Kingston Heath Golf Club

Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of the premier golf clubs in Australia, located in Cheltenham, Victoria. The course is situated on the sandbelt region in the southeast suburbs of Melbourne famed for its golf courses, with Kingston Heath consistently ranked in the top 3 courses in Australia and top 20 courses in the world.

Kingston Heath Golf Club
Club information
Coordinates37°57′33.57″S 145°05′16.27″E
LocationCheltenham, Victoria, Australia
Established1909
TypePrivate
Total holes19
Tournaments hostedAustralian Open (7)
Women's Australian Open (1)
World Cup of Golf (1)
Australian Masters (2)
Victorian Open (7)
Australian Matchplay (7)
GreensA1 Bent
FairwaysSanta Ana Couch
Websitewww.kingstonheath.melbourne
Designed byDan Soutar
Par72

The club has hosted many major events, including 7 x Men's Australian Opens, 1 x Women's Australian Open, 7 x Victorian Opens, 2 x Australian Masters and the 2016 World Cup of Golf. The Men's Australian Open is scheduled to return to Kingston Heath in 2020.

History

Elsternwick Park (1909 - 1925)

Kingston Heath was originally formed as the Elsternwick Golf Club in 1909, and was based at present day Elsternwick Park. In 1920, the committee discussed a relocation to the South-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. This area would become world famous as the Melbourne Sandbelt.

Cheltenham (1925 - present)

The club relocated to its present location in Cheltenham in 1925. This move included the complete dismantling, moving and re-assembling of the original clubhouse to the new site. The club officially opened in April 1925, and was renamed Kingston Heath 5 months later.

Course

The current course was designed by Dan Soutar and was constructed by M.A Morcom. Originally, it played as a par 82 and at the time was the longest course in Australia. Its founders were of the opinion that it was easier to shorten the course rather than to lengthen it. The original scorecard read as below:

Original Scorecard - 1925
Hole123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Yards4323602774161954304894253553,3791324314713515352224184524213,4336,812
Par554535554413554545554182

Advice was sought from Alister MacKenzie during his visit to Australia in 1926, who provided a suitable bunkering strategy for the course. Although many link MacKenzie to the actual design of Kingston Heath, his only course routing input was to change the 15th hole. This was a short par 4 (222 yards) which played as a blind tee shot over a hill before descending to the green. MacKenzie's recommendation was to shorten the hole, bringing the green to the top of the rise and becoming a tricky, uphill par 3. Work commenced soon after, with the newly rated par 3 15th becoming one of the most recognisable holes in Australian golf, and Kingston Heath's signature hole.

Over the years, the par of the course has gradually dropped, now playing as a par 72 for Men and 74 for Women.

In 2002, the club constructed a 19th hole - a par 3 positioned between the 1st green and 2nd tee. This hole was designed to championship specifications, allowing the club to insert it into the course rotation during times of required maintenance of another hole. The 19th has since become a fixture in the club's "Tournament" course, often replacing the 10th hole in major events.

An interesting feature of the course is the adaptability in producing different layouts. Given it does not allow a traditional "9 out, 9 in" layout as many courses of its stature do, an alternative was required for the hosting of major events. The introduction of the 19th hole assisted in allowing the club to produce a more tournament friendly layout, known as the "Inner and Outer" course, routing players through the 9 inner most holes of the property as the front 9, returning them to the clubhouse after 9 holes. They then play the 9 outer most holes of the property as the back 9, allowing them to finish on the 18th hole.

