Metropolitan Golf Course

The Metropolitan Golf Club in South Oakleigh, Victoria is considered to be one of Australia's finest 'sandbelt' championship courses.

History of the course:

The Metropolitan Golf Club had its origin at Malvern since 1901.While its members at the Caulfield Golf Club purchased a farmland in Oakleigh and moved into the new course, play originated here as the Metropolitan Golf Club in 1908.

The Metropolitan was initially designed by J B MacKenzie in 1906 and underwent many modifications over the years; it was re-designed by American architect Dick Wilson in 1959 and stands as its present course. With only a few changes made last summer by golf designer Michael Clayton, the newly modified holes of the Metropolitan Course are currently being played on.

The par 72, 18 hole Championship golf course of the Metropolitan Golf Club has a layout that consists of the finest couch grass fairways, slick hand-mown bentgrass greens, 106 well positioned bunkers along with gently undulating dunes and hollows on the vast expanse of Melbourne's glazed sandbelt region.

The course itself has been compared to the likes of the famous Augusta National in the U.S.A. and offers a tough yet fair test of one's golfing abilities.

Some of the world's greatest players that have played at the Metropolitan Golf Course include Peter Thompson, Kel Nagle, Greg Norman, Brad Faxon, and Lee Westwood.




Course Trivia:

• The emblem of the Metropolitan Golf Club contains and symbolizes the huge and magnificent, red flowering gum tree that stands beside its clubhouse.
• The Metropolitan Golf Club shared common origins with the Royal Melbourne at Malvern (earlier known as Melbourne Golf Club, before its Royal title in 1895).
• Native Australian trees and shrubs border nearly every hole on the course and the fairways; they also form a habitat for rare species of exotic birds.
• The centennial celebration of the Metropolitan Golf Club in 2001, saw it host the World Golf Championships and also a number of major golf events and tournaments over the years, including 5 Australian P.G.A's and 7 Australian Opens.
• The Metropolitan Golf Club is renowned for having the best conditioned "sandbelt" course in Australia, all year round.
• To mark 100 years of play on the Oakleigh course, the Metropolitan Golf Club has proposed to host the 2008 Australian Open Championship.
  
  The Metropolitan Golf Club is a private golf course. Guests must be accompanied by a member.
  
  As per the Australian Top 100 Golf Courses (2006 rankings), the Metropolitan Golf Club has been ranked as No. 6.
  
  As we continue on this tour we will learn about the other top-50 golf courses in Australia.