The Cottesloe Golf Club was formed in 1908, moving to its present site near the beach at Swanbourne to the north of Perth in 1931. This is a nice club with a big reputation in Perth, chiefly because it has produced a number of champion golfers, including current course architect Graham Marsh. It also occupies attractive rolling ground north of the city, with some beautiful views and really fun golf undulations. The course is also consistently maintained to a very high standard. The lush Kikuyu fairways, pure Bentgrass greens and flowing, powdery bunkers at Cottesloe make a big visual statement from most of the tees.

There are certainly a few solid holes here, such as the short 5^th, the par five 14^th and the excellent short par four 16^th, but mostly Cottesloe is a layout that flatters to deceive. Problems include the positioning of many of the eye-candy bunkers and the number of dogleg holes that bend against the natural shape of the land. While none of the golf is poor, at the end of the day there just aren’t enough great holes here for the course to stand alongside the premier private clubs in the West. On a property with so much natural movement, and great grass, the fact the course doesn't quite deliver what it promises is ultimately its biggest weakness.