Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where's the golf course?
A: We are a club of people who play golf. We do not own a golf course.
The Olinda golf course is on Crown land, "managed" by Parks Victoria. We used to play all our games at the Olinda course, but as it had not been adequately maintained for some years, we had to move our club's activities to another course where we could continue to play golf.
We are ever hopeful that the State Government will do something about restoring the Olinda course to an acceptable condition and we will then be able to 'go back home'.

Q: Why hasn't something been done about the course?
A: Over a number of years, the club held numerous talks with Parks Victoria about the deteriorating condition of the course. We were always treated very politely but nothing was done to stop the rot. We had meetings with James Merlino, the local MP who was, at the time, Minister for Sport. Still nothing was done. We wrote to Gavin Jennings, the Minister responsible for Parks Victoria, detailing numerous problems with the condition of the course. After a lengthy delay, we eventually received a letter back saying, in essence, that Parks Victoria had assured him that the "fairways were playable". Apart from reference to rabbit infestations, the fairways were the one aspect of the course we had not complained about.
The current government has done nothing to change the situation despite being fully aware of the problems and despite their pre-election promises that Parks Victoria would be held to account for their failings over the course.

Q: What about the Olinda clubhouse at Olinda?
A: In 1968, the Forests Commission of Victoria, in conjunction with the Shire of Yarra Ranges, granted permission for the Olinda Golf Club to build a clubhouse for use by its members. There were numerous restrictions placed on the club concerning materials that may be used for the building, its hours of operation and the maximum number of members that the club may have. The members paid for all construction costs and the ongoing insurance and maintenance continuously up until mid 2009 when they were locked out of their own building. Parks Victoria had leased the site out to a commercial operator!
Similarly, in 2010, the Rhododendron Society were ordered to vacate the tea rooms they had built many years earlier in the National Rhododendron Gardens at Olinda as it, too, had been leased by Parks Victoria to a commercial operator.

Q: Where does the Olinda club now play its games and matches?
A: We examined a number of options and chose to move to Emerald Golf & Country Resort which is a privately owned, public access course, that is also home to the Emerald Golf Club. As neither club is large, we have not had any problems with two clubs using the facilities of the course. Throughout the year, we have a few combined events.

Q: Membership is very cheap compared to other golf clubs, why such a large difference?
A: In addition to club membership. players need to pay green fees to the Emerald Resort which offers discounted fees for annual subscription.
Also for each club competition, there is a nominal fee which goes toward prizes awarded for good scores, nearest-to-pin, etc. and trophies awarded at our annual presentation night.

Q: What competitions does the club run?
A: The club competitions run every Saturday, usually at 11:00 and every Tuesday at 9:00. For details, see the syllabus in the 'Calendar' tab.
Members are also provided with a printed copy of the syllabus with descriptions of the various events and a current Rules of Golf book. Members are NOT obliged to attend all events, but many do.

Q: There are photos of pennant teams. What's that about?
A: The club is affiliated with the Victorian Golf League whose member clubs are all associated with public golf courses around metropolitan Melbourne. The VGL is part of the Victorian Golf Association which, in turn, is part of Golf Australia.
The VGL conduct a season of pennant matches annually with the various clubs divided into Divisions. Each club puts teams into these competitions which are conducted round-robin style at the various courses. At the end of the season, the two teams with the most points within each division play off against each other for the divisional pennant.