Canberra Public Golf Course

Canberra Public Golf Course is an eighteen-hole public course in the inner south of Canberra, on Jerrabomberra Avenue in the suburb of Narrabundah, Australian Capital Territory. Until October 2022 it was known as Capital Public Golf Course, and it still appears as Capital Golf Course on OpenStreetMap and in several golf directories. The operators give the address as 46 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah ACT 2604; a 2022 press report gives number 2 on the same avenue, and older listings place the club at the corner of Jerrabomberra Avenue and Hindmarsh Drive. All of them describe the same ground: a block of parkland and pines of about 30 hectares between the avenue, Hindmarsh Drive and the houses of Narrabundah.

It is the only public golf course on Canberra’s southside, according to a Region Canberra report of September 2022, and its current operators present it in exactly those terms: a course “where the locals play”, open to anyone, with no membership required to book a round. The course is short and compact, with a par of 67 on the current card, and it sits close to the centre of the city. In a straight line it is about 2.7 kilometres from Manuka, 2.9 kilometres from the Kingston Foreshore, 4.4 kilometres from Parliament House, 5.7 kilometres from the Canberra Airport terminal and about 7 kilometres from Civic.

One point needs to be cleared up at the start, because it causes confusion online. Directly across Jerrabomberra Avenue stands the Canberra International Golf Centre, with its driving range, pitch-and-putt course and mini golf. That centre is a separate business on separate land. For some years the two were run together, and the web address and telephone number still attached to the course on OpenStreetMap, canberragolf.com.au and 02 6232 7788, are in fact those of the golf centre: an archived version of that site from 2014 presents the centre as “the home of” the public course, and the address now forwards to the centre’s own site. The course today has its own operators, its own website and its own number, which we give below.

From “goat track” to public course

Golf has been played on this site for more than half a century, but the sources do not agree on exactly when it started. A Region Canberra report of 2022 says the public course was established in 1969. A Canberra Times article of 2014 says a public course was set up near Hindmarsh Drive in about 1972, and that golf had been played there “since the early 1970s”. We give both. The same 2014 article says the land was then owned by Sydney solicitors, that a group of golfers formed a club on it, and that the rough playing surface earned the nickname of the “goat track”. Region Canberra dates the formation of Capital Golf Club to 1978.

The ownership of the land has been contested for twenty years. According to Region Canberra, the Canberra property developer Sotiria Liangis tried to buy the course in 2003. Members of Capital Golf Club headed off that bid by persuading the Vikings Group to buy the course instead. The Canberra Times says membership stood at about 740 when Vikings took over, and that Vikings upgraded the course and re-seeded its fairways. Vikings later proposed housing and community facilities on part of the land, a plan that did not obtain the rezoning it needed; the Canberra Times reports that Vikings was told in 2010 that the ACT Government would not allow it. Citing ageing infrastructure, the cost of water and maintenance and falling revenue, Vikings sold the site to Mrs Liangis’s company in 2011. According to the 2014 article, portions at the western end of the original site were sold for apartments.

Leases, a wound-up club and a new name

Under the new owner, the course was leased to Peter Kohlsdorf, who ran the golf centre across the road. In September 2014, the Canberra Times reported, members of Capital Golf Club voted to wind up their club after disagreements with him over a new management system, with roughly 200 golfers left by then. The club’s modest assets were to go to junior golf through the regional golf associations. Golf carried on at the course under the centre’s management, as Capital Public Golf Course.

In early September 2022 the remaining members, about 175 of them, were given four weeks’ notice that the operator’s five-year lease would end on 30 September. Some members told Region Canberra they feared the course would be run down to clear the way for development. The site is zoned for restricted access recreation, and any housing would require a rezoning.

The course did not close. From 1 October 2022, according to Region Canberra, it has been run by Michael Waring and Jonno McPhillips of Complete Turf and Landscaping, the firm that had previously held the course’s maintenance contract. They renamed it Canberra Public Golf Course, and the same report quotes the owner as saying that the site “is a golf course and always will be a golf course”. Visit Canberra describes the venue today as a local course reimagined by five friends as a community hub, under the motto “Exclusively Inclusive”. The operators say on their website that they have signed up to the Women in Golf Charter, Golf Australia’s initiative to increase women’s participation in the game.

