Royal Perth Golf Club

Royal Perth began in 1895 on Burswood Island, moved to Wattle Grove Farm at Belmont in 1900 and settled on its present site in South Perth in 1908. It is the oldest golf club in metropolitan Western Australia and received its royal title in 1937.

The course sits on a reserve leased from the City of South Perth, which is worth knowing: this is a private club playing on public land, an arrangement that has shaped its history and its relationship with the city ever since.

What it asks of you

Just over 6,000 metres, which by modern championship standards is short, and the club says so itself. The interest is elsewhere.

The fairways are narrow, the greens are small and firm, and there are close to eighty bunkers on a compact site beside the Swan River. That combination, an old-style course with elusive targets, is what challenges good players despite the yardage. The sea breeze that sweeps up the river in the afternoon is the variable that turns a comfortable round into an awkward one.

Kikuyu fairways, mature trees and a site hemmed in by the city give the course the character of an urban club course that has been looked after rather than modernised.

What players say about it

This is a fully private members’ club, so the public record comes from guests and from listings. The notes below summarise recurring themes across those public sources. They are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course, and we do not name or quote individual reviewers.

What comes up in its favour

• Conditioning is praised without much qualification, and reviewers describe the course as immaculate all year rather than seasonally.
• The greens are called firm and fast, and their small size is treated as the course’s real defence.
• The welcome from staff and members is mentioned by most visitors who wrote about a round here.
• The setting beside the Swan River, minutes from the city, is a genuine attraction.

What comes up against

• Length is the obvious limitation, and stronger players find it more enjoyable than testing without wind.
• The fairways are narrow and the bunker count high, which frustrates higher handicappers.
• Access is closed. It is a members’ club with no visitor tee sheet.
• The review record is thin, and any summary of it, including this one, rests on a small number of accounts.

Getting there and when to go

The course is in South Perth, five minutes from the city centre across the Narrows and around twenty from the airport, which makes it the most central course of its standing in the country.

The course plays all year. Spring and autumn give the most reliable weather; Perth summers are hot and the afternoon sea breeze is strongest then. Guest play is arranged through a member.

Green fees

Guest conditions and rates are set by the club. See the club’s own site.

How this page was made

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap for the location, Wikipedia and published coverage for the club’s history and the lease arrangement, and the club’s own site for access. The opinion section summarises public reviews and guest accounts read in September 2026; we report recurring themes rather than individual voices, and we do not reproduce or attribute quotes.

We have not played this course, and nothing here is a substitute for that. The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say in what it says. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.