They don't call it the 'golf coast' for nothing - there are more than 40 courses to choose from on the Gold Coast.
Some of the courses have been designed by the best - Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Peter Thomson and Wayne Grady among them - to challenge even the keenest of golfers. Others are more suited to those who simply want a pleasant round with a few friends.
You have the choice of hiring clubs and golf shoes, or throwing your own into the back of the car. State-of-the-art golf buggies are also available for hire, and on some courses, their use is compulsory.
The Gold Coast's public golf course is The Palms at Sanctuary Cove. It's challenging Par 70 course has attracted top players including Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, David Graham and Ian Baker-Finch and features century-old cabbage palms and extensive water hazards on 12 of its 18 holes.
Nearby, the Hope Island Golf Club has rolling fairways winding through the wetlands. Designed by British Open champion Peter Thomson and partner Mike Wolveridge in the style of the great courses of Scotland and England, the links-style course offers some real challenges.
Other courses favoured by golfers for their affordability are Paradise Springs, at Robina, Club Banora at Banora Point - just south of Coolangatta airport - and Gainsborough Greens, at Pimpana.
Gainsborough Greens has hosted three Queensland PGA titles, but is also the kind of course social players enjoy. It is about 25 minutes drive north of Surfers Paradise, and has a mix of grassy fairways and native bushland, with 22 water hazards.
Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club, set on the Tweed River, is also popular and renowned for its natural beauty. The West Course, established in 1926, is a wildlife sanctuary and is home to koalas and a host of birdlife. It has wide tree lined riverside fairways and some of the play is through rainforest.
Palm Meadows, at Carrara, is host to one of Australia's richest tournaments, the Palm Meadows Cup, and has attracted many top players but you don't need a handicap to play here. The course was designed by Australian golfer Graham Marsh to suit any standard of player. Well known for its 523 metre 18th hole, the course is also famous for the 'bamboo curtain' where Greg Norman lost his first teed-off ball in the 1989 Palm Meadows Cup.
At the top end of the market, the resort courses are more expensive but offer the chance to keep the non-golfing members of the family happy as well, with other diversions such as tennis, swimming, and spa treatments.
Royal Pines Resort at Ashmore - home of the Australian Ladies Masters - has made a $2 million investment in the latest cutting edge golfing technology with Australia's first full-colour Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system for its two championship golf courses. The resort has 145 GPS-equipped carts, which are designed to act as 'personal caddies' for golfers.
The system displays a full-colour graphic of the hole to check how far the ball has been hit, how far left to the flag and how far to hit the ball to avoid the bunker or water hazard. Golfers will also be able to receive tips on the way to approach each hole by Royal Pine Resort pro Wayne Grady. And if you get peckish, you can order a snack or a meal to be delivered to you from the Clubhouse. The GPS system can also be used to call for medical assistance or to contact golf-course staff.
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If you can, bring your own clubs, because if your playing on any of the bigger courses here, club hire can cost you a small fortune.
James, Gold Coast.
For players with their hearts set on playing on a busy course like Sanctuary Cove, try to book a place before you leave home. This saves disappointment if they are booked out once you get here.
Andrew, Gold Coast.
4WD
