Kooyonga Golf Club Explained
Kooyonga Golf Club is a private golf club in Australia, located in South Australia at Lockleys, a suburb west of Adelaide. Members entry is off May Terrace, Brooklyn Park.
Work on the course started in 1922 and the first nine holes opened on 19 May 1923.[1] [2] In August, the course hosted a country championship, for players from outside Adelaide, won by Mr. Haehrmann from Ambleside.[3] The same month the Australian Open was played at Royal Adelaide and the opportunity was taken to organise a 36-hole professional event at the club, on the day after the open. Arthur Ham won the event with a score of 161, a stroke ahead of Arthur Le Fevre.[4] the course was extended to 18 holes in 1924.
The Simpson Cup was originally for competition between The Kooyonga Golf Club & The Royal Adelaide Golf Club from 1927 to 1938. Post World War 2 The Grange & Glenelg Golf Clubs joined the annual competition and in 2008 Southern District and Mid-North District entered teams also.[5] As at 2022 Kooyonga has won 33 Simpson Cups and Royal Adelaide has won 10 [6]
Kooyonga has hosted six Australian Opens (five men's and one women's), twenty South Australian Opens and two Australian Amateur Championships.
The world's greatest golfers (including Walter Hagen and the "Big Three" Palmer, Nicklaus and Player) have all played at Kooyonga over its long and rich history.
- Golf icon Walter Hagen played the Kooyonga Golf Course in the 1930s. Sensationally, the Kooyonga Golf Club Secretary of the time was arrested and remanded for embezzling 131 pounds that was to be paid to Walter Hagen and J Kirkwood.[7] However a few years later when asked about Australian Golf Courses, Hagen mentioned Kooyonga as the one he rated extremely highly, describing the course as a "hard test".[8]
- In 1950 Harry Vardon Trophy winner Norman Von Nida won the Australian Open at Kooyonga[9]
- In 1961 American Golf Great, The King Arnold Palmer defeated Gary Player by 4 strokes at Kooyonga[10]
- The Black Knight Gary Player has won two Australian Opens there and in 1965, the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus was runner up to Player in the Australian Open at Kooyonga.
- Five times British Open winner, and Presidents Cup winning Captain, Peter Thomson won the Australian Open at Kooyonga in 1972.
- LIV Golf CEO, the Great White Shark, Greg Norman has played at Kooyonga on a number of occasions, winning the South Australian Open there twice[11] Greg Norman regarded winning the 1996 South Australian Open at Kooyonga as particularly important for him [12]
- In 2018 the world number 1 female golfer, Ko Jin-Young won the Women's Australian Open at Kooyonga[13]
The Women's Australian Open was scheduled to return to Kooyonga in February 2022, however Covid travel restrictions have caused that event to be cancelled for the year.[14]
The golf course also has a history of high-profile members, including Sir Donald Bradman,[15] Australian Test Cricket player and media personality Greg Blewett,[16] Tennis legend Mark Woodforde, Cricket legend Rod Marsh and State Footballer Andrew Payze among other captains of South Australian and Australian Industry[17]
Kooyonga Golf Course, albeit exclusive is noted as a significant attraction for interstate and international visitors by the South Australian Government Tourism Commission [18]
In 2024 the Australian Golf Digest Magazine ranked the top 100 Golf Courses in Australia, and Kooyonga was elevated to the number 18 position on that list. [19]
Tournaments hosted
Further reading
- V. M. Branson (1983) Kooyonga 1923–1983, the Story of a Golf Club
Notes and References
- News: New golf course . . 11 . 523 . South Australia . 20 May 1922 . 9 February 2021 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
- News: Kooyonga golf club, Lockleys . . LXXX . 5964 . South Australia . 19 May 1923 . 9 February 2021 . 18 . National Library of Australia.
- News: The country championship . . LXVI . 3491 . South Australia . 18 August 1923 . 9 February 2021 . 26 . National Library of Australia.
- News: Play at Kooyonga . . LXXXVIII . 25786 . South Australia . 20 August 1923 . 8 February 2021 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
- Web site: 3 January 2022. Pennant Golf. 3 January 2022. Glenelg Golf Club.
- Web site: 3 January 2022. Simpson Cup. Kooyonga Golf Club.
- Web site: 4 April 1930. Kooyonga Secretary Remanded. 1 January 2022. Trove.
- Web site: 7 May 1937. Hagen-Kirkwood exhibition delights golfers - The Kalgoorlie Miner. 1 January 2022. Trove.
- Web site: 2 January 2022. Australian Sport Hall of Fame Member Norman Von Nida. 2 January 2022. Australian Sport Hall of Fame.
- News: Palmer in Four Stroke Win. The Canberra Times. 2 Oct 2021.
- Web site: Tournament Victories. 24 September 2021. Greg Norman - The Shark.
- Book: Norman, Greg. The Way of the Shark. Random House Australia. 2006. Australia. 298.
- Web site: 19 February 2018. Women's Australian Open. 1 January 2021. Australian Golf Digest.
- Web site: 14 October 2021. Two National Opens Cancelled. 16 October 2021.
- Walsh. Scott. 27 February 2011. Memories of My Golfing Mate Don.. The Sunday Mail (SA).
- News: Ashenden. Paul. 27 November 2021. My Saturday Ritual - Greg Blewett. 20. The Advertiser - SA Weekend.
- Web site: 27 November 2021. Kooyonga Golf Club Member Directory. 27 November 2021. Kooyonga Golf Club.
- Web site: Attractions - South Australian Tourism Commission. 2 Oct 2021. SouthAustralia.com.
- Web site: Australia's Top 100 Golf Courses 2024/2025 . 6 May 2024 . Australian Golf Digest.
- News: 5 September 1958. Professional Title To Kel. Nagle. 33. 24. The Canberra Times. 9577. 16 May 2017. National Library of Australia.
