Club information | |
---|---|
Location | Tweed Heads, New South Wales |
Established | 1926 |
Type | private |
Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club is a club on Australia's east coast near the New South Wales/Queensland border. It is located in NSW at Tweed Heads South, New South Wales. [1] It was formed in 1926. [2] It has hosted several notable tournaments including the Queensland Open and Gold Coast Classic. [2] [3]
On June 12, 1926, a group of golf enthusiasts met at Coolangatta Town Hall in Coolangatta, Queensland to advocate construction of a golf course. The following year a decision was made to create the course and in 1928 construction began. However, there were early environmental setbacks and a new site needed to be found. This was achieved in 1930 on a large parcel of land near the Tweed River at South Tweed Heads. Within two years the first nine holes were completed and the club opened on December 4, 1932. [2] In 1951 the second nine holes were completed. [2] In 1974 and 1981, two additional nine-hole sets were added to create two 18-hole championship courses known as the River course and West course. The entire club and courses' coverage is 101 hectares which takes in a large wildlife reserve. [2]
The club has hosted a number of notable tournaments. On May 24, 1978, the club hosted its first Gold Coast Professional Gold Classic. [3] It was an event on the PGA Tour of Australia and was held annually up to 1983. Notable champions included South African legend Gary Player, [4] American Payne Stewart, [5] and West Australian Graham Marsh. [6] In 1986 the club hosted the Queensland Open which was won by the hot favourite, Queensland's multiple-major champion Greg Norman. [2] It currently hosts the time-honoured Twin Towns Open, which has been the breeding ground for upcoming leading professionals. [2]
In 1954, the club appointed reigning Queensland Open champion Reginald Want as club professional. One of his trainees was Charlie Earp who went on to become club professional at Royal Queensland in Brisbane and who later became the coach of World No.1 Greg "The Shark" Norman. [7] In January 1980 Victorian Geoff Parslow became the club professional. [8]
The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of the state capital, Brisbane. It is Queensland's second-largest city after Brisbane, as well as Australia's sixth-largest city and the most populous non-capital city, with a population over 600,000. The city's central business district is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast, sprawling almost 60 kilometres, joining up with the Greater Brisbane metropolitan region to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south. Nicknames of the city include the ‘Glitter Strip’ and the ‘Goldy’. The demonym of a Gold Coast resident is Gold Coaster.
Tweed Heads is a coastal city at the mouth of the Tweed River in the Northern Rivers region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Tweed Heads is the northernmost town in New South Wales, and is located in the Tweed Shire local government area. It is situated 830 km (520 mi) north of Sydney and 103 km (64 mi) south of Brisbane. The town is next to the border with Queensland and is adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland.
Coolangatta is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is the Gold Coast's southernmost suburb and it borders New South Wales. In the 2021 census, Coolangatta had a population of 6,491 people.
The Australian Open, owned and run by Golf Australia, is the oldest and most prestigious golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. The Open was first played in 1904 and takes place toward the end of each year.
James Bennett Elliott Ferrier was an Australian professional golfer. After compiling a fine record as an amateur golfer in Australia during the 1930s, he moved to the United States in 1940, turned professional in 1941, and joined the PGA Tour. He won the 1947 PGA Championship among his 18 tour titles and was the first Australian to win a major championship.
Bilinga is a southern coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border with New South Wales. In the 2021 census, Bilinga had a population of 1,883 people.
The South Coast railway line was a railway from Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. The route via the South Coast to Tweed Heads on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. The line operated from 1889 to 1964. Between 1903 and 1961 steam trains ran from Beenleigh to the NSW border. The Gold Coast railway line re-opened in 1996 along a modified alignment in the north and a new route south but does not extend as far south yet as the South Coast line.
Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb in southeastern Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia. The West course is ranked in the top-five courses in the world. Founded 133 years ago in 1891, it is Australia's oldest extant and continually existing golf club. Unlike many metropolitan golf venues, The Royal Melbourne Golf Club has a capacity for 15,000 spectators.
