Werribee Park Golf Club

Overview: Within the Werribee Park precinct, Kevin Hartley’s design creates an 18-hole championship round in Melbourne’s south-west, set within the Werribee Park tourism precinct. Kevin Hartley’s layout uses the open alluvial ground above the Werribee River, with strategic trees, bunkers, lateral water and the red cliffs creating a memorable backdrop. The course can be played year-round because the free-draining soil remains useful in wet conditions, and its location makes it a natural stop for golfers visiting the zoo, mansion, gardens and wineries nearby.

History: The club was established in 1976 and formed in the southern precinct of Werribee Park. Kevin Hartley’s own account describes a clubhouse set along the ridge, holes moving between the upper ground and river flats, and greens influenced by the strategic models of Royal Melbourne. The layout therefore carries both a local river setting and a clear connection to the design ideas Hartley admired in Melbourne’s Sandbelt.

Did You Know? Hartley deliberately kept the bunkers relatively shallow so players would have more than one recovery option. The official history explains that deeper traps were later introduced in places, but the architect’s original preference was for hazards that made golfers think rather than forcing a single kind of shot.