Best Golf Courses for Kids in Melbourne's North

Northcote, Yarra Bend and Yarrambat compared — three public courses across Melbourne's north with junior academies linked to Golf Australia's MyGolf Rippers program.

From inner-north Thornbury out to Yarrambat, Melbourne's north has a genuine run of public courses with structured junior coaching — several linked directly to Golf Australia's junior programs.

Northcote Public Golf Course — Thornbury

Northcote Public Golf Course is a 9-hole public course 8km north of Melbourne's CBD, one of two public courses run by the City of Darebin, with a putting green, golf shop and café/BBQ area.

Junior programs run in small group sessions for ages 6-15, delivered by a Community Coach and a PGA Professional, explicitly focused on fun and age-appropriate skill development rather than formal drilling.

Yarra Bend Golf — Fairfield

Yarra Bend Golf is a public 18-hole course and covered driving range set inside Yarra Bend National Park, just 4km from the CBD, with two adventure/mini-golf courses alongside the main layout.

Junior Centre Performance programs run on-site for primary-school-aged children, delivered by BannLynch Golf, one of Australia's larger golf coaching operations, focused on athletic development alongside golf skills.

Yarrambat Park Golf Course — Yarrambat

Yarrambat Park Golf Course runs a junior golf academy delivered in partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Rippers program, open to boys and girls aged 6 to 17.

Classes are structured around each school term, with 8 one-hour sessions per term across all four terms of the year — contact the course directly for current pricing.

Which is closest to central Melbourne?

Yarra Bend is the closest to the CBD at just 4km, followed by Northcote at around 8km. Yarrambat is further out in Melbourne's outer-north growth corridor.

At a glance

The 3 venues covered in this guide, side by side. "Junior program on file" means our directory holds specific evidence of a junior program, clinic or membership pathway at that club - not simply that children are permitted to play.

How to read this

Public access is the column most worth checking first. "Public" means anyone can book a tee time. "Limited / conditional" means visitor access exists but comes with conditions - a member introduction, restricted days, or a booking window. "Private members' club" means casual visitor play generally is not available, and a junior would usually need a member connection or a place in a club program.

Course length matters more than parents expect for a first outing. 1 of the 3 venues here are a shorter format - a par-3, short course, pitch and putt, practice facility or 9-hole layout - which usually means a faster round, less walking and less pressure from groups behind. For a child who has never played a full round, that is normally the better starting point than a championship-length course.

Before you book

3 of these 3 venues have a junior program, clinic or junior membership pathway recorded in our directory: Northcote Public Golf Course, Yarra Bend Golf, Yarrambat Park Golf Course. Those are the ones most likely to have coaching, junior competition or a structured pathway rather than only green-fee access.

All the venues listed here are recorded as public access, so a parent can normally book without a member connection. Tee-time availability still varies, especially on weekend mornings.

Two questions are worth asking on the phone that club websites rarely answer clearly: whether juniors pay a discounted green fee when playing with a paying adult, and whether the club hires out junior clubs. Both make a first visit considerably cheaper, and both are common even at clubs that don't advertise them.