"The best bent greens in the region"
That is what you hear on the voice greeting when you call Queanbeyan Golf Club. Is that too big a call when you have famed conditioned courses like Royal Canberra, Federal and Gold Creek in the region?
They are certainly the best looking greens in the region and though they might not run as fast as they used to, they are pure. However that is not the only surprising feature of this little known but quality course on Canberra’s outskirts.
A history intertwined with an historical town
Queanbeyan began as squattage on the Molonglo River (which now is dammed to form Lake Burley Griffin) in the 1800’s and was gazetted as a town in 1838. The town’s name like Canberra’s, is a anglicised version of the name that local Namgbri people had for the area in “Queen Bean.”
It is now a bustling city of 66000 people largely due to it’s proxmity to Canberra. The irony is that it was the people of Queanbeyan who really pushed and lobbied hard for the nation’s capital to be located in the Molonglo Valley over the other choices for sites.
It is also been the home of some of Australia’s sporting stars and vies with Wagga as the no. 1 country town in the nation for producing sporting talent. Wallabies David Campese and Matt Giteau, Rugby League player and coach Ricky Stuart, F1 driver Mark Webber, Test cricketer Brad Haddin and squash legend Heather McKay to name a few, all called at one time Queanbeyan home. Also actor George Lazenby who played James Bond for one movie came from Queanbeyan!
Golf was first played in Queanbeyan in 1896 and the present site on the east side of the Queanbeyan River was used for golf from 1913 onwards. The move towards having a club structure came to being in 1924, making the club over 100 years old.
A parkland course by the river
Queanbeyan has matured over that time to be now a fine parkland layout which was used for the 2019 NSW Women’s Open and as a qualifier venue for the NSW Mens Open. With Yowani Country Club now in the midst of redesign, we are happy to add this tight parkland layout to itineraries to demonstrate the varieties of courses available in the Canberra region.
Eventhough it is only 5806m long and a par 70, there are some demanding uphill holes. No more than the tight 1st hole at 370m and ranked the hardest hole on the course. It is a tough opener and the heavily sloping green gives you a heads up on what putting is going to be like for the rest of the journey. These greens are the Augusta National of Canberra golf- big breaks.
Some holes like the uphill 3rd, a par 5 of 411m may seem like a “weekenders par 5” but the surrounding trees and three level green can easily leave you with steam coming out of your ears. The par 4 4th of 390m doglegs downhill to a green that is a “Pinehurst green”, an inverse saucer shape.
The front nine travels back and forth up the hill in front of the clubhouse. One must take the local advice when reading putts ” is to look where the river is” below the clubhouse, to work out the direction of the putt. The back nine crosses the road and now your approach shots are not up and downhill so much but mainly side hill. Many people find the back nine even more challenging.
My favourite two holes on the course begin this circut, the 10th and 11th. Both par 4’s of 340m and 344 in length, they have a line of big trees right and bush and out of bounds left. The 10th requires an uphill approach to a narrow tiered green whilst the 11th requires a calculated shot to a green that slopes front to back. The 11th used to require a soft draw of the tee just to hold the cut surface but recent reconstruction work has flattened the fairway out.
The back nine also has demanding sidehill par 5’s in the form of the 13th and 16th and the par 4 14th of 393m is the 2nd hardest hole on the course. The round finishes with one of the loveliest par 4’s in Canberra. Measuring 355m, a dogleg away from the river through an avenue of gums and deciduous trees with the clubhouse as the backdrop. It is a joy to finish there on an autumn afternoon.
Changes and improvements
In 2018 the golf club was awarded a $1.3m grant from the NSW government (thanks to former local member and Deputy Premier John Barilaro). That money was used to make numerous improvements to the course and the clubhouse. A new irrigation system was installed, Eco Bunkers or a synthetic stacked wall bunkers replaced the existing pots, better cart paths were constructed and the trimming of trees improved playability.
Also the clubhouse was renovated and now with it’s verandah overlooking the 18th green, is one of the best 19th hole locations in the region. All in all it made the course and the club a more accessible course to play and enjoy.
Jake Nagle who is the grandson of legendary Australian golfer, Kel Nagle has been the head pro at Queanbeyan for 13 years. He has a fully stocked proshop with lessons available on the practice fairway, a golf simulator or the recently constructed practice chipping green in front of the proshop. The practice putting green at Queanbeyan is one of the few practice greens in the region that will actually prepare you for the slopes you will face out on the course. It is a must before any round.
Queanbeyan also gets it’s water from the river like Royal Canberra gets its water from Lake Burley Griffin. So even in the driest times it is always green. Queanbeyan Golf Club has been popular with our clients and is indeed a “hidden gem” to visit for a golf trip to Canberra.
