Tocumwal (Captains)

Tocumwal Golf & Bowls Club is located on the north side of the Murray River, on the flatlands of the Riverina, on a property acquired from the Royal Australian Air Force in the 1950s. It was a small part of a huge 60 square kilometre area used by the US Army Air Corps during World War II as a base for its Liberator B-24 Bombers.

The sand scrapes on the original 9-hole layout were converted to grass greens in 1970 then another nine was added shortly after to form what is now called the Presidents course. Former Australian Amateur champion Kevin Hartley (who represented his country four times in the Eisenhower Trophy) then fashioned the Captains course in the early 1990s.

Highlight holes include both the par threes on the front nine (at the 2nd and 8th), played adjacent to each other in opposite directions in the northeast corner of the course. Then there are the closing three holes, where the short par three 17th is sandwiched between a couple of par fours that are rated stroke index 3 and 1 on the card – now that’s a tough finish.

In the early 2020s, Ben Chambers of Centreline Golf Design produced a Master Plan for all thirty-six holes at the club.