The Australian PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the home tournament of the Australian PGA. Since 2000 it has been held in the South East Queensland region. The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour from 2009 to 2014, and it has been co-sanctioned with the European Tour from 2015 to 2019 and again in 2022.
Sport on the Gold Coast has a rich history. As a popular tourist destination leisure sports like Golf, but most particularly sports associated with its famous beaches, have always been popular. A number of surf clubs line Gold Coasts beaches, who host a variety of swimming and athletic events collected into surf carnivals along with competitions evolved from methods of surf life saving.
The Gold Coast Classic was a professional golf tournament played at Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club in northern New South Wales, Australia. It was held from 1978 to 1983. From 1979 to 1983 it was sponsored by Tooth and Co., a beer brewery, initially under their name but from 1982 under the name Resch's Pilsner.
The Queensland PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. The tournament is currently held at Nudgee Golf Club in Nudgee.
The North Coast Open was a professional golf tournament in Australia from 1951 to 1975.
George Serhan is an Australian professional golfer. Serhan was a full-time pro on the PGA Tour of Australasia from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. Although he won a number of minor tournaments in the Australasian region he is best remembered for winning his home state's open, the New South Wales Open, in 1980. It was his only official win on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Mike Ferguson is an Australian professional golfer. Ferguson was one of Australian's top golfers during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1977 he won the Western Australian Open for his breakthrough victory. Two years later he won back-to-back events, Illawarra Open and Gold Coast Classic. In 1981, "his most successful year," he won two state PGA championships, the New South Wales PGA Championship and the Queensland PGA Championship. Shortly thereafter, citing poor discipline, his game declined; Ferguson failed to make the PGA Tour and he would not win another official regular event. As a senior, however, Ferguson would have some success, winning five significant events in the Australasian region, including the Australian Seniors PGA Championship twice.
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William Joseph Bolger was an Australian professional golfer. He won the Australian Open in 1934, finishing three strokes ahead of Gene Sarazen. He also won the New South Wales Professional Championship twice, in 1930 and 1939 and represented Australia in the Lakes International Cup in 1934 and 1936.
Stuart Reese is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Reese was one of New Zealand's top amateur golfers in the 1970s, winning the 1975 New Zealand Amateur. Reese turned professional shortly thereafter, winning a number of minor tournaments in the Pacific islands before culminating with a win at the 1982 New Zealand PGA Championship. Late in his career, Reese has worked primarily as a swing instructor, advising a number of notable players, including superstars Tiger Woods and Lydia Ko.
Vic Bennetts is an Australian professional golfer. Bennetts had an excellent amateur career through the 1960s, becoming the first golfer to win the New South Wales Junior Championship three times. Bennetts turned pro in 1968 and quickly had much success, culminating with his "golden year" of 1971 where he won 12 events. Injuries and poor discipline over the next few years, however, arrested his progress. In the mid-1970s, Bennetts teamed up with fitness trainer Ray Anderson who significantly improved his performance, highlighted by a victory at the 1975 Australian PGA Championship, his biggest win. For the remainder of his career, Bennetts primarily worked as a driving range owner, director of golf at Moore Park Golf Course in Sydney, and club professional.
Michael F. Cahill is an Australian professional golfer. In 1971, Cahill had one of the best years in the history of Victorian amateur golf, becoming the first player to win the Victorian Junior Amateur and Victorian Senior Amateur in the same year. Shortly thereafter, Cahill turned pro and quickly had success, winning the 1977 Australian PGA Championship. In the ensuing years, however, citing personal problems and "poor practice habits," Cahill's game declined. In 1980, however, Cahill renewed his relationship with former mentor Kevin Hartley and his game improved, culminating with a three wins in Western Australia in May 1982. Later in the decade, Cahill started working as a club professional, a job he continues to perform.