By Peter Owen
LONG before the region was christened the Gold Coast, and before the neighbouring town was ever known as Surfers Paradise, Southport Golf Club opened its doors, one of the first tourist attractions in an area that would become an international tourism icon.
The course was built on land that was once a dairy farm, and its purpose was to provide a sporting outlet for local residents, as well as for the increasing number of weekend Brisbane visitors, who were just discovering the appeal of the region’s balmy weather and spectacular surf beaches.
On August 23, 1924, a group formed what would become the Southport Golf Club, drew up a constitution, signed up 95 members happy to part with an annual subscription of three guineas, and set about carving nine holes out of the old farm, using natural contours and vegetation to shape the course.
Today, as it celebrates its centenary, Southport Golf Club is one of the Gold Coast’s finest sporting clubs, a spectacular golf course featuring waterways, lakes and birdlife, set on 47 hectares of lush vegetation and manicured fairways, just a stone’s throw from Surfers Paradise beach.
It is the Gold Coast’s oldest golf club, with a rich heritage and a proud history, but with its focus set firmly on the future as it seeks to encourage junior golfers and develop an inclusive culture under the direction of general manager Bernadette Lance.
The club’s pioneers sought to create a club that offered challenging golf and a culture of community engagement – a goal that has been faithfully pursued for 100 years.
They chose the highest point to build their first clubhouse, next to a magnificent Poinciana tree that still stands guard over the first tee, and which was almost lost to fire in 1995, saved only by the quick action of ground staff.
The tree, which features in the club’s logo, presided over one of the club’s most dramatic incidents when Bundaberg-born aviator Bert Hinkler landed his Avro bi-plane on the first fairway in September, 1928, during difficult flying conditions. That was the year Hinkler made the first solo flight from England to Australia.
To mark this year’s centenary celebrations, and the official opening of the refurbished first hole, another Poinciana tree was planted alongside the hole’s championship tee, the two trees providing a significant visual feature of the par-five hole.
Brisbane Golf Club’s professional M.T. Stafford worked on the construction and lay-out of the early course and by 1931 the fairways had been widened, dead trees removed and open-cut drains built to help drainage.
The nine-hole course was lengthened by 150 yards and greens and tees extended and improved. In 1948 the club paid 9,000 pounds for a block of adjacent undeveloped land and built a second nine holes.
Superintendent Stuart Moore has been involved with the Southport club for nearly
30 years.
Southport’s first captain was Brisbane-born Jack Radcliffe, a remarkable man who won a Rhodes Scholarship in 1914, was awarded a Military Cross for his World War 1 service on the Western Front, and later became Queensland champion at both golf and tennis.
After the war Radcliffe completed his studies at Oxford and returned to Queensland where he joined Brisbane Golf Club in 1922. He was at the meeting in August 1924 when Southport Golf Club was formed and was club captain until 1928. Later he served as handicapper and was a member of many club committees.
He remained a Southport member until the 1950s, when he was still playing off a handicap of three and representing the club in A grade pennants.
Radcliffe was an exceptional golfer, taking the Queensland Amateur Championship four times between 1924 and 1928, twice winning the Queensland foursomes title, and beating the professionals to claim the 1933 Queensland Open.
(L): The first clubhouse at the Southport Golf Club. (R): Aviator Bert Hinkler landed his Avro bi-plane on Southport’s first fairway in September, 1928.
A Southport club champion, he set two records on the one day in 1929 – 31 strokes for nine holes, and 68 strokes after he’d played the nine-hole course twice.
He was also a talented tennis player, representing Queensland in tennis from 1912 to 1914 and winning the state championship in 1921.
Over the years Southport has focused on delivering an outstanding golf course. The entire back nine was redeveloped in the years leading up to 2009, providing members and visitors with a challenging, but fair, test of golf.
Responsibility for the condition of the course rests with superintendent Stuart Moore, who has been at the club for nearly 30 years. He has overseen every upgrade, including the redevelopment of the first hole this year, and was the champion for a network of cart paths that has made the course playable even during wet weather.
The magnificent Poinciana tree still stands guard over the first tee.
In 2007 Moore received the Golf Superintendents’ Association environmental stewardship award and then won the national Sustainability and Environmental Award, the pinnacle for Australian turf managers, named in honour of the former Royal Melbourne Golf Club superintendent Claude Crockford.
The award recognised Moore’s introduction of an upgraded wash bay facility to ensure the safe capture and disposal of environmentally harmful chemicals. Moore is ever mindful of the impact the golf course can have on the surrounding environment, given Southport’s proximity to the Nerang River and Gold Coast beaches.
Southport Golf Club has produced some outstanding golfers, including Tod Power, who was junior and club champion before turning professional; Ossie Moore, who won the Australian Amateur Championship before a successful professional career, and Stuart Bouvier, who was club champion at 15 before winning the 1998 South Australian Open as a professional.
More recently, junior member Shyla Singh won this year’s Australian Junior Amateur Championship in Western Australia before helping the Queensland women’s team win the Australian Interstate Teams Matches series held at Southport in May.
A Rhodes Scholar, Brisbane-born Jack Radcliffe was an outstanding player and Southport’s first club captain.
Another former Southport junior, Elvis Smylie, is building an international reputation as a professional golfer.
Bernadette Lance has been at Southport Golf Club for 28 years. She began washing dishes and fetching golf balls before working in the golf shop and spending 10 years as golf operations manager. She’s been general manager since 2019.
She’s proud of the relationships she’s built with staff and members. “Everyone seems connected in some way,” she said.
Southport Golf Club has signed up to the R&A Women in Golf Charter, a move Lance says that shows the club’s commitment to growing inclusive golf.
The club’s board proposes to offer gender-neutral memberships and they are in the process of transitioning this. At the end of the transition period, male and female members will pay the same fees and enjoy the same privileges and playing rights. This approach is fully supported by Lance.
Junior member Shyla Singh, the winner of this year’s Australian Junior Amateur Championship.
The proposition will be put to Southport members in October.
In the meantime, Bernadette Lance will continue to strive to make Southport ‘a great golf club’, with superior service, outstanding practice facilities, excellent dining options and a challenging course.
“The Southport Golf Club is unique,” club president Bert Carlisle said. “It is a sanctuary in the heart of Surfers Paradise that can never be replaced. As custodians we are committed to ensuring the longevity of the club into the future.
“Bring on the next 100 years.”
Southport Golf Club
Slatyer Avenue, Southport, Qld 4215
Phone: (07) 5571 1444
www.southportgolfclub.com.au
admin@southportgolfclub.com
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