HISTORY
A lot has changed in 116 years,
but one thing that hasn't is our love of the game.
Established 1906
Golf has been played on this very location in Cammeray Park since 1906. A group of golfers from the Neutral Bay Tennis Club established the Cammeray Golf Club and secured a lease for land in Cammeray Park. Cammeray Park in the early 1900s was a wilderness of bush and rocks looking down on Middle Harbour. A lot of clearing and landscaping was required to create a golf course and fences were needed to protect the greens from army horses and dairy cattle which grazed on the course.
The six hole golf course was ready for play in 1906, which makes Cammeray Golf Club one of the oldest golf clubs in New South Wales. The original clubhouse was on the corner of Sutherland Street and Park Avenue. It was relocated in 1938 to its present location.
1937 RTA Aerial Map
A sign of things to come
In the 1960s, Warringah Freeway extensions cut the golf course in two and resulted in a new 9 hole layout. Some of our longer standing Members fondly recall the course in the 1960s –
* Hitting shots over the then Cammeray Road on the 1st and 8th holes (what was Cammeray Road is now the grassy plateau between our current 5th and 7th holes
* The 7th green was across the road from the North Sydney Anzac Memorial Club (now Anzac Park Public School)
* The skate park now occupies the site of the 9th green
Our Club survived this disruption in the 1960s and flourished with the reconfigured course. That same layout remained until 2021.
History is repeating
In 2019 we learnt that the golf course would again be impacted by Warringah Freeway upgrades. Approximately 40% of the golf course would be resumed for this project and a reconfigured golf course would be constructed on the balance of the land.
In June 2021, we lost our 9th hole for a construction compound and 8 / 16 hole rounds of golf commenced at Cammeray. By August 2021, the 8th green and the entire 9th hole were out of action and temporary greens were in play on the 5th, 7th and 8th fairways. We quickly became the busiest 8 hole course in Sydney during the Covid-19 lockdown!
We were still operating, albeit as a six hole course, until 31 March 2022 with construction due to commence on the reconfigured golf course in August 2022.
The next chapter
We are creating a fun, easy play golf course for the whole community. The new layout of Cammeray golf course is designed to be an inclusive and welcoming environment for all players, while still providing a challenge for accomplished golfers. There will be 9 challenging, par 3 holes for the regular golfers but for those new to the game, we’ll have more friendly tee options while they learn and improve.
The course will deliver a faster pace of play and anyone can come and learn the game and play a quick 9 holes in just over an hour. It will be a great pathway for new golfers to learn on and fall in love with the great game of golf.
New to the archives
From then, to now
{Click the decade for photos}
Unfortunately a fire in the 1940’s destroyed the records of Cammeray’s early years. We would love your input into our archives and invite you to share any photos, memorabilia and your knowledge with us by emailing admin@cammeraygolf.com.au