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.