75TH ANNIVERSARY: Patterson River Golf Club 

WHILE the Patterson River Golf Club is ready to kick up its heels and planning to celebrate its 75th year, the truth is golf has been played in the area for quite a lot longer.

Club president Paul Housiaux and 50-year member John Elliott  have been putting together a booklet to help members commemorate the history of the club.

Celebrations will centre around October with the club championships the perfect lead-in to a ball at the end of the month as well as a golfing event.

Much has taken place at Patterson River with golf played there as far back as the 1920s.

This club was purchased for 48,000 pounds in 1948 and included 27 holes, two tennis courts and a residential clubhouse.

More recently the club sold off a parcel of land for residential, which enabled a substantial course redevelopment by Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design in the 1990s. 

The sale of 19.2 acres of ‘superfluous land’ and its proceeds to be used to redevelop the course actually began in October 1999 when members voted to move ahead with the venture. 

The land ran from west to east and abutted the boundary between the old practice fairway and the Patterson River. 

It was separated from the river by the high levee bank.

In July, 2000 Patterson River Golf Club’s board advertised for expressions of interest from developers interested in partnering the club for the planning and development of the land. 

And in September 2000, Australand was selected as the preferred developer. 

The proceeds from the sale of the land were then used to begin the redevelopment of the golf course. 

Certainly, it was an arduous task that the committee had undertaken. 

Suitable fill was an issue – the ground profile was not what was expected – but the six stages of the course reconstruction proceeded. 

The membership showed great tolerance and patience.

The introduction (from the US) of a new hybrid couch grass in the early 1980s called ‘Santa Anna’ was the key to the fairway quality that players enjoy to this day.

Ryan was asked to produce a championship course and it is certainly a stern test for the very best of golfers when played from the back tees.

A feature of Patterson River is their impressive collection of par-3s.

Top of the tree is the par-3 second hole, which measures 166m from the blue tees, 140m from the whites and 115m from the red markers.

It’s a formidable tee shot as water sits left and right of the green as well as in front of the tee, so a well-struck tee shot is vital and older members are usually content to land just short of the green.

Likewise, the par-3 12th may look innocuous enough but most found the ‘tiger tee’ that Ryan built made it just that little bit too hard for most players into the prevailing southerly. Most are quite content to play it at 132m from the blue, 130m from the white and just 104m for the women players.

Throw in the 16th, a 164m par-3 and you’ll finish your round satisfied that Patterson River’s short holes are as good as any club in Melbourne’s famous sandbelt.

The 16th, too, is usually played into the wind, which means the tee shot needs to be confidently struck to score well.

Currently the club is undertaking works in line with its course master plan which was commissioned in 2020 (Golf by Design). It will bring the course up to date to meet the demands of modern technology and shot-making principles.

Another feature of the club is the stunning view from the balcony.

Members get a birds-eye view of the first tee, the ninth green, the 10th tee and the 18th green from the balcony.

Patterson River hosts anything above 40,000 rounds a year, making it busier than high-profile Melbourne clubs like Kingston Heath, Commonwealth, Victoria and even Royal Melbourne.

The club boasts about 1200 playing members and many young people begin their golf there before being lured away to play pennant for some of the high-profile Melbourne clubs.

And over the years some of the greats of the game have frequented the place.

Elliott recalls the late, great Peter Thomson firing a 63 around the old course in the days when he and the likes of Kel Nagle competed in events there.

Patterson River boasts a long history of being represented by fielding pennant teams in senior, junior and associate or women’s teams. 

The pennant season in 1961 recorded a first for a golf club in Victoria. 

PRCC had the honour of winning Division 1 flags with both its senior and junior teams in the same year.

The club’s pennant teams continue to represent Patterson River Golf Club in good spirit irrespective of whatever division the club might compete in.

The club has also been represented by an over-55 men’s seniors’ pennant team. 

And most of them will be there with bells on to celebrate their 75th anniversary in October.

Patterson River Golf Club
47 The Fairway, Bonbeach, Victoria
Phone: (03) 9772-1855
www.pattersonriver.com.au

Join the club

MEMBERSHIP at Patterson River Golf Club is a bargain when compared to some of the high-profile clubs that have made Melbourne’s sandbelt famous to golfers all around the world.

The quality of this revamped course suggests the $3690 a year fees for a full seven-day membership is as good a golf bargain as you’re likely to find anywhere in Melbourne and its environs.

Bear in mind this is a private club available to members and their guests only in a location that offers stunning greens combined with picturesque views of the natural wildlife and water systems.

Patterson River Golf Club offers a superbly-conditioned course with excellent drainage and an abundant water supply.

Members are proud of the fact Patterson River can live up to the motto “A course where the weather doesn’t matter”.

That’s because it is playable all year round … even after heavy rain and is relatively flat, which makes it an easy and enjoyable course to walk.

Patterson River Golf Club has a number of inclusive membership packages which the club says have been tailored to fit within your budget and lifestyle.

They range from under-18 junior membership for as little as $156 a year with five, six and seven-day options, an under-23 category and even a 30-39-year-olds category.

Joining gives regular golfers the chance to play on one of Melbourne’s finest courses in a beautiful setting. 

Membership also enables access to the following amenities at the club:

*  Why play at a public course when you can enjoy all the benefits of a private club with superior course conditions and clubhouse facilities?

*  Join competitive and/or social golf competitions in a friendly atmosphere;

*  Competitions seven days a week;

*  A clubhouse bar with bistro facilities;

* The opportunity to invite guests for golf, lunch, dinner or just a social drink;

* Access to an excellent pro shop and professional staff for golf equipment, accessories and lessons or clinics;

* A club website and newsletters to give you up-to-date information on your club;

* Being part of a golf-loving community who come to enjoy the game and club friendships;

* One free use of the function room a year.

For a full range of fees and more information, visit the club’s website: www.pattersonriver.com.au/cms/