Cranbourne Golf Club in Melbourne’s south-east has been sold to a former AFL footballer for a reported $190 million price tag.
Golf sources believe the price is some $40 million above the initial figure at which expressions of interest were canvased.
The 70.4ha parcel of residential zoned land has been purchased by former AFL player Fraser Brown’s development company, Brown Property Group, no strangers to golf course redevelopments, having successfully completed the renovations of the Amstel Golf Course.
The site was put up for sale in February this year after it had been rezoned as a site for residential development.
Senior director of LAWD, Peter Sagar, the agent for the property deal told News Limited that there was over 20 written offers for the site from some of the industry’s most prominent players, allowing the company to secure a robust unconditional offer.
It is understood the company handling the sale received offers totaling more than $3.5 billion.
The Cranbourne site is expected to sustain an estimated 1350 new homes, with construction set to begin in mid-2026.
In the early 1950’s Jewish golfers were denied access to many of Melbourne’s established clubs, so a group of Jewish businessmen came together and established the Cranbourne Country Club, before then becoming landlords for the Cranbourne Golf Club.
Former AFL player Fraser Brown’s property group has purchased the Cranbourne Golf Club site.
The golf club, the de facto home for Jewish golf since it opened in 1954, has a strict non-discrimination charter and welcomes everyone, regardless of race, colour, gender or religion.
Over the past few years, social and commercial forces have created options for many Cranbourne golfers to find favourable opportunities at other clubs, which in turn led to a diminution in the financial viability of the golf club, ultimately leading to the decision to sell the land. The course will close in early 2026.
The golf club hosted the Australian Amateur Championship in 2022 – a measure of just how highly it is regarded and has recently been announced as the co-host with for the 2025 championship to be held next January. It has also hosted Victorian Open’s and the Victorian Pennant final on a number of occasions.
Whilst Jewish golfers are no longer excluded from most clubs, there is some heartache over the sale with the author of the club’s history Les Kausman telling the Australian Jewish News that while he supported the sale of the land, “it will be an extremely sad day for the people who have done so much for the club.”
The original 300-hectare site was first purchased in 1954 for just 20,000 pounds, while it is understood that all of the sale proceeds will be applied towards sporting and other projects for Jewish youth and the wider Jewish community.
