Centenary celebrations set to kick off
The 27-hole Coffs Harbour Golf Club on the NSW North Coast celebrates its centenary in 2026.
THERE are few golf clubs in this country that can boast names like Gary Player, Norman von Nida, Kel Nagle, Bruce Crampton and Billy Dunk on their honour boards.
Yet they were among many proud winners of the prestigious North Coast Open, played at the Coffs Harbour Golf Club, which this year has extra cause for celebration and has big plans as it launches headlong into its 100th year.
The 27-hole layout is among the most popular in the Premier State and boasts a strong and loyal membership preparing to kick up their heels and celebrate being one of our leading layouts and star performers for so many years.
The Centenary celebrations kick off with the first memorable moment to occur this month when members, club leaders and special guests unveil a commemorative plaque, raise the Centenary flag, and reveal a four-metre-long Centenary timeline.
This timeline will showcase the club’s major milestones and honour the people and moments that have shaped its history.
Centenary celebrations will include:
• A Centenary cocktail party.
• A commemorative Centenary book, capturing the club’s unique history, spirit, and achievements.
• Centenary interviews—short video features with long-term members, club professionals and elite juniors who have competed globally.
• Installation of a time capsule, to be sealed in December on the club’s actual birthday, offering future generations insight into the club’s legacy.
• Morning teas for past members, recognising and honouring valued contributors to the club’s story.
• All major championships throughout the year will be marked as Centenary events, including the inaugural Junior North Coast Cup.
• Exclusive Centenary merchandise such as polos, caps, ball markers and more, available in the pro shop.
There are more than 1150 members of Coffs Harbour Golf Club and almost 50 cadets looking to carve their own golfing paths down the track.
Most of them will attest being a member at Coffs Harbour Golf Club means immersing yourself in a welcoming and inclusive environment.
This club prides itself on its strong sense of family and community, fostering camaraderie among members of all ages and skill levels.
Whether you’re a seasoned golfer or just beginning, the club’s friendly atmosphere makes it easy to form lasting friendships both on and off the course.
CHGC’s rich tradition as a family club is also evident, with two and even three generations often seen playing together.
Members also enjoy exclusive access to a beautifully-maintained 27-hole course set in a picturesque location, as well as a vibrant calendar packed with regular competitions, social events, and expert coaching sessions.
The 14th and 16th holes on the challenging Lakes course.
The club’s inclusive spirit ensures every round is enjoyable, and the shared passion for golf brings everyone together.
The envy of so many other courses in this state, Coffs Harbour’s 27 holes means members can enjoy three different course combinations each week, enhancing the variety and experience of play.
All 27 holes have all-weather cart access on sealed concrete paths.
The course is renowned for its immaculate condition, week-in and week-out and golfers face tree-lined fairways, challenging bunkers and numerous water hazards, making it a true test for even the most experienced players.
Indeed, the course was ranked in the top five to 10 per cent of the hardest courses in the country – when it is played from the championship Blue tees.
The third and 19th holes both vie for the distinction of being the club’s signature hole.
Teeing off from an elevated tee to a green protected by a water hazard front and left, both these ‘water-feature’ holes are as challenging as they are aesthetically pleasing.
The par-three third is also guarded by bunkers on the right, while the lake on the 19th (a par-three for men and par four for women) has a creek flowing behind the green as well.
No doubt the toughest hole at Coffs is the par-five 24th hole.
Here is a tight driving hole through a narrow chute with large trees left and right.
There is a fairway bunker left of the landing area about 220 metres from the men’s tee, 190m from the women’s tee.
A creek crosses the fairway another 30m on and deep fairway bunkers about 40m from the front of the green come into play for the men’s second and the women’s third shot. Laying up from them leaves a short iron to a long three-tiered green with three bunkers to the right.
Back to the Centenary celebrations and there have been so many highlights in the 100 years of golf at CHGC.
• In 1951, Coffs Harbour Golf Club hosted its first professional tournament, the North Coast Open, with prizemoney of £200. The event was won by one of Australia’s greatest-ever golfers Kel Nagle.
• In 1966, the club received a prestigious Group 1 rating from the NSW Golf Association, making it one of the few clubs in regional areas to achieve this distinction.
• The club hosted its first Ladies European Tour (LET) event in 2018, which was the NSW Open, with Megan McLaren emerging as the winner.
• In 2019, the club was also listed in the top 100 public-access courses in Australia.
• From 2024, Coffs Harbour Golf Club became the venue for the NSW Inclusive Golf Championship.
• In 2025, the club hosted the Australian Women’s Classic, a professional women’s golf event on the WPGA/Ladies European Tour schedule. Manon de Roey claimed victory, and the tournament also featured major winner Grace Kim, marking an exciting new era of elite competition at CHGC.
Course records have been shared over the three layouts over the years with the Lakes course record of 64 held by Trent Jones (men) and 69 by Amelia Mehmet-Grohn (women).
The East Lakes record is 63 by Anthony Quayle (men) and 72 by Amelia Mehmet-Grohn (women) and the West Lakes course a 64 by Billy Flanagan and 71 by Annalese McKee.
Life membership represents the most prestigious recognition this club can confer. Over the past century, 17 individuals have received this distinction.
