Royal Melbourne Golf Club

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Royal Melbourne Golf Club is widely regarded as Australia's most prestigious, exclusive, oldest and celebrated golf club. Its two courses are each ranked amongst the best in the world by numerous international golf course ranking bodies and publications. Royal Melbourne has hosted numerous international events, most famously the 1959 Canada Cup (now Mission Hills World Cup) and was selected by the PGA Tour to hold the Presidents Cup, for the first time outside the United States, in December 1998. The course will also host the Presidents Cup in 2011.^[1]

[edit] History

Founded in 1891 on the 22nd of May as the Melbourne Golf Club ('Royal' prefix given in 1895), the founding President was Sir James McBain and the founding Captain was John Munro Bruce (father of later Australian Prime Minister Viscount Stanley Melbourne Bruce). Royal Melbourne's two courses are known as the 'West' and 'East' courses.^[2] A combination of the best holes from each is called the 'Composite' course and is generally ranked in the top ten courses in the world and widely held as the best course in the southern hemisphere. In 2007 Golf Digest ranked Royal Melbourne as the sixth best course in the world outside the United States behind The Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland.

The West course was built under the strict designs of famous course architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie who visited the grounds in 1926 located on the renowned Melbourne Sandbelt. The building of the West course was overseen by Alex Russell and the Head Greenkeeper, Mick Morcom and was completed for play in 1931.

The East course was designed by Alex Russell and was completed in 1932.