Course Records
  • Professional
(Men) Mark Brown: 62 (-10), during Round 2 of The Open IFQ, 2013
(Women) Karrie Webb & Jiyai Shin: 67 (-6), both recorded during the final round of the 2008 MFS Women's Australian Open
  • Amateur
(Men) Cruze Strange: 63 (-9), during the 2011 Port Phillip Amateur Championship
(Women) Stephanie Kyriacou: 66 (-8), during the 2017 Port Phillip Amateur Championship

Championships

Professional Events
1948, 1957, 1970, 1983, 1989, 1995, 2000, Scheduled to host in 2020
YearWinnerCountryScoreWinning MarginRunner Up
R1R2R3R4Total
1948Ossie Pickworth Australia72737074289 (+1)Playoff Jim Ferrier
1957Frank Phillips Australia68707574287 (-1)1 shot Gary Player
Ossie Pickworth
1970Gary Player South Africa71657074280 (-8)3 shots Bruce Devlin
1983Peter Fowler Australia72766869285 (-3)3 shots Ian Baker-Finch
1989Peter Senior Australia66666970271 (-17)6 shots Peter Fowler
1995Greg Norman Australia72696968278 (-10)2 shots Peter McWhinney
2000Aaron Baddeley Australia69696872278 (-10)2 shots Robert Allenby
2008
YearWinnerCountryScoreWinning MarginRunner Up
R1R2R3R4Total
2008Karrie Webb Australia72727367284 (-8)2nd Playoff Hole Jiyai Shin
  • World Cup of Golf: 1
2016
YearWinnersCountryScoreWinning MarginRunners Up
R1R2R3R4Total
2016Søren Kjeldsen
Thorbjørn Olesen		 Denmark72607066268 (-20)4 shots China (Wu Ashun & Li Haotong)
France (Victor Dubuisson & Romain Langasque)
United States (Rickie Fowler & Jimmy Walker)
2009, 2012
YearWinnerCountryScoreWinning MarginRunner Up
R1R2R3R4Total
2009Tiger Woods United States66687268274 (-14)2 shots Greg Chalmers
2012Adam Scott Australia67706767271 (-17)4 shots Ian Poulter
1958, 1969, 1976, 1979, 1987, 1988, 1989
YearWinnerCountryScoreWinning MarginRunner-up
1958Peter Thomson Australia289 (-7)3 shots Barry West
1969Kel Nagle Australia279 (-17)3 shots Bill Dunk
Peter Thomson
1976Guy Wolstenholme England281 (-7)Playoff Graham Marsh
1979Rodger Davis Australia291 (+3)Playoff Geoff Parslow
Gary Player
1987Roger Mackay Australia277 (-11)1 shot Greg Norman
1988Jim Benepe United States282 (-6)3 shots Ian Baker-Finch
Peter McWhinney
1989Michael Clayton Australia285 (-3)2 shots Ossie Moore
1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
YearWinnerCountryWinning MarginRunner-up
Mercedes-Benz Australian Match Play Championship
1992Michael Clayton Australia4 & 3 Peter McWhinney
1991Chris Patton United States5 & 3 Ken Dukes
1990David Smith Australia4 & 2 Peter Fowler
1989Ossie Moore Australia1 up Peter Fowler
1988Ronan Rafferty Northern Ireland1 up Michael Clayton
Robert Boyd Transport Australian Match Play Championship
1987Ian Baker-Finch Australia5 & 4 Ossie Moore
1986Peter Fowler Australia6 & 5 Bob Shearer

The Open Championship International Final Qualifying

Kingston Heath was the preferred Australian venue of the R&A for the staging of International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship, which was held each January from 2004 to 2013.

Amateur Events
1963
1952, 1996

Course Ranking

The course is consistently ranked within the top 3 courses in Australia. It also regularly features in publications such as Golf Digest and Golf Magazine in their "World's Top 100 Golf Courses" lists, which has seen Kingston Heath hold a position in the Top 20 for a number of years.

YearSourceRanking
Australia's Top 100 Courses
2020Australian Golf Digest#3
2018Australian Golf Digest#2
2016Australian Golf Digest#2
2014Australian Golf Digest#2
2012Australian Golf Digest#2
2010Australian Golf Digest#1 Golf Course in Australia
World's Top 100 Courses
2020Planet Golf#17
2018Golf Digest#16
2016Golf Digest#18
2014Golf Digest#20
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