Anglesea

“After a false start in 1927, when a 9-hole links was laid out between the pub and the beach, golf in Anglesea took hold in the 1950s. Within the space of a single month – January 1950 – the idea was conceived, a public meeting was held to bring Anglesea Golf Club into existence, and Vern Morcom was appointed as architect.

The plan was to build a 9-hole course with grass greens, with the provision for another 9 holes at a later date. Vern’s plans for the first 9 holes were exhibited at the first Annual General Meeting of the club on 26 March 1951 (and) they were opened on 13 December 1951.

Work on the second 9 holes, occupying the north-west section of the property, began in March 1958. On completion, they became the front 9 of Anglesea’s 18-hole course. Opening day was 30 April 1961.

Change was afoot, though, and within a year the club bought another 82 acres for £12,000. This acquisition prompted a redesign of the front nine. Completely new holes were carved out of the bush for the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th. Of the five old holes that were deleted, most became practice areas, proximate to the clubhouse.

Alterations began in 1965 and were completed in1968. A. W. ‘Gus’ Jackson did the initial planning and Major D. C. ‘Jock’ Whillans, the Victoriam Golf Association’s Liaison Officer, consulted on finalising the new holes. The 1960s also saw changes to Vern’s original 9 holes, albeit relatively minor.

The only structural modification since the 1960s is the relocation of the 10th tee, lengthening and bending the hole. Cramping is no longer an issue; the expansive property permits the luxury of not using every square metre for golf. Self-contained fairway corridors ahev small forests between them, and changes of direction both within and between the holes are easily accommodated.

Excepting the short 3rd and 6th, no hole is flat, and level stances are rare. There are some imbalances in the layout, with some favouritism toward the drawn ball. The back 9 is more open and less sandy than the front 9. The preponderance of back-to-front sloping greens with false fronts places a premium on approaches being long enough to reach the surface, but not long enough to be above the hole.”