Ross Watson
"My first philosophy is to let the land dictate the flow of the golf course. There are a lot of clients who want a 7,000-metre par 72 golf course, but the scale of the land available might not allow for that. You can't go in with a pre-determined view of what the golf course will be if the land doesn't allow for it."
Ross Watson is acknowledged for his ability to take Mother Nature's often dramatic, or sometimes soulless, landscapes and recreate them as courses that will probe the talents of players at every level.
Ross started in golf design in 1979 and a few years later established a partnership with touring professional Graham Marsh with whom he worked on a number of high-quality Australian courses including The Vines, Horizons, Paradise Palms, and Terrey Hills. Since establishing his own firm in the 1990s, notable Ross Watson projects include Pacific Harbour, Magenta Shores, Yering Meadows, and Royal Sydney.
Golf Courses designed by Ross Watson
Avondale Golf Club
Pymble, NSW, Australia
Distance: 6133m Par: 71
Strategic, tranquil, and historical, the Avondale Golf Club has hidden away amongst the North Shore suburbs. Despite Pymble and its nearby suburbs being amongst the most densely populated in Sydney, there's an unspoiled atmosphere to this recently resurgent club. Finding itself as a top 100 Oceanian course and in the top 15 of New South...
Caloundra Golf Club
Caloundra, QLD, Australia
Distance: 5987m Par: 71
Caloundra Golf Club is set within a tranquil and peaceful environment and is situated just 5 minutes from the city center and beautiful beaches of Caloundra at the southern tip of the Sunshine Coast. Established in 1951 as a 9-hole course, the 18-hole walk or cart layout was opened in 1966 and given championship status...
Concord Golf Club
Concord, NSW, Australia
Distance: 6051m Par: 71
Centrally located in the Inner West of Sydney, Concord Golf Club is close to Sydney Olympic Park and a convenient drive from the city center. This private club was developed over its history by course architects Dan Soutar (1920), Ross Watson (1997), and Mark Parker (2009.) The course was re-designed by Tom Doak in 2018...
Horizons Golf Resort
Salamander Bay, Port Stephens, NSW, Australia
Distance: 6187m Par: 72
Horizons Golf Resort was built in 1992 and has since become hugely popular for both local and holidaying golfers. Located in Salamander Bay, in the beautiful Port Stephens and the Greater Hunter area, Horizons is just a 10-minute drive from picturesque Nelson Bay, a 40-minute drive from Newcastle, plus just a few kilometers from abundant...
Indooroopilly Golf Club
Indooroopilly, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6332m Par: 72
Just ten-minutes from the heart of Brisbane and set in a tranquil parkland setting bordering the Brisbane River, Indooroopilly Golf Club delivers a premium, yet traditional golfing experience, with 36-holes of championship golf to challenge and excite, plus clubhouse facilities to match. Members and their guests can enjoy six different 18-hole walk or cart course...
Kooindah Waters Golf Club
Wyong, NSW, Australia
Distance: 6083m Par: 72
Kooindah Waters Golf Club is located on the beautiful New South Wales Central Coast, Kooindah Waters is an immaculate, 18 hole championship golf course, that is ranked amongst the best courses in Australia. Completed in 2006 Kooindah Waters Golf Course was designed by Ross Watson and champion Australian golfer Craig Parry. Built on natural wetlands...
Laidley Golf Club
Laidley, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6076m Par: 72
The 12-hole Laidley Golf Course was opened at its present site, a former dairy farm in Laidley Heights, Queensland, on the 5th of April 1951 by the golf enthusiasts of Laidley who were dissatisfied with the existing links on the local recreation reserve. The new elevated location overlooks the town of Laidley and is bordered...
Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club
Magenta, NSW, Australia
Distance: 6322m Par: 72
Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club have located just a 90-minutes drive from Sydney. This par 72 layout is the only private golf course located on the Central Coast of New South Wales Constructed in un-spoilt surroundings on a pristine peninsular between Tuggerah Lake and the Pacific Ocean, Magenta Shores is visually exciting and spectacular....
Melville Glades Golf Course
Leeming, Perth, WA, Australia
Distance: 6,017m Par: 72
One of Perth, Western Australia, most esteemed Golf Clubs and located only 20-minutes from the Perth CBD, Melville Glades Golf Club is a private, 18 hole parkland golf course nestled within the tranquil surrounds of the local Leeming area. The course has been in place since 1969 when first designed by Al Howard, a highly...
