Club History
At its inception in 1899, the Castlemaine Golf Club consisted of eight holes cut into the landscape among the old mines, and our inaugural members used hickory-shafted clubs and compressed Indiarubber balls. We’ve come a long way since then, to today’s 18 hole, watered, championship course with manicured grass greens, and where our members now use carbon titanium clubs and balata-covered golf balls!
A Century of Golf on the Goldfields
To celebrate its centenary in 1999, a special booklet was produced. Titled ‘A Century of Golf on the Goldfields’, and compiled by Jean Wyldbore, it contains a wealth of history and wonderful stories from the past 100 years. It’s a fascinating snapshot of the the Club. Copies are stored in the Clubhouse.
A brief summary of the book follows – you need to read it to find out more.
1899 29th July: Inaugural meeting at the Cumberland hotel
1899 5th August: First official round played at Milkmaid’s Flat (9 holes)
1928 18 holes completed at Milkmaid’s Flat
1928 Unanimous decision made to seek new, larger property to accommodate a full championship length course
1941 Play commenced at present site at Muckleford
1965 Liquor Licence granted
1968 7,000,000 gallon dam constructed
1969 Summer golf began 1971 Grass greens opened
1976 Fairway watering system installed
1987 The club was incorporated; Associated became Lady Members
1991 New clubhouse completed
1994 Capacity of dam on first nine holes increased to 30 mL
1999 The club celebrated its Centenary
2009 Recycled water supplied from Coliban Water