The Royal Wellington Golf Club, (formerly Wellington Golf Club) founded in 1895, is one of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

's most beautiful and historic

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s. The Golf Club is situated in Heretaunga,

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...

, just north of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and alongside the Hutt River between

Silverstream Silverstream is a suburb of Upper Hutt in New Zealand, just under 7 km south-west of the Upper Hutt CBD. It is in the lower (southern) part of the North Island of New Zealand at the southern end of Upper Hutt, close to the Taitā Gorge, ...

and Trentham.

History

The club was first established in 1895 at Miramar, until it experienced difficulties in renewing its lease in 1904. The Barton family of Trentham and

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

owned extensive land in the Heretaunga area in the Upper Hutt Valley and offered to sell club 48.5 hectares of their estate. This offer was accepted in a Club meeting on 20 November 1906 and subsequently much of the land was cleared and marshes drained to construct the rudimentary course. Some club members donated trees and shrubs in these early years. By 1908 the club had completed its move to Heretaunga and an 18-hole course had been completed along with a tennis court, croquet and putting green. Its historic and elegant clubhouse was designed by architects Crichton and MacKay. The club was opened in a ceremony on 25 April 1908, by

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...

, Prime Minister and president of the club.

Course

The course was expanded from 18 to 27 holes in 1972–73. The present championship course was redesigned by Greg Turner and Scott Macpherson and opened in 2013. There is also a nine-hole Terrace course, which takes in some of the most scenic parts of the club's property. Royal Wellington Golf Course is the host venue for the 2017 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Championships

Seven

New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

s have been held at Heretaunga, the first in 1912, followed by 1932, 1954, 1976, 1981, 1987 and most recently in 1995, when Australian Lucas Parsons was the winner of the sixth and last open held at the club.

References

External links

Royal Wellington Golf Club Website
Sports venues completed in 1895 Sport in Upper Hutt Sports venues in Upper Hutt Golf clubs and courses in New Zealand Organisations based in New Zealand with royal patronage 1895 establishments in New Zealand Royal golf clubs {{Golfcourse-stub

History

Course

Championships

See also

References

External links