The Royal Melbourne Golf Club

Cheltenham Rd,

Black Rock, Victoria 3193

  • Office

    +61 (0)3 9599 0500
  • Pro shop

    +61 (0)3 9599 0500
  • Fax

    +61 (0)3 9521 0065
  • Golf pro

    Richard Hatt (Head Professional).

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined & open sandbelt course. Undulating terrain - several slopes to climb.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland and residential.

  • Designer:

    Alex Russell, with Mick Morcom in charge of construction. The East course opened for play in 1932.

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Metres
6007
5316
Par
72
74
SSS or slope
72
74

At the same location:

Above distances are for the East course. Also at Royal Melbourne Golf Club is the 18-hole West course (par-72; 6023 mtrs from back tees).

Location

Latitude:

-37.975561

Longitude:

145.040586

How to get there:

22 km SE of Melbourne CBD

From the centre of Melbourne travel south-east on the Nepean Highway (Hwy 3). After approx 13 km turn right into South Road (Rte 14), direction Brighton. After 1 km turn left into Bluff Road (Rte 19), direction Sandringham / Black Rock. After 3 km turn left into Cheltenham Road. After 1 km golf is on your right.

Royal Melbourne Golf Club (East course)

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.

Est. 1891

Royal Melbourne Golf Club (East course): Black Rock is one of Melbourne's fashionable south-eastern suburbs, and provides an ideal environment for RMCG's two outstanding championship courses. Like the world renowned West course at Royal Melbourne, the East also occupies undulating terrain, and is laid out on an easy draining sandy base.

Royal Melbourne's East course comprises gently undulating holes, superb fast-running fairways, excellent bunkering and large lightning fast greens. This is a big, rangy layout that takes you on an eastward out-and-back journey from the clubhouse, crossing two roads in the process. The road crossing is barely noticed and does not interrupt the flow of the course.

This wonderful collection of sandbelt golf holes are lined with a variety of bushes, shrubs and smallish trees, with some larger trees occasionally making their presence felt. Notable amongst the challenges you'll face are three very good short par-4s and an excellent collection of par-3 holes. Accurate approach play is needed to avoid the substantive and ever-present bunkering and reach the safety of the excellent putting surfaces.

Both RMGC's East and West courses are amongst the highest rated of the "heathland" layouts on the Melbourne sandbelt, and amongst the very best courses in Australia. They are also amongst the world's most expensive courses for overseas visitors to play. A much asked question is which is the better layout, East or West? Not even the members seem to be able to agree on that one.

List of courses: Around Melbourne

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Private club, with restricted outside visitor play. Overseas and interstate visitors should contact the Club regarding playing possibilities; generally available on Mon, Tues & Fri.

Maximum handicap: men 36; women 45. Introduction letter from home club required. Only one of the two courses can be played on the same day.

Green fees

Contact club for green fee details.

Other information

This is a walking course. Golf carts can be booked in advance (medical certificate required). Caddies available (if pre-booked).

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

Royal Melbourne has regularly hosted top-level golf tournaments, including numerous Australian Open and PGA championships, and the Presidents Cup. Such tournaments are usually played on a Composite course comprising 12 holes from the West course and six from the East course. For more details see Top Golf Tournaments at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, West course.

Look out for the plaque at the first tee. It commemorates the spot where the Club's founders looked out across the surrounding area in 1898, deciding this would be an ideal site for the relocation of Royal Melbourne from its original Caulfield links home.

Royal Melbourne is one of eight golf clubs in Australia honoured by exercise of the Sovereign's royal prerogative. Queen Victoria conferred the Royal title on the club in 1895. The eight Australian 'Royals' are (in order of gaining Royal status): Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Adelaide, Hobart, Fremantle, Canberra and Perth.

Published ranking

Australia's 8th best course (Australian Golf Digest, 2022/23).
World's 92nd best course (GOLF Magazine, 2023/24) and 84th best public access course (Golf World, 2023).

Where2Stay

  • The Victoria Golf Club

    Park Road, Cheltenham, Victoria 3192

    +61 (0)3 9584 1733

    Visit website

    The Victoria Golf Club offers the golfer more than world class golf. The Clubhouse has 15 spacious and comfortably appointed rooms, each with full ensuite facilities, for residential accommodation. Each room offers views of the grounds and the course. Victoria’s stately, three storey, fully air conditioned clubhouse exudes comfort and a welcoming, congenial atmosphere. Victoria Golf Club is excellently located at the heart of the Melbourne "sandbelt" golf courses, with Royal Melbourne just next door, and many other famous name courses in close proximity.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      Victoria GC

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Royal Melbourne (East & West courses); Woodlands; Kingston Heath; Spring Valley; Yarra Yarra; Commonwealth; Metropolitan; Huntingdale.

    • Golf within 30 km:

      Peninsula (North & South courses); Long Island; Ranfurlie.

  • Quest Brighton on the Bay4-star

    250 Esplanade, Brighton, Melbourne Suburbs, VIC 3186

    +61 (0)3 9591 5000

    Visit website

    Quest Brighton on the Bay offers beachfront accommodation in the heart of Brighton, one of Melbourne's most desirable and well-known suburbs. The serviced apartments are modern and only 20-minutes from the city centre. Guests enjoy a seaside atmosphere and have easy access to the many attractions that Melbourne has to offer. Some of the highlights of Quest Brighton on the Bay include its Verve Restaurant and Bar, separate meeting and conference facilities, full on-site parking, guest laundry services and an Endota Day Spa.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Royal Melbourne (East & West courses); Victoria; Yarra Yarra; Commonwealth; Metropolitan; Huntingdale.

    • Golf within 30 km:

      Kingston Heath; Spring Valley; Woodlands;

Find a course

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Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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