Woodlands,VIC

Located in Australia's famous Melbourne Sandbelt area, The Woodlands Golf Club in Victoria, although being one of Australia's most underrated courses, it remains in the league of the elite.

History of the course:

Originally founded in 1913 and known as the Mordialloc Golf Club then, the Woodlands golf course was the brainchild of school teacher and golf enthusiast, George Rogers. The previous nine hole course on the Mayfield estate, beside the Epsom Racecourse, was designed by Rowley J Banks and the Royal Melbourne greenkeeper, Mr M. Morcom, but was later upgraded to an eighteen hole course by architect Sam Bennett in 1917.

After the change of its club name to Woodlands in 1925, the course was once again modified by English architect J.D.H. Scott, adding bunkers and valuing the potentiality for new holes.

In 1929, the Woodlands Golf course had drastic changes made to it with its entire fairways being ploughed up and sown with couch grass. That was a milestone for the course history and it forms the present layout of the Woodlands today- with small, hard and fast greens; tight tree-lined, narrow couch fairways, along with the renowned "sandbelt bunkering", the Woodlands forms an enjoyable challenge to all golfers. This par 72 golf course tests all aspects of a golfer's shot-making ability, hence highlighting the challenges the course offers and simultaneously improves its ranking over the years.

Some of golf's greats that have played at the Woodlands course are amongst its own members that have brought pride to it; Margaret Masters and Stephen Allan.
Course Trivia:

• In 1921, the Woodlands Golf Club was one of the first courses to undertake an aerial survey of the course for recording topographic details and approach to greens for each hole.
• The Woodlands Club was awarded the honour of hosting the 1934 Victorian Amateur Championship, which reflects the reputation achieved over the years by the club.
• Margaret Masters, a bonafide member of the Woodlands club, has won many tournaments and achieved many titles; she was also honoured as being the first Australian woman to turn professional and compete in America.
• The highlights of the Woodlands course are the four unique short par fours, each one having a different characteristic; the unavoidable bunkers on the 5th and 15th holes; and the nasty 17th hole which is considered to be the toughest par three on the Sandbelt.
• The 2007 Victorian Open Championship will be hosted at the Woodlands Golf Club once again. It will be held from the 1st - 4th February.

The Woodlands 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 Woodlands Golf Club

has been ranked as No. 26.
As we continue on this tour we will learn about the other top-50 golf courses in Australia.