{"id":330,"date":"2017-12-21T07:16:00","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T07:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.werribeeparkgolf.com.au\/cms\/?page_id=330"},"modified":"2021-04-28T11:52:17","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T01:52:17","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.werribeeparkgolf.com.au\/cms\/golf-course\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Established in 1976, Werribee Park Golf Club was formed in the south precinct along with some of Werribee\u2019s best tourist attractions. This challenging 18 hole course includes some breathtaking views of the Werribee River and the Red Cliffs. It also boasts a great layout that will challenge your golfing game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The open design of the course is counter pointed with strategic plantings of trees. The course is blessed with free draining alluvial soils which allow golf to be played throughout the year, even in the wettest winter when most surrounding courses are closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a day on the greens, you can enjoy a lovely meal or drink at the clubhouse which features views of the You Yangs, Werribee River and the Bellarine Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Hartley – Course Architect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kevin Hartley was one of Australia’s finest amateur golfers. Described as “arguably Australia’s best ever amateur golfer” for winning both the Victorian and Australian amateur championships, he represented his country in four Eisenhower Cups and won the Ivo Whitton Trophy an unprecedented 13 times. Known as \u2018The Dart\u2019 for his accuracy on the course, he came to prominence in 1950 when he won the Victorian Boys Championship at Medway. Kevin played with the greats of his era including Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. He also played at the highest level while raising a family and earning a living as an engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recollection by Kevin Hartley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Developing the Course Layout<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

“As is always the case, the clubhouse location must be chosen first. Here it was clear that anywhere along the ridge line would be fine, but in its present location, it would be perfect. The advantages of river overview and proximity to the road sealed the siting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In regard to the effect of the arrangement of the holes, the clubhouse location meant that it would not be possible to get both nines starting and finishing on the same level as the clubhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This led to hole 1 on the top, holes 9 and 10 on the flat but close to the clubhouse, hole 17 progressing up a modest slope with hole 18 on the top returning to the clubhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While various hole arrangements were considered, the best in my view was the one that exists today. The only arguable shortcoming is that hole 18 is short, purists favouring a tough finishing hole. It is easy to argue that its location on the edge of the cliff face adds more than adequate interest to the hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the green surfaces at Werribee Park were influenced by the Royal Melbourne models. Greens were sized around 550 square meters with relatively large but shallow sand traps. Many years later it greatly pained me to see several sand traps greatly deepened. Why? – Because there is only one type of shot that can be played from them. Shallow traps present options \u2013 potentially confusing to the golfer.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n