Situated approximately three and a half hours from Sydney in the secluded high country of the New South Wales Upper Hunter Valley is the private Ellerston Golf Club. Built on the private estate of prominent Australian businessman and media magnate, the late Kerry Packer, this 18-hole golf course is consistently ranked amongst the best in the world and is arguably the most exclusive in Australia.
Ellerston, which largely remains the private preserve of the Packer family, is fairly unknown to golfers even within Australia as very few have had the opportunity to play it. Known to be particularly hard and testing the course is always immaculately presented and features a dramatic landscape that presents constant elevation changes making club selection critical. The open terrain also means that golfers must contend with the strong winds that regularly assail the exposed Ellerston layout.
Opened in 2001 the course was designed by Bob Harrison and built by the firm of Greg Norman Golf Course Design. Norman had this to say about the brief given to him by Packer for the project - "Create the best golf course possible with as few tees as possible, in other words, build a golf course that penalizes poor shots, makes the golfer think and play hard. He got all that plus more."
Ellerston Golf Club is a fully licensed premise and the 67,000-acre property, the primary purpose of which is sheep and cattle, is also a renowned polo venue. In addition to the championship golf course, Ellerston is also a well-renowned polo venue and there are at least five polo fields and large stables for the many animals bred and housed at the facility.
*Mandatory Fields