The Australian Golf Club

Infobox_Golf_Facility
golf_facility_name = The Australian Golf Club


location = Sydney, Australia
coordinates = coord|-33.918159|151.212131
establishment = 1882
type = Private
owner =
operator =
holes = 18
tournaments =
website = [http://www.australiangolfclub.com www.australiangolfclub.com]
course1 =
designer1 = Clark, Hutchison & Martin (1903) / Jack Nicklaus (1976)
par1 = 72
length1 = 6610m
rating1 = 76
record1 = 64 (flagicon|AUS Greg Norman, flagicon|AUS Steve Elkington, flagicon|AUS Craig Parry)

The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 17 Australian Opens, the most recent being from the 13–16 December 2007, which was won by Craig Parry. The course has been rated the 9th best in the country.cite web|url=http://www.golftravel.com.au/armchair/courseView.aspx?course_id=45 |title=The Australian Golf Club at GolfTravel.com.au |publisher=GolfTravel.com.au |accessdate=2007-11-25]

Course

Early history

The Australian Golf Club was founded in 1882, which makes it the oldest golf club in Australia after Royal Melbourne Golf Club (founded 1893). However, The Australian did not have a golf course between the years of 1888 and 1895, which has led to debate as to which golf club is the oldest.

The club's first golf course was situated in Moore Park, a suburb of Sydney, but due to a new road the course had to be abandoned six years later in 1888. In 1895 a second, eleven-hole course was built in Waverley, which was used until 1898, when the club's lease expired. The course then moved to Botany, Sydney. It was this course that hosted the 1901 Australian Amateur Championship, and the first Australian Open in 1904.

Present day course

The present day location of the course was inspected in 1903, while a year later plans were put forward for the new course by Carnegie Clark, Jock Hutchison and Gilbert Martin. In 1926 Alister MacKenzie, designer of courses such as Royal Melbourne Golf Club and Augusta National Golf Club, [cite web|url=http://www.alistermackenzie.co.uk/history.php |title=History of Alister MacKenzie |publisher=The Alister MacKenzie Society of Great Britain and Ireland |accessdate=2007-11-27] was asked to update holes on the course. Due to the popularity of the course, members approved a new layout in 1949 which supplied the club with two starting holes. In 1967 the proposal of a new road threatened the land on which the course was laid out on. As a result, a redesign by Sloane Morpeth was needed, which was completed in 1973. Between 1977 and 1980 Jack Nicklaus made significant alterations to the course, which included adding length and water hazards, which transformed the course into what it is today.

Course scorecard

Source [cite web|url=http://www.australiangolfclub.com/guests/golf/tour.mhtml |title=Course Tour |publisher=AustralianGolfClub.com |accessdate=2007-11-25]

Tournaments

The Australian Golf Club has held 17 Australian Opens, [This number is supported on [http://www.australiangolfclub.com/guests/club/history.mhtml The Australian Golf Club's] homepage, but on the [http://mensausopen.golfaustralia.org.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=66845 Golf Australia website] it says the club has held 15.] with the most recent being from the 13–16 December 2007, which was won by Craig Parry with a score of 11 under par. [cite news|url=http://mensausopen.golfaustralia.org.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=66845 |title=MFS Australian Open makes NSW home for the next three years |date=2007-10-02] The various winners of Australian Opens at The Australian are as follows:The Australian has also hosted 12 Australian Amateur Championships – the first in 1901, and the most recent in 1999.

References

*cite web|url=http://www.australiangolfclub.com/guests/club/history.mhtml |title=Australian Golf Club History |accessdate=2007-11-27 |publisher=AustralianGolfClub.com

External links

* [http://www.australiangolfclub.com Official website]