Region Canberra reported in October 2022 that membership had been scrapped and the course opened to the public. Directory listings published since then mention member competition days, ladies’ days and club championships, and the operators’ own online shop sells entries to a par 3 competition. We have not been able to establish whether a members’ club exists again today, or whether these are social competitions open to all.

The course in figures

The sources describe two versions of the course. The older one is a par of 69. That is the figure on OpenStreetMap, which maps all eighteen holes with their pars, in the GolfFinder directory, and on a scorecard published by an online scoring site under the old name. Lengths for that layout are given as 5,219 metres by GolfFinder and as 5,143 on the old scorecard. The hole lines drawn on OpenStreetMap, which we measured, add up to about 5,150 metres, which agrees with the second figure.

The current card, as published in the 18Birdies and Hole19 golf apps, is a par of 67: 33 on the front nine and 34 on the back, over 4,869 from the white tees and 4,627 from the red. Both apps label those lengths in yards. We think they are metres. Hole by hole, the card matches the lengths we measured on OpenStreetMap to within a few metres on most holes: 462 against 463 on the 1st, 379 against 377 on the 8th, 201 against 201 on the 18th.

The difference between par 69 and par 67 lies almost entirely in one hole. OpenStreetMap and the older card make the 4th a par 5 of about 455 metres. The current card makes it a par 3 of 130 metres. The rest of the layout is close to identical. We have found no announcement of the change, no explanation for it and no date, so we report it as a difference between sources rather than as a fact. Hole19 also states that the course is par 67 for men and 69 for women, which may reflect a different par on some holes for women rather than a different layout.

The 18Birdies app gives a course rating of 67.1 and a slope of 115 for men from the white tees, and 67.8 and 116 for women. From the red tees it gives 66.0 and 113 for men, and 66.5 and 114 for women. We have not been able to confirm those figures with Golf Australia, whose directory page blocked our requests, so we report them as one app’s figures. GolfFinder lists no slope at all. For handicap purposes, check the Golf Australia system.

The holes on the current card

On the current card there are two par 5s, the 1st and the 10th, each of 462 metres; seven par 3s, the 3rd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 14th and 18th; and nine par 4s. The 2nd at 355 metres, the 6th at 351, the 8th at 379 and the 13th at 370 are full-length two-shotters. The 12th at 259, the 16th at 279 and the 15th at 297 are short enough for a long hitter to think about the green, and the 5th and 17th sit between them at 320 each.

The par 3s run from 107 metres at the 3rd and 124 at the 11th, little more than a pitch, through a middle group of 130 to 156 metres at the 4th, 7th, 9th and 14th, to the 18th, a par 3 of 201 metres that closes the round.

The stroke index on the 18Birdies card puts the difficulty on the longer two-shot holes and on that last tee shot. The 2nd is index 1, the 18th is index 2, the 6th is index 3 and the 14th, a par 3 of 148 metres, is index 4. The short 3rd is rated the easiest hole on the course, followed by the 11th and the 9th.

The ground and the trees

The course occupies a block roughly 940 metres from east to west and 660 metres from north to south. Its outline on OpenStreetMap covers about 30.6 hectares, in line with the 30 hectares given in the 2022 press reports. Elevation data put the site at roughly 580 to 600 metres above sea level, with a fall of about 20 metres across the property, which squares with GolfFinder’s description of gentle hills and easy walking. OpenStreetMap shows a clubhouse and cart paths running through much of the layout.

Trees are the defining feature. Hole19 describes the fairways as tight and lined with pines, and the 2022 reports mention the many mature trees on the site. Sand is spread fairly widely: OpenStreetMap maps 29 bunkers, which GolfFinder calls a moderate number. Water comes into play too. OpenStreetMap shows several ponds, three of them mapped as hazards, and a long-standing member told Region Canberra in 2022 that the back nine carries a lake, a bore and a great deal of underground water. GolfFinder adds that the fairways are watered.

