20-minutes drive from the CBD. Designed by engineer member J B MacKenzie, the...

Yarra Bend Golf Club

Fairfield, VIC, Australia
Distance: 5409m Par: 70
Located at Yarra Bend Park, on the banks of Melbourne's major river and looking over the CBD, is Yarra Bend Golf Club. Just 4 kilometers from the CBD, this park has built a reputation as Melbourne's premier public course. This 18 hole, par 70 course has a mixture of par 3s, 4s, and 5s over...

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