History

Est. 1937

Golf is first recorded being played in the area at Heidelberg in the 1890’s on a 9 hole links laid out over part of present day Eaglemont and East Ivanhoe. In 1898 a club was formed and named Eaglemont Golf Club. Three golf clubs were to be formed that could trace its origin to Eaglemont, Yarra Yarra (1912), Heidelberg (1928) and Rosanna (1937).

Eaglemont on the move

In 1912 Eaglemont moved to a new site on 101 acres near the Rosanna railway station and changed its name to Yarra Yarra Golf Club. In 1928 the Club decided to relocate to the ‘sand-belt’ area which inspired a group of local members to leave and establish Heidelberg Golf Club. Soon after estate agents negotiated the sale of the Rosanna course.

The effects of the approaching economic depression were felt and the sale of the Rosanna property fell through and Yarra Yarra resumed ownership. The property was not used as a golf course until August 1930 when a public links was established. In the next few years the course was sold to at least two other syndicates, but in each case the sale was not completed. In 1934 a membership club was formed within the framework of the public links, when Major James McEvoy was elected president, and in March 1935 the ‘Rosanna Glen Golf Club’ was registered as a company.

Rosanna Golf Club is formed

Local businessman Mr Robert A. Treganowan purchased the property in 1936. In 1937 the Rosanna Golf Club was officially formed and leased the property from inaugural President Treganowan on extremely favourable terms. The Club prospered, but in 1962 the Committee of the day decided costs were too high to maintain the Club on its preset site and proposed to relocate. The Members agreed, and 139 acres situated at the junction of the Plenty and Yarra rivers were purchased for the purpose of constructing a golf course for the Club.

The layout of the holes and fairways would be in the hands of golf course designer Mr H.V. (Vernon) Morcom. Apart from the bare playing surface the area was one of natural beauty, a stand of fine old red gums in the car park on the hill near the main entrance provided an attractive backdrop of Australian eucalypts against the skyline.

In March 1965 the Governor of Victoria, General Sir Dallas Brooks officially opened the new Rosanna Golf Club. The Club assessed the 18-hole 6,726-yard course at Par 75.

Clubhouse fire and recovery

On 1 July 1974, it was announced in an early radio news broadcast that the Clubhouse of the Rosanna Golf Club had been totally destroyed by fire. The fire was first noticed at about 1.00a.m. and its immediate cause was unknown, but it was later accepted as an electrical fault.

All Club records, ledgers, office files and papers were destroyed in the fire. A tremendous task lay ahead for administration and office staff who worked under spartan conditions in temporary premises to try and compile and collate information that had been lost. The new Clubhouse was completed in September 1975.

To celebrate the official opening by Mr C.J. Evans, President of the Victorian Golf Association, over 300 members and friends attended a dinner dance in the new Clubhouse on 4 October 1975. An extensive refurbishment of the Clubhouse was completed in 1994. In recent years the improvement to playing surfaces has been dramatic with successive Board of Director’s committed to improving playing conditions.

Course Masterplan

In 1999 renowned Victorian golf professional Michael Clayton developed a ‘Course Masterplan’ to guide all future course reconstruction works. Since that time, in accordance with the “Course Masterplan”, a significant amount of reconstruction work has been conducted on around the course on tees, greens and bunkers whilst the fairways have been line planted with Santa ana couch grass.

Over recent years a considerable effort has been made to guard the course against future droughts whilst providing two spectacular features. The dam located at the 18th dam has been doubled in size and a new dam at the 1st hole has been added, bringing the Club’s total water storage to approximately 47 megalitres, which should be adequate for all but extreme periods of drought.

With thanks to the late Bill Trewarne, author ‘The Rosanna Golf Club’, first published in 1980.