The setting is suburban rather than secluded. Houses, apartments and the busy Jerrabomberra Avenue and Hindmarsh Drive frame the course, and the 2022 reports mention complaints from neighbours about stray golf balls. Across the avenue, the golf centre is due to be relaunched as a Swing City venue in late 2026, according to the Canberra Times; that project does not concern the course.

What it asks of you

At under 4,900 metres for a par of 67, Canberra Public is not a test of length for a strong player. Its challenge comes from the trees and the mix of hole lengths.

Accuracy matters more than distance. On fairways lined with pines, a tee shot that strays too far is often blocked out, and on a site of this size, holes run side by side, so a wide drive can finish close to another fairway. Several of the short par 4s, the 12th, 15th and 16th in particular, are holes where a fairway wood, a hybrid or a long iron off the tee is a sensible choice. A long hitter may be tempted to attack them, but the trees reduce the reward for a drive that is not straight.

The four long par 4s, the 2nd, 6th, 8th and 13th, are where most club golfers will drop shots. All are between 350 and 380 metres, which means a mid or long iron into the green after a solid drive, and the card ranks three of them among the six hardest holes. The 2nd, index 1, comes early, so it pays to be warmed up before reaching it.

The two par 5s, both of 462 metres, are three-shot holes for most players and the best scoring chances on the card.

The par 3s give the round its shape. The 3rd and the 11th call for a wedge or a short iron; the 4th, 7th, 9th and 14th ask for a mid iron; and the 18th, at 201 metres, is a long iron, hybrid or wood for most golfers. Finishing with a long par 3 is unusual, and the card makes it the second hardest hole on the course.

Greens and conditions

The greens are the subject on which opinions differ most, and they have changed over time. In 2022, a long-standing member described the putting green to Region Canberra as one of the best in Canberra. Since then, golf app ratings and reviews have tended to describe the greens on the course as slow, and several reviews from 2025 and 2026 speak of soft or uneven putting surfaces. Conditions vary with the season and the weather.

What that means for your game

Keep the ball in play rather than trying to overpower the course. Use the club you hit straightest on the short par 4s, save the driver for the par 5s, and take a bogey without fuss when a drive finds the pines on a long par 4. Leave something in reserve for the 18th, where a long par 3 can undo a good round. And spend a few minutes on the putting green before you start, so that you have a feel for the pace on the day.

Around the course

Facilities are those of a modest public course. On their website the operators mention a pro shop selling golf clothing, new carts, pull buggies and hire clubs, and food from The Club House, with picnic tables looking over the fairways. Visit Canberra lists a bar, a café, a barbecue, public toilets and a shop, and says the venue caters for wheelchair users and for visitors with a range of disabilities. The operators say they have only a small fleet of carts, so it is worth reserving one ahead.

Some directories list a driving range among the course’s practice facilities. The range in question is the one at the golf centre across the road, which is a separate business. On the course itself, the sources mention a practice putting green; we have found no mention of a practice fairway.

What golfers say

Public comment on Canberra Public Golf Course is fairly plentiful in the form of star ratings on golf apps, but thin in written reviews. The points below summarise what recurs in the reviews and ratings we read on golf apps, travel sites and local media in October 2026. These are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course, and we name and quote no reviewer.

What comes up in its favour

• Value for money is the aspect that comes out best in the app ratings, ahead of every other category.
• The relaxed atmosphere and the staff are mentioned favourably, in line with the operators’ emphasis on a casual round with no membership attached.
• Its location close to the centre of Canberra, and its status as the only public course on the southside, make it easy to fit in a round.
• A review quoted in local media calls the layout well designed, and an earlier app review describes it as a decent public course.
• The trees and the parkland setting give the course a character that many suburban public courses lack.

