Opened for play in the Yarra Valley in 1928, the course at Heidelberg Golf Club now features fairways that were converted to Santa Ana couch in 2010. Along with bent grass greens, these playing surfaces are as good as it gets.
Overall rating
Opened for play in the Yarra Valley in 1928, the course at Heidelberg Golf Club now features fairways that were converted to Santa Ana couch in 2010. Along with bent grass greens, these playing surfaces are as good as it gets.
Heidelberg
Prime Minister Stanley Bruce opened the new course at Heidelberg Golf Links on Saturday, 23rd June 1928. He drove the opening ball off the first tee than he and his wife Ethel played several holes. This important event for the Lower Plenty district attracted over 600 people and provided many photo opportunities for the Melbourne press.
The Heidelberg Golf Club was founded after 37 members of the Yarra Yarra Golf Club at Rosanna opposed moving the club to the sand belt at Oakleigh. They wanted to provide a club for the suburbs north of the Yarra River and ten of them raised sufficient funds to buy land in Lower Plenty to form the club in 1927.
Today, the course measures just over 6,100 metres from the back tees, with par set at 72. Holes are arranged as two returning nines and water comes into play a couple of times – at the par five 14th and par three 17th – on the back nine.
Highlight holes include the short par four 5th (with three bunkers positioned in front of a raised green); the shortest of the par threes at the 6th (featuring an unusual L-shaped 3-tiered green); the right doglegging par five 11th (with an elevated green that slopes from back to front); and the uphill par four 18th which plays to a well-bunkered home green.