Monash

Situated high on the hills above Narrabeen, to the north of Sydney, Monash Country Club was established just after World War II by members of a Jewish Social Golf Club who had regularly played events over a number of local courses since the early 1930s.

A property was found and purchased at Narabeen Heights, close to Elanora Country Club, with construction of the course taking place between 1948 and 1952. Although owned and operated by a Jewish holding company, membership would never be based on race, creed, colour or religion – instead, it was based solely on a person’s self-worth, character and good standing.

Named after Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, Australia's greatest military commander who fought in Belgium and France during the Great War, Monash suffered an early setback when a bush fire gutted the clubhouse in 1957 but a new building was in place within two years and the club has never looked back since.

In the new millennium, both Bob Harrison and James Wilcher have carried out renovation work on the course. Harrison replaced greens on holes 2, 3, 8 and 11 in 2014 then Wilcher reworked bunkers on the 16th and remodelled the home green in 2017. Plans are in place to reconfigure the 12th, 13th and 14th holes but approval for this work is outstanding.

The Australian PGA Championship has been staged twice at Monash: in 1964 when Colin Johnston defended his title (winning the inaugural stroke play edition of the tournament) then in 1984, when Greg Norman claimed the first of his back-to-back victories in this event.