What comes up against

• Course condition is the weakest category in the app ratings, well below value.
• The greens draw the most criticism in recent written reviews: slow, soft or uneven, with tufts of grass that knock putts off line.
• Some reviewers find that the fairways and the rough are hard to tell apart.
• One reviewer found the course harder than expected, and others mention birds making off with coloured golf balls.
• The facilities are basic, and those looking for a full clubhouse or a practice ground on site will not find them.

The members’ praise for the putting green in 2022 contrasts with what recent reviews say about the greens on the course; we report both.

Who it suits

Canberra Public suits golfers in the inner south who want a quick and inexpensive round without joining a club, beginners and improving players who are not yet ready for one of Canberra’s longer members’ courses, juniors, families and social groups. Golfers who care most about the quality of the greens, or who want a full-length championship test, should read recent reviews first or look at one of the city’s private clubs.

Getting there and booking

The course is on Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah, opposite the Canberra International Golf Centre. It is a short drive from Manuka and Kingston, and about 7 kilometres in a straight line from Civic, on the other side of Lake Burley Griffin. We have not confirmed any bus service that stops near the entrance and do not give one.

The operators run online booking for tee times and carts through the Easy Tee system, linked from their website, and they also mention bookings through the Birrdi app. They recommend booking on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The pro shop can be reached on 02 6232 6669, the number on the operators’ own site and on Visit Canberra; the number on OpenStreetMap belongs to the golf centre across the road. The operators also give an email address on their contact page.

Opening hours are not clear. Region Canberra reported in October 2022 that the course was open from 9 am to 8.30 pm seven days a week, including public holidays. The “find us” page of the operators’ website currently shows a template timetable and placeholder address that do not belong to the course, so we do not reproduce it. Check the hours with the pro shop before setting out, especially in winter, when daylight is short.

The course is open all year. Spring and autumn usually give the most comfortable conditions in Canberra. In winter, early tee times can be delayed by frost; in summer, the heat makes an early morning or a twilight round more pleasant.

How this page was put together

The starting point was the OpenStreetMap record for the course, way 22495295, which provided the name, the outline and area of the site, the pars and hole lines of the older layout, the bunkers, ponds and water hazards, and the coordinates from which we calculated straight-line distances. We first checked that the record, its coordinates and the course designated by its name were the same place. They are; but the web address and telephone number on the record belong to the Canberra International Golf Centre across the road, as an archived version of that site from 2014 shows, so we did not use them.

The operators’ website provided the current name, address, telephone number, booking system, facilities and their commitment to the Women in Golf Charter. Visit Canberra provided the description of the venue, its listed facilities and accessibility. The history comes from three press reports: the Canberra Times of 25 September 2014, and Region Canberra of 9 September and 22 October 2022. The Canberra Times of 22 September 2026 covered the golf centre opposite. The GolfFinder directory provided the par, length and character of the older layout. The current card, the ratings and slopes, and the stroke index come from the 18Birdies app; Hole19 provided the men’s and women’s pars and the description of the fairways.

Several sources disagree, and we have said so in the text. The course is dated to 1969 by one report and to about 1972 by another. The street number is given as 46 by the operators and as 2 in one press report. Par is 69 on OpenStreetMap, GolfFinder and an older card, and 67 on the current app card, the difference coming from the 4th hole. Lengths range from 4,869 to 5,219 metres depending on the source and the layout, and the current card labels in yards figures that match metres. A 2022 report says membership was abolished, while later listings mention member competitions. We found no designer, no confirmed rating from Golf Australia and no reliable current opening hours, so none is given.

The opinion section summarises public reviews and ratings on golf apps, directories and local media, read in October 2026. We report recurring themes rather than individual voices, we quote no reviewer and we give no ratings or review counts. Written reviews are few, and the picture they give is necessarily partial.

We have not played this course, and this page is no substitute for a round. The course has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say over its content. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.

Other courses nearby

Closest to this one in our Australian directory:

• Royal Canberra Golf Club — 7 km
• Antill Park Country Golf Club — 188 km
• Boomerang Public Golf Course — 204 km
• Bankstown Golf Club — 230 km