Craters of the Moonah

The Mornington Peninsula is golfers' heaven.

Golfers' heaven is a straight drive south of Melbourne, on a peninsula which doglegs into Bass Strait.

The rolling countryside, stunted vegetation and stiff sea breeze are reminiscent of Scotland, the home of golf. There are few trees to bounce off or hills to slow your progress to the 19th. If you stray into the rough, you may not find heather - or your ball.

Here on the Mornington Peninsula are 18 clubs, and nearly 25 courses, within 15 minutes drive.

The peninsula forms the southern crescent of Port Phillip Bay and is within 90 minutes of the big city, so a daytrip is do-able.

But there are good reasons to stay longer. Coastal settlements such as Sorrento, Portsea and Rye boast good pubs and accommodation and there's a choice of ocean surf or sheltered bay beaches.

And the peninsula has more vineyards than golf courses, with decent shiraz, pinot and chardonnay on offer.

It would be rude to come this far and fail to give them all a try. Firms such as Golf Tourism Australia will put together affordable three and four-day group tours, combining accommodation, a few rounds of golf with motorised carts and visits to wineries.

Several of the courses have spectacular sea views, some have on-course accommodation with heated pool and spa facilities.

We spent an arduous night at Moonah Links, developed to host the Australian Open yet open to the hacker year-round. Moonah takes its name from a local tree but the Open course is more lunar in appearance: most holes are pockmarked with unforgiving deep bunkers. The genius responsible was FTBOW Peter Thomson - otherwise known as Five Times British Open Winner Peter Thomson. The preface seems unnecessary for New Zealanders, given the number of times (nine) that Thomson strolled off with our Open in the 1950s and 60s.

Thomson was apparently miffed that the game had become too easy for modern professionals who often use bunkers for positional advantage. He wanted to punish them.

Like many of its neighbours, Moonah has more than one course - its Legends course is slightly more accommodating for the average golfer - and with a day spa, restaurant and well-equipped villas, what happened on the course is soon forgotten.

Just an oversized drive away are courses with stunning coastal views such as the Robert Trent Jones jnr-designed Cape Schanck and Flinders Golf Club, which overlooks Western Port Bay.

There are purists' delights such as The Dunes - rated the best links course in Australia - the National Golf Club and Devilbend, set in a flora and fauna reserve. Not all are public courses, but several private clubs can be accessed through tour specialists.