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 was greater than ever before. The men’s and women’s fields each competed for $1.5 million. This is a significant increase from $150,000 each when the tournament was first played at 13th Beach.

In August 2018, Golf Victoria announced the co-sanctioning of the Vic Open with the men’s European Tour. This ensured the men’s event was one of the landmark stops on both the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia seasons. In 2019, the Women’s field began co-sanctioning with the LPGA Tour.

The tournament has been televised globally since 2019, with over 500 million viewers showcasing the courses at 13th Beach and the beautiful Bellarine Peninsula.