Virginia Golf Club is a golf course located in Brisbane, Australia. The Club boasts a 27-hole golf course and Clubhouse. In 2013 Virginia Golf Club celebrated its 85-year anniversary and underscored its place as one of Queensland's oldest and most time honoured courses. Two of its Club Champions from the 1970s would later win major championships – Greg Norman and Wayne Grady.

Virginia Golf Club
Virginia Golf Club, Brisbane, 1932
Club information
Virginia Golf Club is located in Queensland
Virginia Golf Club
Location in Queensland
Coordinates27°22′25″S 153°04′01″E / 27.37373°S 153.06681°E / -27.37373; 153.06681
LocationBrisbane, Queensland
Established1929
TypeSemi-private
Total holes27
GreensTifgreen 328 Bermuda
FairwaysCommon couch
Websitehttp://www.virginiagolf.com.au
Championship Course
Designed byAl Howard and
Norman Von Nida
Par71 (blue tees)[1]
Length6,689 yards (6,116 m)
Course rating73
Slope rating121

History

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Golfers at Virginia Golf Club, 1933

In 1928, the Chief Engineer for the Queensland Main Roads Commission, D.A. Crawford, designed a nine-hole golf course on public land at Virginia. Brothers Jack and Bert Roach were contracted to clear the area of unwanted trees, shrubs and heavy undergrowth. Their only tools were axes, shovels, a plough, and a horse and cart. Volunteers helped clear weeds and build the tees and greens. The course was playable by the end of October 1929 and was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, William Jolly on Saturday 6 December 1930.[2]

A second nine-hole course was designed by D. A. Crawford and opened on Saturday 2 September 1933.[3][4]

In December 1946, 15-year-old caddie, Leo Lofthouse, won the Courier Mail's Caddies' Cup at Virginia. Not only was his round of 71 a record for amateurs on the course, it was also a better score than any professional who played the course that year.[5]

The Club acquired an additional 72 acres of freehold land for the sum of £7,250 in June 1959. The land was purchased by Jim Wilson, a Club member, as it was felt that the original owner of the land would not sell directly to the Club. Wilson took control of the land in April 1958 and subsequently transferred title to the Virginia Golf Club.

The new land was cleared during 1963 with Al Howard, a course architect from Sydney, and Norman Von Nida, a three-time Australian Open champion, appointed to design a 27-hole layout. The current clubhouse was opened by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Clem Jones, in September 1969 and the redesign of the course was fully complete by October 1970. Aside from a few small changes to the third nine which were made in 1992, this layout is still used today.

Between 1980 and 1988, the Club converted its greens from couch grass to Tifgreen 328 Bermuda. The grass was chosen because of its fairer putting surface and its long wearing qualities that could cope with a sub-tropical climate.

In 2012, Wayne Grady Golf Design was appointed to redesign the current layout.[6] These changes are expected to be made gradually over the next 20 years.

Notable members

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Scorecard

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Rating/slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Par Men’s 5 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 35 4 4 3 5 3 4 5 4 4 36 71
Blue 73/121 492 383 168 327 352 412 377 355 184 3050 313 328 135 444 161 375 523 400 388 3067 6117
White 72/119 483 366 162 321 339 399 354 348 178 2950 306 320 130 431 137 364 514 387 387 2976 5926
Handicap Men’s 13 3 11 17 5 1 7 15 9 10 16 18 14 8 2 12 4 6
Par Women’s 5 4 3 4 4 5 4 4 3 36 4 4 3 5 3 4 5 4 5 37 73
Red 74/125 434 320 157 319 340 393 339 335 171 2808 205 308 126 403 135 312 411 367 387 2654 5462
Handicap Women’s 6 9 12 10 2 15 3 8 16 18 7 17 4 13 5 11 1 14

References

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  1. ^ "Queensland". Australian State Course Ratings. Golf Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  2. ^ "NEW VIRGINIA LINKS OPENED". Sunday Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 7 December 1930. p. 8. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  3. ^ "EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH HOLES". Sunday Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 3 September 1933. p. 12. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. ^ "OPENING TO-DAY". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 2 September 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  5. ^ "CADDIE BEATS PROS' SCORES". Sunday Mail. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 15 December 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Prendergast, Paul (3 February 2012). "Grady named for Virginia 27-hole redesign/". Golf Grinder. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
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