Royal Park Golf Club 1931

Est. 1903

Situated in picturesque Royal Park, the course is both attractive and challenging, only 3 kms from the city, with the honour of being possibly the only golf course with a tram and train line running through it. The Club has been the nursery for many golfers who went on to make a mark in the golfing world, including Peter Thomson (club champion at the age of 16, in 1945) who won the British Open 5 times, Gus Jackson and Mick Ryan. Peter and Mick were both included in the VGA's Victorian Team of the Century in 2002.

Club Patron ~ Peter Thomson

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History of the Royal Park Golf Club
1931 - 1940

Club house and members, 1931
Photograph from Golfers' Guide and Handbook, March 1931.
Reproduced with permission from the La Trobe Collection, State Library of Victoria.

W. Reddrop's Hole-In-One trophies.
Click on image to see a larger picture.

Trophies donated to the Club by Wendy Young in March 2005.

"The Committee decided that the rules covering conduct of competitions needed revising and a stricter method of entry was needed. It was resolved that entrants must write their names in the book provided. Unless this was done a player couldn't be recognised as a competitor. The first to be disqualified for non-compliance with this rule was the Secretary, who had been one of its strongest supporters."*

In 1932 the Royal Park Trustees once again denied the Club permission to play on Sundays.

"Due to concerns at the possibility that the club could be denied entry to pennant golf on the grounds that a 9-hole course was unsuitable for such matches, an agreement was made with the Eastern Club at Doncaster that allowed the Royal Park home matches to be played there."*

*Excerpt from The History of the Royal Park Golf Club by L.A. Hoy, 1950.

By 1934 control of Royal Park changed from the Royal Park Trustees to the Melbourne City Council. Improvements for the Club were immediate, with permission given for the addition of bunkers and mounds to the course, and the mowing of fairways.

In 1935, and without official permission, Club members commenced playing golf on Sundays.

By 1937 the standard scratch score for the course was 70, with the length recorded (over 18 holes) at 5290 yards. The course record was 69, held by L. Hoy and G. Izzard.

In February of that year, W. Reddrop, on a 14 handicap, holed both the 125 yard 7th and 260 yard 9th in one while playing in a three ball competition.

In 1939 the Club fees were raised to:

Members-Entrance to £5/5/-, Subscription to £3/3/-
Associates-Entrance to £3/3/-, Subscription to £1/11/6

No pennant was played until 1946, due to the Second World War.