Concord Golf Club
Established in 1899 Concord Golf Club exists on the forefront of Australia’s proud golfing history, hosting a number of championship tournaments including the Australian PGA.
About the Club
Originally designed by Dan Soutar in 1916 and altered late last century by Ross Watson, Concord’s most recent redesign in 2018 by world-renowned course architect Tom Doak has affirmed Concord as a challenging favourite for avid golfers. American, Doak, has five original courses rated within the world’s top hundred and a reputation for flamboyant design and cerebral layout. His work on Concord doesn’t disappoint.
A leading tournament venue, Concord’s hosted a number of championship tournaments including the Australian PGA, the NSW Open, the ANZ Championship and the Australian Women’s Open.
Centrally located in the Inner West of Sydney, Concord’s challenging and superbly-presented championship course, classic clubhouse and beautifully manicured gardens make it one of the most respected in the country.
Doak’s 2018 redesign of Concord has been, by far, the biggest transformation the course has been through in its long history – it’s been described as a new course across familiar ground.
The process saw all 18 greens and 69 bunkers rebuilt with some fairway reshaping too. The overall length of the course was actually reduced by 200 metres in the redesign, bringing it to 6,050 metres. However, play is seriously more strategic.
Through the redesign process, Concord lost 175 trees (but planted more than 200 elsewhere on the property) to save from the claustrophobia that was imposed over some holes. Tree removal has ultimately made the course more playable from tee to green, while clever design requires more exacting skill closer to the hole.
There’s an excellent mix of angled greens and tilted greens requiring far greater strategy – more questions to consider at every single hole, from line of approach, to club choice for navigating the journey.
Though the routing is almost identical in Concord’s redesign, many of the changes may not be fully evident at first glance. The subtleties, however, reveal themselves in play and optical illusions abound. The long waiting list for membership is testament to a job well done – Concord offers up fun and challenge in equal measure.
The final 18th hole offers plenty of space if you play wisely.
There’s room to the left side of the deep fairway bunkers, but getting stuck in one will certainly remove a par-4 from your card. Long hitters can choose between a variety of drives, but all will involve dodging the first bunkers to the right, and then to the left further up the fairway.
The green slopes from right to left rewarding the lower ball flight coming in from the right side. High ball hitters can carry the deep front left bunker and attack the flag.