History

GOLF has a long history in Colac. It was first played in 1880 when some of the city’s founders held competitions on a rough nine-hole course east of Colac, where the greens were fenced with barbed wire to protect them from grazing cattle.

The current golf club was gazetted a reserve for racing and recreation in a 145 acre parcel of land in 1865.

The Colac Golf Club was officially formed in 1896, with its new home boasting views of volcanic lakes, craters and farmlands.

In 1928 the club appointed Mr Alex Russell, arguably Australia’s finest golf architect, to design its 18 hole course.

Russell was a partner of the highly rated Dr Alister McKenzie, a giant of golf course design, who visited Australia in the 1940s. McKenzie’s masterpiece was the west course at Royal Melbourne.

Colac’s first annual open tournament was held in 1904, and among the many golf notables who participated was the Hon. M. Scott one of the leading figures in Victorian and Australian golf in the early 1900s.

One of the club’s prized possessions is an original program from this tournament.