The Club
Cottesloe Golf Club was formed in 1908 and was initially a nine hole golf course, sited where the existing Sea View Golf Club exists today.
Its original location in Cottesloe was a forty acre tract of scrubland adjacent to the sea in the seaside suburb of Cottesloe bounded on the eastern side by Broome Street and literally bisected east-west by Jarrad Street. The first Annual General Meeting of the Club was held in April 1909 and by the following September the course had taken shape sufficiently to stage an opening day, graced by the presence of the Governor Sir Gerald Strickland and Lady Edeline, who had the honour of driving the first ball off the tee. It soon became apparent that the tract of land at the seaside venue was inadequate if the achievement of championship status was ever to be realised. Congestion, delays and inconvenience caused by the traffic along Jarrad Street and the use by the general public of the course as a park were a constant annoyance. Several new 18 hole courses were being constructed at the time and it was thought that many members who did not live in the Cottesloe area would join other clubs offering better facilities.
This was the catalyst for the move to the present coastal site in Swanbourne, a project conceived in 1928 and not consummated until 1931 – a period which saw the ushering in of a world depression. As with most courses established in this era, the new course was initially carved from the scrub and sand hills using a horse and plough by a group of willing volunteers. Over the years the reputation of the golf course grew in stature and in 1968 it played host to the PGA run event ‘The Western Australian Ten Thousand’. The event attracted a quality field including several international golfers such as Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle and Peter Townsend. The event was won by Peter Townsend and the trophy was presented to the winner by the then Premier, Sir David Brand. Today the club hosts the annual Cottesloe Open for WA’s leading amateur and professional golfers.
This event, now in its 75th year is the second oldest open event in the state next to the WA Open. Some past winners of the Cottesloe Open include names such as Graham Marsh, Roger MacKay, Terry Gale, Wayne Smith, Brad King and Greg Chalmers. Cottesloe Golf Club can also lay claim to having produced some excellent golfers in its own right with Graham Marsh, Roger MacKay and Brad King all being past club champions and members of the golf club.
During its recent history the course has been subject to several alterations and in 1980 Thomson, Wolveridge and Perrott were commissioned to carry out major alterations brought about by the reclaiming of land by the State Government on two of the clubs boundaries. Wanting to get away from ad hoc design, in November 1994 Graham Marsh was appointed course architect and commissioned to prepare a course master plan for the club. This plan was approved by members at a Special General Meeting in 1998 and the club immediately began construction with a view to the improvements being completed in time for the club’s centenary in 2008.
The golf club has progressed to being widely regarded as one of the finest tests of golf in Western Australia. Membership numbers have reached capacity and as a result membership at the club has been closed for several years. The club boasts a well appointed, modern two storey clubhouse with unparalleled views of the ocean to the west and city to the east. Recent events held at the club include the Amateur Golf Championships of Australia and the Australian Junior Interstate Series.
