Norfolk Island Golf – It’s Classic
classic
/’klasIk/
adjective
1. judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind.
Well, that sort of encompasses the annual Norfolk Island Golf Club Pro-Am Golf Classic, and Kingston really, but there’s more…
Stepping onto the first tee at the Norfolk Island Golf Club – or anywhere in the World Heritage Kingston area is to take a small step into history. The entire lowland site is shrouded in layers of fascinating stories, woven over four distinct periods of human settlement spanning more than ten centuries.
Polynesian seafarers first settled on Norfolk Island between around 1000 – 1400AD. They lived in the area behind Emily Bay, as well as other areas around the island. Evidence of their tenure has been found in the wooded area right next to the course’s first putting green.
In the late 1700s, weeks after the First Fleet arrived at Australia, Lieutenant Philip Gidley King arrived at Norfolk Island to settle it for the British. The heavily pine-wooded Kingston area was slowly cleared, one tree at a time. Lands that were cleared were then used for farming, and the timber was used to build for the burgeoning settlement. This continued for nearly 30 years until the settlement’s buildings were set ablaze, and the island was abandoned in 1814.
In 1825 the area was settled once again by the British as a place a harsh and gruesome punishment. This time, a larger convict workforce was incarcerated on the remote pacific outpost. Work soon began erecting a series of stone buildings – far more ambitious and more grand than the timber structures of the first British settlement.
Land continued to be cleared once again during this period and slowly Kingston’s marvellous Georgian buildings began to appear. The buildings were constructed on a foundation of hard convict labour and remain as a monument to their struggle. All through this period, Kingston’s trees were slowly thinned out and unwittingly the basis of a World Class, World Heritage golf course was created. Every part of Kingston tells fascinating stories, and the golf course and club house are no different.
The course today is one of only a few to be located in World Heritage Area, but it’s no token or postcard course. This 9 hole, 18 tee circuit presents the just right amount of challenges to be fun to play, but technical enough to make things very interesting at competition level. As you tackle the undulating surfaces and navigate the course twists and turns, you are quite literally taking a walk through history. An unearthed well to the left, and a windmill to the right are just a couple of the obstacles and landmarks that you will be presented with. You’ll even enter and exit the remnants of a rock quarry hidden beneath layers of finely manicured fairway – so you may not even notice.
It’s said that Lottie Stevenson first hit a ball down the fairway in 1913. Today, the course may only be a little over a hundred years old, but it’s foundation has been in the making for a lot longer than that; Nine beautiful fairways slowly curated through decades of the convict and early Pitcairner eras. It’s doubtful there are many courses in the world that can boast such a unique legacy. So, even before any tournament or competition – it’s a ‘classic’ by any definition of the word.
In June 2010 Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as one of the 11 sites that make up the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage Property. As an area of ‘outstanding significance to the nation as a convict settlement spanning the era of transportation to eastern Australia between 1788–1855’.
Despite all its history, Kingston itself is not a museum, its a ‘living’ heritage site and it remains the island’s lowland hub. It’s a place of relaxation, reflection and remembrance of course, but it’s also a place to share, to use, to work and to enjoy – the Norfolk Island Golf Course plays a large part of that.
The Golf Club and Pro Shop are located at No. 1 Quality Row – worlds apart from the pine woodlands that the early Polynesian settlers would have encountered, or the Colonial Officer’s suburb of the 1840s. The building’s first dweller – the Stipendiary Magistrate of the day – was only a resident for a handful of years before the closure of the settlement.
Quality Row was the result of years of convict labour and hardship during the island’s notorious second British settlement period, but many of the area’s buildings were really only used for a small period of time before the settlement was shut down and the Pitcairn Islanders arrived in 1856. The Georgian avenue became home to the incumbent islanders in the years after their arrival, before slowly dispersing to build homes on land grants they were given across the island. The Quintal family resided at No.1 Quality Row for over 50 years – far longer than any colonial tenant. The building was damaged by fire in the early 1900s, at the end of the Quintal tenure, and was eventually refurbished to become the Clubhouse in the 1970s.
For a large portion of the Clubhouse’s history, the long-standing annual ‘Norfolk Island Golf Club Pro-Am Golf Classic Tournament’ has graced it’s hallowed hallway – it’s own history now etched on the Norfolk Island events calendar.
Many long-standing island events have come and gone, but the Golf Classic (and for that matter, the Club’s other comps) has stood the test of time. Perhaps that’s because a trip to Norfolk Island for a week of Golf on in World Heritage Kingston is something that sells itself? There really are very few drawbacks to consider, apart from perhaps losing the odd golf ball to the rocky shoreline.
Held each August, the Golf Classic is a full and fun week of golf that includes daily social functions and the opportunity to play with a professional golfer. The Tournament consistently boasts a full field of both local and overseas competitors.
It’s important to note that it takes a lot more than a historic club and beautiful setting to put together an event with this much pedigree. To successfully pull off an event on this scale takes the knowledge, dedication and hard work of a fantastic team.
Spearheaded by golf pro Andrew Umlauft, the well-oiled Golf Classic machine is a credit to him and his team, as well as the Golf Club’s president, committee members and volunteers that come together to orchestrate such a renowned event year after year. The Classic attracts major sponsorship year on year too – also a testament to the quality and prestige of ths annual affair.
Pro or amateur? History lover or nature enthusiast? – if you fancy a week of classic golf then there’s frankly no better place because The Norfolk Island Golf Club and The Golf Classic are more than just a club and a tournament. They are simply ‘classic’.
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The 2025 Norfolk Island Pro-Am Golf Classic
23 – 29 August 2025
There are two entry sections to the tournament – professionals & amateurs. The professionals play a 72 hole stroke event for $20,000, while the amateurs play a 72 hole stroke / stableford event for over $13,500 worth of prizes. Most of the daily and overall prizes for the amateurs are based on stableford, however there are a few major overall gross prizes to help keep the Classic’s tradition as the Club’s major event. In addition, six jackets are awarded to the winners of specific sections of the tournament.
For further information: e: nigolfpro@gmail.com www.norfolkislandgolf.com tel. +6723 23603
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Article content disclaimer: Article first published in Discover Norfolk, Volume 08 Issue 01, 2025. Please note that details of specific travel, accommodation and touring options may be outdated. References to people, places and businesses, including operating days and times may be have changed. References to Government structure and Government businesses/entities may no longer be applicable. Please check directly with businesses and/or Government websites directly rather than relying on any information contained in this article before you make travel arrangements.
