Our History

Kurri Golf Club has been part of the Hunter’s golfing community since 1930, growing from humble beginnings into the established 18-hole course generations of local golfers know today.

Ours is a story shaped not only by golf, but by the people behind it. Members and volunteers helped build the course, expand its fairways and greens and establish a club where competition, friendship and community have gone hand in hand for more than nine decades.

Today, Kurri Golf Club continues that tradition from its home in Heddon Greta, welcoming members, visitors, juniors and social golfers to a course that has been played at its present site since 1954.

The early years: 1930–1953

Kurri Golf Club was established in 1930, during a period when golf clubs were becoming an increasingly important part of sporting and community life throughout the Hunter.

It did not take long for the new club to become part of organised district golf. Kurri Kurri Golf Club affiliated with the Hunter River District Golf Association in 1931, joining clubs from across the region in district competition.

Contemporary newspaper records show an active club emerging during the 1930s. By October 1932, the Newcastle press was already reporting on Kurri Kurri Golf Club competitions, while reports later in the decade recorded club events and trophy presentations.

These early years established traditions of competition and participation that remain central to the club today.

A new home at Heddon Greta

One of the most significant chapters in the club’s history began with the move to the present Heddon Greta site.

Golf has been played here since 1954.

The course did not arrive as the completed 18-hole layout golfers experience today. It was built progressively, beginning as a nine-hole course before generations of members helped extend it.

Long-serving club administrator Bennett “Ben” Owen was one of the people instrumental in that development. A Director, Treasurer and later Life Member of Kurri Golf Club, Ben was actively involved in relocating the club and constructing the original nine holes at Heddon Greta. Those holes now form the back nine of the present course.

His contribution extended well beyond Kurri. Ben served the Hunter River District Golf Association for decades and was awarded Life Membership of the Association in 1975.

Built by the community

The development of Kurri Golf Club is a classic story of Australian country golf.

The course grew with the club and its community – first nine holes, then 13, then 15 and eventually the complete 18-hole layout.

That gradual expansion tells an important part of the Kurri story. The course was not simply created and handed to its members; it evolved through years of work, commitment and involvement from people who wanted to build something lasting for their community.

In 2023, Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson reflected on that history in the Australian Parliament, describing Kurri as a place where the community came together to build its golf course progressively until it ultimately reached 18 holes.

That community spirit remains one of the defining characteristics of Kurri Golf Club.

Generations of people behind the club

The history of Kurri is also the history of the members who gave their time to the game.

Arthur William Frame was another notable figure in both Kurri and Hunter golf. He joined Kurri Golf Club in August 1948 and went on to serve the club in numerous administrative positions, including Club Captain, Vice-President and President.

His contribution to district golf extended for more than half a century, including a remarkable period of service with the Hunter River District Golf Association.

Ben Owen, Arthur Frame and many other volunteers, committee members, greenkeepers, golfers and supporters helped establish the culture inherited by today’s members.

Their contribution is an important reminder that a golf club is more than its fairways and greens. It is the people prepared to invest their time in it who create its history.

The course takes shape

As the club developed, so did the golf course.

The completed layout grew into a traditional Hunter golf course characterised by undulating terrain, mature trees and holes that reward accuracy and course management rather than simply distance.

Today, the established course winds through its Heddon Greta setting with bentgrass putting surfaces and well-grassed fairways. Its tree-lined character means finding the correct position from the tee remains an important part of scoring well.

Among its memorable holes is the par-3 6th, played across the lake to a large green whose contours place a premium on distance control and accuracy.

It is the type of golf course that can be enjoyed on a first visit but takes considerably longer to truly learn – particularly when trying to find the right side of fairways and greens.

Part of Hunter golf

Kurri’s connection with the wider Hunter golfing community stretches back almost as far as the club itself.

Its 1931 affiliation with the Hunter River District Golf Association established a relationship with district golf that has continued through generations of pennant players, club champions, administrators and representative golfers.

Over the years, Kurri golfers have competed at club, district, regional and state level, while the club has continued to support the development of junior golf.

That commitment has included providing opportunities for young golfers to learn the game and progress into competition. Kurri has also played host to junior golf initiatives and significant junior events, helping introduce another generation to the sport.

A connection with Jack Newton

Few golfers are more closely associated with the Hunter than the late Jack Newton.

His contribution to Australian golf and his passion for junior development hold a special place in the region’s sporting history, and that connection is recognised at Kurri Golf Club.

A large mural on the clubhouse celebrates Newton’s career, including his Australian Open triumph and his memorable battle with Tom Watson for the 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

The mural forms part of the wider Kurri Kurri mural tradition and links the club with one of the Hunter’s greatest sporting figures.

Preserving the past while planning for the future

Another important chapter began in November 2024 when Kurri Golf Club amalgamated with Kurri Kurri Bowling Club.

The agreement was structured to protect the golfing identity that generations of Kurri members had created. It provides for the course to continue operating as a standalone 18-hole golf facility and for the traditions, culture, memorabilia and golfing activities associated with Kurri Golf Club to be maintained.

It also provides a framework for improvements to the golf course, clubhouse and surrounds.

For a club established in 1930, it represents another stage in a much longer story – preserving what matters about Kurri while providing a foundation for the decades ahead.

Still a place for golfers to come together

More than 90 years after the club was established, much has changed.

A small golf club became an established 18-hole course. Fairways were extended, new holes were built and generations of golfers came through the gates.

But the fundamental purpose of Kurri Golf Club remains remarkably familiar.

It is somewhere to play competitive golf. Somewhere to learn the game. Somewhere to catch up with mates after a round. Somewhere juniors can develop their skills and older golfers can continue playing a game they have enjoyed for decades.

Most importantly, it remains part of its community.

From the people who established the club in 1930, to those who helped build the Heddon Greta course from nine holes into 18, and the members walking its fairways today, every generation has added something to the Kurri Golf Club story.

More than 90 years on, that story is still being written.