The Metropolitan Golf Club

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The Metropolitan Golf Club is one of the renowned sandbelt courses of Melbourne and is widely recognised as one of the finest championship courses in Australia. It is located in Oakleigh South, in the city's south-eastern suburbs, approximately twenty minutes' drive from the CBD.HistoryMetropolitan shared a common origin with Royal Melbourne in 1891 as the Melbourne Golf Club, the Royal title was granted in 1895.The original links at Malvern were engulfed by housing so in 1901 many members moved nearer to Port Phillip bay to the present Royal Melbourne course. Those who remained formed the Caulfield Golf Club and in 1906 purchased a farm in Oakleigh with a two storey house. In 1908 the members moved to the new course and began play as The Metropolitan Golf Club.Designed by engineer member J B MacKenzie, the farmland was transformed by the establishment of magnificent plantations of Australian native trees and shrubs and has the most famous specimen of red flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia) in Australia. This huge tree, magnificent in bloom in February and well over 100 years old, is the Club emblem with the winged golf ball.The flora at Metropolitan Golf Club attracts many different species of native birds.Over the years the course has moved with the demands of the times and staged its first Australian Open in 1930 after modifications suggested by famous golf course architect Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1926. The Victorian Centenary Open was here in 1934 and Gene Sarazen won the Australian Open at Metropolitan in 1936. Sarazen included the 14th hole as one of his world favorites.