Royal Melbourne Golf Club

Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb southeast of Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia.[1][2] The West course is ranked in the top-five courses in the world.[3][4] Founded 130 years ago in 1891, it is Australia's oldest extant and continually existing golf club.[5] Unlike many metropolitan golf venues, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club has a capacity for 15,000 spectators.[6]

The Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Club information
Location in Australia
Location in Victoria
Location in greater Melbourne
Coordinates37.97°S 145.03°E / -37.97; 145.03
LocationBlack Rock, Victoria, Australia
Established1891 (club), 130 years ago
1926 (West)
1931 (East)
TypePrivate
Total holes36
Tournaments hostedAustralian Open
The Presidents Cup
Women's Australian Open
Websiteroyalmelbourne.com.au
West Course
Designed byDr. Alister MacKenzie
Par72
Length6,077 m (6,646 yd)
East Course
Designed byAlex Russell
Par71
Length6,007 m (6,569 yd)

Royal Melbourne has hosted numerous national and international events. Its 16 Australian Opens are surpassed by only the 17 hosted by The Australian Golf Club. It hosted the 1959 Canada Cup (now Mission Hills World Cup), and the 1972 World Cup. Royal Melbourne hosted the Bicentennial Classic, a tournament to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary in 1988. It was selected by the PGA Tour to hold the Presidents Cup, for the first time outside the United States, in December 1998. The match was convincingly won by the International team, captained by Peter Thomson, an honorary member of Royal Melbourne. The course hosted the Presidents Cup again in November 2011, won by the United States and December 2019.[7] It was the site of the Women's Australian Open for the first time in February 2012, now an LPGA Tour event, and it returned three years later in 2015.

History

Founded in 1891 as the Melbourne Golf Club ("Royal" prefix given in 1895), the founding president was politician Sir James MacBain, and the founding captain was businessman John Munro Bruce (father of Australian prime minister Stanley Bruce). The principal founding members included P.K. (Patrick Kinney) McCaughan, a New Zealand pastoralist, parliamentarian, businessman and developer and proprietor of the Old Rialto Hotel building in Collins Street.

The club had to give up its original site at Caulfield, much nearer the city centre, because of increasing urbanization. A new links, the "West course", was started at Sandringham in 1898.[8] It planned a move to its present location in the mid-1920s. Royal Melbourne's two current courses are known as the "West" and "East" courses.[9] The West course was designed under the strict standards of famous course architect Alister MacKenzie.[10] He visited the eventual site, located on the renowned Melbourne Sandbelt, south of the city, in 1926. The actual building of the West course was overseen by the famed Australian golfer Alex Russell, as well as the head greenkeeper Mick Morcom; it was completed for play in 1931. The East course was designed by Russell, and was completed in 1932.[10][11]

Features

A combination comprising 18 holes from both the East and West courses that are limited to the main property ("paddock") is known as the "Composite" course. There have been 21 holes used in the history of the "Composite" course, from 1959 to 2011, depending on the event being held.

The East course is less known compared to its world-renowned sister course, but it has still been held in very high regard since its completion. The West course has several holes that are celebrated internationally, but they are not long compared to the current standards for championship par 4s and 5s. The course is strictly landlocked by existing boundaries, which is why these holes have not been greatly extended in recent decades. Significant restoration of the West course (and East course Composite holes), as well as minor lengthening, took place leading up to the 2011 Presidents Cup. As a secondary measure to lengthening, fairway grasses were changed to Legend Couch. This was in order to restrict the progress of the golf ball along the ground.

Tournaments hosted
  • 1896 Australian Amateur[12]
  • 1897 Australian Amateur[13]
  • 1898 Australian Amateur[14]
  • 1902 Australian Amateur[15]
  • 1905 Australian Open
  • 1905 Australian Amateur[16]
  • 1905 Australian PGA Championship[17]
  • 1907 Australian Open
  • 1907 Australian Amateur[18]
  • 1907 Australian PGA Championship[19]
  • 1909 Australian Open
  • 1909 Australian Amateur[20]
  • 1912 Australian Open
  • 1912 Australian Amateur[21]
  • 1913 Australian Open
  • 1913 Australian Amateur[22]
  • 1921 Australian Open
  • 1921 Australian Amateur[23]
  • 1924 Australian Open
  • 1924 Australian PGA Championship[24]
  • 1924 Australian Amateur[25]
  • 1927 Australian Open
  • 1927 Australian Amateur[26]
  • 1927 Australian PGA Championship[27]
  • 1933 Australian Open
  • 1933 Australian Amateur[28]
  • 1933 Australian PGA Championship[29]
  • 1939 Australian Open
  • 1939 Australian Amateur[30]
  • 1939 Australian PGA Championship[31]
  • 1947 Australian PGA Championship[32]
  • 1951 Australian Amateur[33]
  • 1953 Australian Open
  • 1953 Australian PGA Championship[34]
  • 1961 Australian Amateur[35][36]
  • 1963 Australian Open
  • 1965 Victorian Open[37]
  • 1965 Australian Amateur[38][39]
  • 1978 Australian PGA Championship[40]
  • 1979 Australian PGA Championship[41]
  • 1980 Australian PGA Championship[42]
  • 1981 Australian PGA Championship[43]
  • 1982 Australian PGA Championship[44]
  • 1983 Australian PGA Championship[45]
  • 1984 Australian Open
  • 1985 Australian Open
  • 1987 Australian Open
  • 1991 Australian Open
  • 2005 Australian Amateur[46]
  • 2012 Women's Australian Open
  • 2013 Australian Masters
  • 2015 Women's Australian Open

