Best Golf Courses for Kids in Regional Victoria: Ballarat & Bendigo

Two of Victoria's oldest regional clubs, each running a real junior program, for families outside metropolitan Melbourne.

Families outside metropolitan Melbourne don't have the same density of course choice, but Victoria's two largest regional centres each have a genuine, long-established club running junior golf.

Ballarat Golf Club — Alfredton

Ballarat Golf Club is the oldest continually played golf course in Australia, dating to 1895, redesigned by Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett with sand-belt-style bunkering from the Vern Morcom era.

It's ranked among Golf Australia's Top 100 Public Access courses. Runs a Junior Development Program using the U.S. Kids Golf player-pathway curriculum, covering putting, around-the-green play, full swing, rules knowledge and scoring, delivered by PGA professionals. Green fees are $30 weekday, $40 weekend; junior program pricing wasn't published, so confirm directly with the club.

Bendigo Golf Club — Epsom

Bendigo Golf Club is an 18-hole, par-72 parkland course established in 1901, the oldest golf club in the district and the only championship-length course in the area.

Offers a junior membership category (under-18, including Golf Australia affiliation) with coaching supported by launch-monitor and video swing analysis. Junior fees weren't published on the club's site; some online green-fee listings look unusually low and out of date, so confirm current pricing by phone before planning a visit.

Which has the stronger junior curriculum?

Ballarat's Junior Development Program follows the structured U.S. Kids Golf pathway across five skill areas, giving it a clearer, more documented curriculum than Bendigo's general junior membership.