13th Beach is a 36-hole development that stretches for two miles along Barwon Heads’ famous surfing beach. Designed by Tony Cashmore, and opened in 2001, it is built on a former asparagus farm and features two diverse and spectacular courses.
The older of the two, the Beach Course, starts by taking golfers in a loop away from the shore and through low-lying farming pastures, before turning seaward at the 5th and heading deep into the rugged sandhills for most of the remaining holes. The 5th tee is the beginning of what 13th Beach has become famous for – glorious links terrain. Rolling through a series of dramatic and natural golf holes that look and feel like they were there long before a golf development was planned, it is here that ongoing business is procured, seen to by the dunes, and a convincing series of holes within the substantial valley terrain thick of coastal vegetation.
These sublime short holes are simply magnificent, all are encased by jumbled sand areas and provide a thorough examination of your iron play. The 16th can prove to be the most problematic, despite measuring a mere 90 metres. So exposed is the minute target to gusty breezes, that as you are buffeted on the tee, your mind can convince you how futile it can be to try to strike the green in regulation. With continued variation in length and direction, the long 7th and the medium length 12th that features a green squashed into an amphitheatre sand dune hollow, are certainly memorable. The Par 5 11th plays along a precarious ridge, soon after a classic short 4 awaits at No 13 and the angled 17th is unforgiving if wayward.
Some courses that are links in nature and exposed to frequently harsh coastal winds are designed without sufficient width in the landing areas and feature greens far too small and undulating. Tony Cashmore succeeded in avoiding these penal pitfalls and created a highly regarded and fair test at 13th Beach.
Perhaps these features were the catalyst for a collaboration between several major golfing bodies. 13th Beach has played host to The Victorian Open since 2013, which in more recent years has become a revolutionary tournament that combines European Tour Men and LPGA women on the same course, at the same time, for the same prize money.