Golf and wine: Barossa and Margaret River weekends

Golf and wine make an obvious weekend, and Australia has two regions that do it better than anywhere: the Barossa Valley in South Australia and Margaret River in Western Australia. Both combine playable courses with the country’s best cellar doors, and both work as a two or three-day trip rather than a week.

Barossa Valley, South Australia

An hour north-east of Adelaide, the Barossa is compact: the courses, the cellar doors and the accommodation sit within a short drive of each other, which is the whole point of the region for a weekend.

The golf is inland Australian parkland and it plays firm through the warmer months, with the ball running on landing. The wine is Shiraz country, which means the afternoons need planning rather than improvisation.

Margaret River, Western Australia

Three hours south of Perth, Margaret River combines coastal scenery, surf beaches and one of the best wine regions in the country. The golf is spread along the coast, and the distances between courses are longer than in the Barossa, so a two-course weekend is realistic and a four-course weekend is not.

The coastal weather is the variable: mornings are frequently still and afternoons breezy, which argues for early tee times and cellar doors after lunch.

The rule that makes these weekends work

Golf in the morning, wine in the afternoon, never the other way around. This is not a moral position, it is a scoring one: an afternoon round after three cellar doors is a wasted green fee, and a tasting after eighteen holes in the heat is a waste of good wine.

One round a day, two nights, two or three cellar doors in total. Trying to fit five of each into a weekend produces a poor version of both.

Getting around, and the obvious problem

Both regions require a car, and both regions involve alcohol. Plan the driving before the trip: a designated driver, a hired driver for the tasting afternoons, or accommodation within walking distance of two or three cellar doors.

Several operators in each region run tasting tours precisely because of this, and using one for the wine half of the day is cheaper than the alternative.

What to book first

Accommodation, then tee times, then cellar doors. In both regions the good accommodation is limited and books out on weekends well ahead, while the golf can usually be arranged closer to the date.

Ask the course whether visitors are accepted on the weekend day you want, since some of the regional clubs keep Saturday mornings for members.

What to pack

• Golf clothes that survive a cellar door: most tasting rooms are relaxed, but golf shoes stay in the car.
• A cooler bag for anything you buy, because a boot in the Australian sun is not a wine cellar.
• Sunscreen and water for the golf, since both regions get hot from November onward.

Green fees, tasting fees and accommodation vary by season, and both regions have peak weekends tied to local events. Confirm dates and rates when you book.