Pacific Harbour Golf and Country Club
Banksia Beach, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6339m Par: 72
Located on Bribie Island, off the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Pacific Harbour Golf and Country Club opened on April 1st, 2006 to impressive reviews. The Ross Watson designed island links course quickly became a 'must play' course of South East Queensland and is currently ranked number seven in Queensland and number 51 in Australia for...
Palmer Gold Coast and Robina Woods Golf Club
Robina, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6078m Par: 71
The Palmer Gold Coast and Robina Woods Golf Club is just minutes from the bustling heart of Queensland's Gold Coast Carved out of 65 hectares of native woodlands and lined by towering gum trees this unique layout is unlike any resort course on the Gold Coast. Palmer Gold Coast and Robina Woods Golf Club have rapidly...
Paradise Palms Golf Course and Resort
Kewarra Beach, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6331m Par: 71
This golfing Eden is situated at Kewarra Beach. Once merely acres of sugar cane fields, it's just a 20-minutes drive from the center of Cairns. Presented beautifully with lush vegetation alongside well-manicured rolling fairways this par 71 championship layout is punctuated by man-made lakes. Paradise Palms Golf Course and Resort makes creative use of its 94-bunkers...
Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club, The Palms Course
Sanctuary Cove, QLD, Australia
Distance: 5904m Par: 70
Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club, The Palms Course is located at Surfers Paradise on Queensland's sunny Gold Coast, Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club boasts two 18 hole courses and amazing facilities set in a tropical playground. Nestled within century old Cabbage Palms, the course is a par 70, 5,904-metre return to the traditions...
Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club, The Pines Course
Sanctuary Cove, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6681m Par: 72
The Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club, The Pines Course is located at Surfers Paradise on Queensland's sunny Gold Coast, Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club boasts two 18 hole courses and amazing facilities set in a tropical playground. As Australia's only Arnold Palmer signature course, The Pines layout at Sanctuary Cove is recognized as...
Southport Golf Club
Southport, NSW, Australia
Distance: 5816m Par: 71
Southport Golf Club, one of the longest established members-only clubs in Queensland, is nestled right in the heart of the Gold Coast. Located in spectacular Southport and only minutes from Surfers Paradise, the club's 18-hole links-style course is a jewel in the crown of Queensland golf.  Southport Golf Club has been designed to accommodate all levels...
The Brisbane Golf Club
Yeerongpilly, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6105m Par: 72
The 18-hole championship golf course at Brisbane Golf Club in the Brisbane suburb of Yeerongpilly is regarded as one of the country's most improved golf courses and is ranked in the top 100 golf courses in Australia according to both Golf Australia and Australian Golf Digest magazines. The Brisbane Golf Club is a private club...
The Vines Resort and Country Club, Ellenbrook Course
The Vines, Perth, WA, Australia
Distance: 6561m Par: 72
The The Vines Resort and Country Club, Ellenbrook Course is situated approximately 35-minutes from the Perth CBD in the tranquil Swan Valley. Nestled amongst award-winning wineries, restaurants, and galleries it is continually rated as one of Australia's best golf resorts. Weaving through native bushland, the course has abundant wildlife including a large number of resident...
The Vines Resort and Country Club, Lakes Course
The Vines, Perth, WA, Australia
Distance: 6494m Par: 72
The Vines Resort & Country Club is situated approximately 35-minutes from the Perth CBD in the tranquil Swan Valley. Nestled amongst award-winning wineries, restaurants, and galleries it is continually rated as one of Australia's best golf resorts. Weaving through native bushland, the course has abundant wildlife including a large number of resident kangaroos. Designed by...
Windaroo Lakes Golf Club
Windaroo, QLD, Australia
Distance: 6264m Par: 72
Windaroo Lakes Golf Club is an 18-hole championship golf course ideally situated halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and easily accessible from the M1 Motorway. Open to the public and playable either walk or cart this excellent parkland layout provides a memorable experience for all that play. Nestled along the picturesque Albert River this...
Wollongong Golf Club
Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Distance: 5696m Par: 70
Between the magnificent Illawarra Escarpment and the beautiful Pacific Ocean lies Wollongong, less than an hour's drive south of Sydney. The city lies at the northern gateway to the beautiful south coast of New South Wales and is home to the publicly accessible Wollongong Golf Course. Along with the oldest course in the Illawarra, the...
Yering Meadows Golf Club
Yering, VIC, Australia
Distance: 6376m Par: 72
Melbourne's former Croydon Golf Club, established in 1925, became the first of now several established clubs to dip its toes in the waters of relocation when the suburban club moved to a new site in the Yarra Valley. The club swapped 80-years of history at its original site to begin again, 20-kilometers away at Yering,...
