History of 13th Beach Golf Links
In the early 1920’s the Australian Jam Company purchased 405 acres on the Bellarine Peninsula, at what is now 13th Beach Golf Links and established an asparagus farm. The original diesel pump which provided water for irrigation is still beside the 5th tee of The Beach Course. The early 1970’s saw the end of asparagus farming when the property began producing beef cattle. It was then that the property grew to over 830 acres.
1999 saw a joint venture established to create a premium golf and residential precinct on 520 acres. The master plan allowed for 27 holes of golf, clubhouse facility, 150 residential allotments and 150 condominiums.
The Beach Course (designed by Tony Cashmore), the first 18 hole course measuring 6,420 metres, is set along the property’s 2.1 kilometres of surf beach frontage. The course opened for play on 30 November 2001. The course has already been ranked among Australia’s Best 20 Golf Courses by two national golf magazines. The Creek Course (designed by Sir Nick Faldo and Tony Cashmore), spanning 6,401 metres has 18 holes and was opened for play on 1 January 2004 to wide acclaim.
The Vic Open
13th Beach has hosted the Vic Open since 2013. In 2018, Golf Victoria welcomed the announcement by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews MP of a $12 million funding boost over four years. This makes it the richest golf tournament in Australia, set on the Bellarine Peninsula.
In 2019, the shared prize pool will be greater than ever before. The men’s and women’s fields will compete for $1.5 million each. This is up from $150,000 each when the tournament first started at 13th Beach.
In August 2018, Golf Victoria announced the co-sanctioning of the Vic Open with the men’s European Tour. This ensures the men’s event will be one of the landmark stops in both the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia seasons, with the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth played the following week.
The men’s champion will earn an exemption on the European Tour until the end of the 2020 season. They will also receive playing rights on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia through 2021.
Valuable Race To Dubai points will also be up for grabs in 2019, as the European Tour makes its second stop in Australia for the season after December’s Australian PGA Championship.
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