References
  1. "The Age Newspaper". Melbourne. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  2. "Golf Australia Magazine 2012".
  3. "US Golf Digest".
  4. "Planet Golf".
  5. "PGA". Archived from the original on 5 May 2012.
  6. http://bayfm.com.au/newsroom/sport/26607-lyle-ready-to-hit-royal-melbourne
  7. "Royal Melbourne named host for 2011". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 September 2007.
  8. "Golf Links at Sandringham". Brighton Southern Cross (8252). Victoria, Australia. 23 July 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 15 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. Royal Melbourne Golf Club
  10. Royal Melbourne Golf Club, History Of The Courses
  11. The World Atlas of Golf, second, revised edition, by Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, and Peter Thomson, London 1988, Mitchell Beazley publishers.
  12. "The Melbourne Tournament". The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. LXII (1891). New South Wales, Australia. 3 October 1896. p. 717. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Golf". The Age (13, 300). Victoria, Australia. 16 October 1897. p. 10. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "The Golf Championship". The Age (13610). Victoria, Australia. 15 October 1898. p. 14. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "Amateur Golf Championship". The Daily Telegraph (7294). New South Wales, Australia. 24 October 1902. p. 6. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "Australian Golf Championship". The Sydney Morning Herald (21, 106). New South Wales, Australia. 28 October 1905. p. 14. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "Australasian Golf tournament". The Sydney Morning Herald (21104). New South Wales, Australia. 26 October 1905. p. 8. Retrieved 25 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. "Golf". The Sydney Morning Herald (21, 746). New South Wales, Australia. 28 September 1907. p. 14. Retrieved 16 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "Inter-state golf". The Age (16397). Victoria, Australia. 1 October 1907. p. 8. Retrieved 17 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. "Golf". The Age (17006). Victoria, Australia. 15 September 1909. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. "Golf". The Age (17, 943). Victoria, Australia. 19 September 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 24 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. "Golf". The Advertiser (Adelaide). LVI (17, 125). South Australia. 4 September 1913. p. 18. Retrieved 24 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. "Golf Amateur Championship". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 120). New South Wales, Australia. 22 September 1921. p. 10. Retrieved 24 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. "Notes on Play". Sporting Globe (221). Victoria, Australia. 10 September 1924. p. 7. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. "National Amateur Championship". The Sydney Morning Herald (27, 049). New South Wales, Australia. 13 September 1924. p. 20. Retrieved 24 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. "Amateur Championship". The Sydney Morning Herald (27, 981). New South Wales, Australia. 9 September 1927. p. 15. Retrieved 24 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. "Golf Amateur Championship". The Referee (2114). New South Wales, Australia. 14 September 1927. p. 18. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. "Scot as champion". The Sydney Morning Herald (29, 860). New South Wales, Australia. 15 September 1933. p. 11. Retrieved 25 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. "Professional Golf". The Age (24471). Victoria, Australia. 16 September 1933. p. 16. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. "Golf double". The Sydney Morning Herald (31, 722). New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1939. p. 15. Retrieved 25 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  31. "Ferrier secures treble". The Age (26325). Victoria, Australia. 1 September 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. "Pickworth Beats Cremin in Pouring Rain". The Age (28904). Victoria, Australia. 15 December 1947. p. 14. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  33. "Heard play superbly to win title". The Sydney Morning Herald (35, 514). New South Wales, Australia. 18 October 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 25 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  34. "Pickworth's Two Big Wins in Three Weeks". The Age (30735). Victoria, Australia. 2 November 1953. p. 14. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  35. "Crow wins his girst golf championship". The Canberra Times. 36 (10, 078). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 November 1961. p. 36. Retrieved 26 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  36. "Amateur wins golf title". The Canberra Times. 36 (10, 074). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 November 1961. p. 32. Retrieved 26 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. "Sydney golfer wins Victorian Open". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 September 1965. p. 26. Retrieved 22 February 2020 – via Trove.
  38. "Title to Donohue". The Canberra Times. 40 (11, 331). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 December 1965. p. 14. Retrieved 26 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  39. "Hartley top qualfier in "National"". The Age. 1 December 1965. p. 20. Retrieved 25 November 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  40. "Irwin wins Australian PGA". The Canberra Times. 53 (15758). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 November 1978. p. 18. Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  41. "Ginn takes title by 3 strokes". The Canberra Times. 54 (16119). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 November 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  42. "Two-stroke victory to Torrance". The Canberra Times. 55 (16482). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 November 1980. p. 16. Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  43. Grant, Trevor (9 November 1981). "Seve sails to victory". The Age. p. 32.
  44. Grant, Trevor (8 November 1982). "Marsh on the list of greats". The Age. p. 32.
  45. "Shearer's PGA by two shots". The Canberra Times. 58 (17571). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 November 1983. p. 16. Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  46. "2005 Australian Men's Amateur Championship" (PDF). Australian Golf Union. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
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