Commonwealth Golf Club

Overview: Commonwealth Golf Club is an 18-hole private course in Melbourne’s Sandbelt, with tree-lined fairways, strategic bunkering and gently sloping greens. The directory records a par of 73 and 6,977 yards from the back tees, while the club’s own heritage material lists the same championship length. The course has a classic heathland rhythm: holes are shaped through a naturally sandy landscape, but the main strategic work is done by the relationship between tee lines, fairway bunkers and green contours. Recent restoration has aimed to recover firm, fast playing surfaces and strengthen the original character without turning the course into a museum piece.

History: Commonwealth’s origins reach back to six holes at Flatman’s Paddock before the First World War and to an 18-hole Waverley layout established by 1915. Commonwealth Golf Club was constituted in April 1920 and purchased 89 acres in South Oakleigh. Club professional Sam Bennett laid out the first holes, with 18 in play by late 1923 or early 1924. Charles Lane developed the early design and studied architecture in England, while Sloan Morpeth supervised a major rebuilding programme completed in 1938. Morpeth later redesigned the 10th and 11th holes, and the club has since hosted major events including the 1967 Australian Open, the 2010 and 2011 Women’s Australian Opens, and the 2025 Australian Amateur.

Did You Know? The 1967 Australian Open was the only men’s Australian Championship played over Commonwealth’s layout. Peter Thomson won that windy week with a score of 281, finishing 11 strokes under par and seven shots clear of Colin Johnston. The result suits the course’s reputation: control in Melbourne’s changing wind mattered as much as raw distance.