The Royal Sydney Golf Club
One of Australia's grandest clubs, founded in 1893 and granted its royal title by Queen Victoria, Royal Sydney has just emerged from the most ambitious chapter in its history: a full redevelopment of the Championship Course by Gil Hanse, completed in 2025. A 15 time Australian Open host at Rose Bay, reimagined for the modern game.
Photo: Eric via Google.
The verdict
Royal Sydney has always been more than a golf club. Founded in 1893 and given its royal prefix by Queen Victoria in 1897, it is one of the country's premier sporting and social institutions, set on prime harbourside land at Rose Bay only a short drive from the city. For a century the Championship Course was the heart of it, a flat, tree dense layout that hosted the Australian Open 15 times between 1906 and 2016 and tested the best players in the world on its tight corridors and small greens.
What sets the club apart today is what it chose to do with that history. Rather than rest on it, the members voted to hand the Championship Course to Gil Hanse, the American architect behind the Olympic course in Rio and a string of celebrated restorations, and to close the layout for a full rebuild. The work ran from late 2023 to 2025 and reshaped the course into a more open, strategic, sand framed examination, a deliberate move toward the firm and fast principles of the great Sandbelt courses to the south. For the travelling golfer it is a rare thing: a famous old club with a brand new course, and one of the most talked about projects in Australian golf.
Royal Sydney at a glance
- Club founded
- 1893
- Redesign
- Gil Hanse, 2025
- Type
- Parkland to sand
- Par
- 72
- Access
- Private members
- Green fee
- By arrangement
Club founding, royal grant, Australian Open hosting record and the Gil Hanse redevelopment verified June 2026 from The Royal Sydney Golf Club and leading course databases. The club was founded in 1893 and granted the royal prefix in 1897; the Championship Course plays to par 72 and hosted the Australian Open 15 times between 1906 and 2016. The Gil Hanse redevelopment began in late 2023 and was completed in 2025. Royal Sydney is a private members club; visitor access is limited and any green fee is by arrangement and indicative for 2026, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
The Hanse redevelopment changed the character of the round more than the address. The old Championship Course was defined by mature trees and narrow corridors that put a premium on straight, conservative driving. The new layout, regrassed and recontoured, opens up the property, widens the playing lines and leans on sand and ground contour rather than rough and timber to set the strategy. It is the firm and fast template that has made the Melbourne Sandbelt famous, now brought to the harbour city.
That shift puts the interest back into the second shot and the short game. Where the old course asked you to keep the ball in play, the rebuilt holes ask you to choose a side, flirt with a bunker for the better angle, and read the run of a green that will repel a lazy approach. The routing still uses the gentle movement of the Rose Bay land, but the bunkering is bolder and more natural in look, and the greens carry more movement than the originals they replaced.
Because the course is so new, this is golf to be experienced rather than recited hole by hole from memory. What can be said with confidence is that Royal Sydney now offers something it could not a few years ago: a chance to walk one of the country's most historic clubs and play a thoroughly modern Gil Hanse design, on a piece of land that has staged Australian Opens for over a century.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Private members club. Visitor play is limited and usually arranged through a member, a reciprocal club or a recognised tour operator, often with proof of handicap and home club membership |
| Green fee | By arrangement; not published openly given the private status. Treat any quoted figure as indicative for 2026 and confirm directly |
| Booking | The simplest route for a travelling golfer is to have a trip planner request access in advance, ideally well ahead of the visit |
| On the day | Walkable layout with caddies and buggies available; recognised golf attire expected at one of the country's most traditional clubs |
| Getting there | At Rose Bay on Sydney harbour, about eight kilometres east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a short drive from the city centre |
| Best months | Sydney plays year round; spring and autumn give the most reliable conditions, while the firm and fast summer suits the new design |
Access guidance verified June 2026; policies at private clubs change, so always confirm current access and any green fee directly before booking.
Where to stay nearby
Royal Sydney sits in the heart of the eastern suburbs, minutes from Double Bay and a short drive from the city, so the best bases are the harbourside hotels of Sydney itself, from the landmark properties around Circular Quay to the boutique stays of Double Bay and Woollahra. You are never far from the water, the beaches or the restaurants that make Sydney one of the world's great city stops.
For a fuller golf trip, Royal Sydney pairs naturally with the other championship courses around the city and, for the serious traveller, with the Melbourne Sandbelt a short flight away. A week split between Sydney harbour and the great heathland courses to the south is one of the finest itineraries in world golf.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Royal Sydney.
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We work to secure access at private clubs like Royal Sydney, pair them with the great Sandbelt courses of Melbourne and the best of the New South Wales coast, and arrange the stay around them. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Royal Sydney questions
Who redesigned the Championship Course at Royal Sydney?
The American architect Gil Hanse led a full redevelopment of the Championship Course at The Royal Sydney Golf Club. The work began in late 2023 and was completed in 2025, reshaping the historic Rose Bay layout that had served the club since the 1920s.
Has Royal Sydney hosted the Australian Open?
Yes. The Royal Sydney Golf Club has hosted the Australian Open on 15 occasions between 1906 and 2016, one of the most storied tournament records of any club in the country. It has also staged Australian PGA championships and major amateur events.
Can visitors play Royal Sydney Golf Club?
Royal Sydney is a private members club. Visitor access is generally limited and arranged through a member or a recognised tour operator, often with proof of handicap and club membership. The simplest route for a travelling golfer is to have a trip planner request access. Any green fee is indicative for 2026, so always confirm directly before booking.
Where is Royal Sydney and what else is nearby?
Royal Sydney sits at Rose Bay, on the harbour about eight kilometres east of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It pairs with the great Sandbelt courses of Melbourne for a wider Australian trip, alongside the championship courses around Sydney itself.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Club history, Australian Open record and the Gil Hanse redevelopment verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.