Social golf clubs dominate list of Australia’s top golf clubs by membership

Social Golf Australia and Future Golf have more members than the big, more traditional Australia golf clubs.

We have just picked up on this article at Golf Industry Central about the Top 10 Australian Golf Clubs by membership which highlights the interesting numbers about golf in Australia.

Golf Australia’s 2022/2023 SA Annual Report, published this week, and audited by Pricewaterhouse Coopers, has listed The SGA GC as the state’s largest golf club. (SGA is a national handicap business registered/affiliated in South Australia.)

When compared to the 2021/2022/2023 annual reports by Golf Australia’s other states and territories, SGA has been recognised as, officially, the Largest Golf Club in Australia.

Top Golf Clubs by Membership in Australia:

Social Golf Australia/SGA GC (SA)
FutureGolf (SA)
Howlong Country Golf Club (NSW)
The National Golf Club (VIC)
The Royal Sydney Golf Club (NSW)
The Royal Melbourne Golf Club (VIC)
Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort (NSW)
Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club (VIC)
Barwon Heads Golf Club (VIC)
Royal Queensland Golf Club (QLD)

Social Golf Australia and FutureGolf are two online social golf clubs that anyone can join to get an official Golf Australia handicap and participate in a range of golf events across the country. Howlong Golf Club, listed third on this list was one of the first golf clubs to offer online memberships to anyone in the country.

It’s perhaps not surprising they come out on top with no limits to the number of memberships they can offer. The large, private golf clubs that also feature on the list all have long waiting lists.

But it does show the thirst for golf in Australia is still very strong and just a portion of it is happening by the more traditional, private golf club membership model.

Given the recent attacks on public golf in Melbourne and Sydney, it’s a nice reminder of which golfers suffer the most if the country’s most accessible golf courses are closed for public parks or developed for housing.