Isle of Coochie Golf Club

Coochiemudlo Island sits in Moreton Bay, about 5 minutes by ferry from Victoria Point on Brisbane's southeastern fringe — a small, quiet island of perhaps 600 permanent residents, known locally as "Coochie." It has no cars to speak of, which gives it a distinctly unhurried character that sets the tone for golf here before you've even teed off.

The Isle of Coochie Golf Club is a short, informal layout in the tradition of the beloved bush courses that dot regional Queensland — the kind of place where the game is played for the sheer pleasure of it rather than for any competitive prestige. Fairways wind through native vegetation typical of Moreton Bay's island fringe: melaleuca, banksias, and low scrub that frames the holes and brings the local birdlife close. Conditions and maintenance reflect a volunteer-run community club rather than a manicured resort.

What it offers is something increasingly rare: golf stripped back to its social essentials, on an island most Australians haven't visited. Making the ferry crossing is half the experience.