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Queensland’s most exclusive golf club is about to undergo a massive expansion ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games – a new nine-hole golf course and riverside pavilion – after the state government signed off on its masterplan.
The Royal Queensland Golf Club, which was established in 1920 and granted Royal Charter the following year by King George V, has been nominated as the venue for Olympic golf competitions in 2032.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie approved a Ministerial Infrastructure Designation for the Eagle Farm club on Monday, clearing the way for it to reclaim land unused since it was disrupted during the Gateway Bridge duplication more than 15 years ago.
The proposed upgrade to the Royal Queensland Golf Club will include a pavilion with an undercover riverside deck.
“These critical upgrades to the Royal Queensland Golf Club will deliver a world-class golf facility to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Bleijie said.
“This will also provide a legacy for the golf course, and provides for active transport for the broader community along the river frontage into the future.”
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Along with the new championship-quality nine-hole golf course and pavilion, with an undercover riverside deck, the privately funded upgrade will include an administration building, kiosk and outdoor racquet sport facilities.
In a prepared statement, club president Robert McAfee described the development as the “next chapter” for the storied course.
“Our club has more than 100 years of history, and this project returns golf to the site of our original course while positioning the club for the future,” he said.
Further comment was sought from the club.
Local MP Tim Nicholls, the health minister and member for Clayfield, said the return of the land to the east of the Gateway bridges to golfing was “precisely what is needed”.
“This allows the club to do what the community on Brisbane’s northside have told me for 10 years should occur on this land,” he said.
The Brisbane 2032 Delivery Plan has nominated Royal Queensland as one of the existing venues to be used during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Golf was reintroduced as an Olympic sport in 2016 after an absence of 112 years, but Australia has never won an Olympic golf medal.
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Australian golfing legend Greg Norman, a member of the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee, cut his teeth as a professional at the course, working at the club’s pro shop in the 1970s.
While the Olympics will give punters the chance to experience Royal Queensland during competition, membership remains out of reach for many people.
Candidates must be active golfers and have a proposer, seconder and three referees. Once vetted, would-be full members must pay a $16,500 entrance fee and a $5355 annual membership fee.
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