Col Cutmore and Matt Martin remain active participants in club activities, and their enduring contributions are duly acknowledged as foundational to the club’s present success.
Gloria Hickey and Col Cutmore remain as the most successful amateur golfers within the club; both having won 12 individual Club Championships.
The club has also seen many of its’ junior golfers distinguish themselves as amateurs and progress to the professional ranks.
Most recently, Jack Pountney and Amelia Mehmet-Grohn have been competing on the Australian PGA and WPGA tours while earlier playing professionals are making their mark on the golfing industry both within Australia and around the world.
Among the former juniors who have made their mark are:
• Paul Sheehan, winner of the 2006 Japan Open, has founded Exclusive Golf Japan, a highly successful golf tourism company currently operating out of Melbourne.
• Emma de Groot continues to play at an elite level, while forging a career as a highly-respected golf coach. In 2019 & 2021 she was appointed coach/manager of the Australian Women’s Amateur Team; inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga; named the 2022 Brooke Henderson PGA of Canada Female Player of the Year, and has captained the 2020-, 2022- and 2024-Women’s Canadian Team in the Women’s PGA International Cup.
• Suzie Fisher, who won the 2000 Australian Women’s Amateur Strokeplay Championship, is a highly respected junior golf coach in America, a Top 50 USKIDS Golf Master Coach, and is the Director of Instruction at Fox Hollow Club in Tampa, Florida.
• Nick McKay is currently the Men’s Assistant Golf Coach at Kennesaw State University.
• Luke Grinham is a highly respected Regional Manager for Golf NSW working in the South Coast region.
Gary Player, a nine-time major champion, competing in the 1957 North Coast Open at the
Coffs Harbour course.
Coffs Harbour GC – Major Events
NORTH COAST OPEN
Coffs Harbour hosts two major annual events, the North Coast Open and the Festival of Golf
The North Coast Open, established in 1951, initially featured a prize fund of £200, with Kel Nagle winning the inaugural event.
The tournament saw notable champions such as Nagle, Gary Player, and Bruce Devlin, and was held at a venue that evolved from a modest clubhouse to a modern facility completed in 1953.
The event gained prominence through sponsorships from companies like Ampol and Slazenger, attracting international players including South African golfers Trevor Wilkes, Harold Henning and Player, who made a significant impact by winning in 1956.
Throughout its history, the tournament experienced dramatic moments, such as Gary Player’s 1956 playoff victory involving a unique incident with a fox terrier (a little fox terrier ran onto the course from Raleigh St, picked up Player’s ball, and ran down the hill and off the course.
The ball was declared lost, and Player took eight strokes for the hole).
The event became a major Australian tournament by 1957, with increased spectator attendance and media coverage. Controversies, such as the unexpected entry of more players than allowed in 1958, highlighted the tournament’s growing popularity.
In 1960, the tournament featured two British Open champions, Nagle and Peter Thomson, emphasizing its prestige.
Facing sponsorship withdrawal in 1961, the club expanded the event to a 72-hole format over four days, the first time it had ever happened in Australian professional golf.
The event was part of the PGA Tour of Australia from 1973 to 1975, maintaining its regional significance.
After a hiatus, the professional event was revived in 2020 with a prize purse of $50,000, supporting the NSW Regional Open Golf Qualifying Series. Recent winners include Brett Rankin, Josh Armstrong, and Andrew Kirkman, demonstrating the tournament’s ongoing legacy and contribution to Australian golf.
FESTIVAL OF GOLF
The club recently celebrated its 75th Festival of Golf, now held annually in the last week of October.
The festival is a week-long celebration featuring a combination of various events, including an ambrose, 4BBB’s, stableford and stroke events.
In 2025, there were more than 2,300 rounds of golf played over the eight days, from 70 different clubs, including players from New Zealand.
During the week, there are themed events and corresponding evening entertainment in the club house.
It culminates on the last weekend with the North Coast Amateur for men and the Ladies Classic for women, both two-day stroke events.
There is also a two-day stableford event for men and women held over the weekend for higher handicappers.
Coffs Harbour GC – Course History
IN the early 1900’s locals tossed around the idea of starting a golf club in the Coffs Harbour area.
However, it was not until 1924 that positive steps were taken to start the formation of a club.
Negotiations took place over the next two years to try to find a suitable permanent site for the course.
In 1926, the members built a temporary six-hole course within the site of the Coffs Harbour Showground with the first competition being a mixed four-ball event.
In the subsequent years additional sites were trialed, including a site at Korora.
It was not till 1938 that the current site was secured, and a golf course architect engaged to design the course. Initially nine holes were constructed.
During World War II Armed Forces occupied parts of the golf course and the clubhouse and car park used by the Light Horse and as a maintenance area for armed vehicles and motorbikes.
Army signals and radio detachments were camped in the trees on the now 24th fairway.
Army huts, showers and toilets were built on the now 26th fairway.
In 1953, four additional holes were opened and 12 months later a full 18-hole course was finally available to all members.
By 1981, the club had progressively expanded the course, and a full 27 holes were available to play in its three configurations of The Lakes, East Lakes and West Lakes.
The course has undergone continual improvements since this time, with construction of a whole of course irrigation system, improved drainage works, concrete cart paths for the full course, fairway grass improvements and green reconstructions.
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