Work on the course started in 1922 and the first nine holes opened on 19 May 1923.[1][2] In August, the course hosted a country championship, for players from outside Adelaide, won by Mr. Haehrmann from Ambleside.[3] The same month the Australian Open was played at Royal Adelaide and the opportunity was taken to organise a 36-hole professional event at the club, on the day after the open. Arthur Ham won the event with a score of 161, a stroke ahead of Arthur Le Fevre.[4] the course was extended to 18 holes in 1924.
The Simpson Cup was originally for competition between The Kooyonga Golf Club & The Royal Adelaide Golf Club from 1927 to 1938. Post World War 2 The Grange & Glenelg Golf Clubs joined the annual competition and in 2008 Southern District and Mid-North District entered teams also.[5] As at 2022 Kooyonga has won 33 Simpson Cups and Royal Adelaide has won 10 [6]
The world's greatest golfers (including Walter Hagen and the "Big Three" Palmer, Nicklaus and Player) have all played at Kooyonga over its long and rich history.
Golf icon Walter Hagen played the Kooyonga Golf Course in the 1930s. Sensationally, the Kooyonga Golf Club Secretary of the time was arrested and remanded for embezzling 131 pounds that was to be paid to Walter Hagen and J Kirkwood.[7] However a few years later when asked about Australian Golf Courses, Hagen mentioned Kooyonga as the one he rated extremely highly, describing the course as a "hard test".[8]
The Black Knight Gary Player has won two Australian Opens there and in 1965, the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus was runner up to Player in the Australian Open at Kooyonga.
LIV Golf CEO, the Great White Shark, Greg Norman has played at Kooyonga on a number of occasions, winning the South Australian Open there twice[11]Greg Norman regarded winning the 1996 South Australian Open at Kooyonga as particularly important for him [12]
In 2018 the world number 1 female golfer, Ko Jin-Young won the Women's Australian Open at Kooyonga[13]
The Women's Australian Open was scheduled to return to Kooyonga in February 2022, however Covid travel restrictions have caused that event to be cancelled for the year.[14]
Kooyonga Golf Course, albeit exclusive is noted as a significant attraction for interstate and international visitors by the South Australian Government Tourism Commission [18]
In 2024 the Australian Golf Digest Magazine ranked the top 100 Golf Courses in Australia, and Kooyonga was elevated to the number 18 position on that list. [19]
A green at Kooyonga Golf ClubKooyonga Golf Club main entrance.
^"New golf course". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 11, no. 523. South Australia. 20 May 1922. p. 5. Retrieved 9 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Play at Kooyonga". The Register (Adelaide). Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 25786. South Australia. 20 August 1923. p. 9. Retrieved 8 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Pennant Golf". Glenelg Golf Club. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
