History

The fact that the Mount Osmond Golf Club has a history at all is testament to the determination of Mr Sydney Melbourne – the then district engineer of the council of Burnside in 1924.  

If it wasn’t for his vision and stubbornness, the prime location where the club now proudly stands would no doubt be part of the lower Adelaide Hills residential zone.  

After the council declined his plan to create a public golf course, Mr Melbourne co-opted the support and spirit of other like-minded golf lovers and formed a syndicate to purchase the land.  

They then formed a company and in 1927 offered shares to the public. The first Club President of the Mount Osmond Country Club Ltd was Mr E.W. Holden (who later went on to become Sir Edward of Holden car fame)  

We’ve had some well-known members here over the years too.  

Sir Donald Bradman and his wife both belonged to Mount Osmond for many years. Australia’s most famous cricketer was also a gifted golfer, winning the Club Championship in 1935 and again in 1949.  

The original clubhouse, opened in 1930, was designed to be a true ‘Country Club’, with accommodation, tennis courts, bowling greens, dining rooms and a swimming pool.  

All kinds of schemes were conceived and in some cases implemented, to allow the fledgling club to survive and grow.  

From 1927 and into the 50s sheep were very profitably grazed and penned on the course. The revenue from such schemes enabled club management to invest in equipment to care for the course.  

During the war years, Mount Osmond’s clubhouse was used as a convalescent hospital and the fairways and greens became a wilderness of wild oats and weeds. After the war, member ‘working bee’ sessions slowly but surely restored the playing surfaces, and clubrooms, to their former high standards.  

The Mount Osmond Golf Club was incorporated in 1957 and the newly-formed club began the process of buying the shares of the original company – a task that was amicably completed by 1965.  

It has always been the club’s aim to provide the best golf experience possible for its members and investment has continued to this end.  

In 1963 a four million-gallon reservoir was built, guaranteeing the necessary care for fairways and greens, and ensuring Mount Osmond remained green and leafy all year round.  

Today around 1,200 members enjoy the superb playing and leisure facilities that you will find at Mount Osmond Golf Club.  

We have a club that while remaining current and up-to-date is also traditional and a golf venue of which our founder Mr Melbourne would still be suitably proud.