With a long and proud history that includes hosting some of Australia's finest golf and sporting events, Royal Pines Resort was developed by Japanese company, MID (Matsushita Investment and Development), who also own the giant Panasonic group.
MID first purchased the land on which Royal Pines now stands in 1986 and commenced development of what was previously a dairy farm, into a fully integrated, world-class golfing, residential and hotel resort.
Tomojiro Maruyama, the highly regarded Japanese golf course architect, was engaged by MID to design the Resort's 27-hole course. Maruyama's brief was to create a player friendly course and he achieved this with great success. More than 50,000 golfers enjoyed the pristine conditions and new challenges of Royal Pines' golf course during its opening year in 1990.
Then in 1992, and now successfully established as a world-class golf destination, Royal Pines Resort welcomed the prestigious Australian Ladies Masters, and has remained home to the event for more than 12 years. Australian Jane Crafter took out the title in its inaugural year at Royal Pines Resort, with a Par 74. Since that time other illustrious players, such as Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam have enjoyed the honours. The tournament as it is known today - ANZ Ladies Masters - plays a vital role in profiling womens golf, both in Australia and overseas. With a total prize pool of $800,000, the event, which is owned and operated by Tuohy and Associates, continues to attract some of the world's finest players.
The addition of the ABC Developmental Learning Centres Callaway Golf Hi-Lite Pro Am, to the Resort's tournament calendar in 1993, further showcased Royal Pines' ability to host highly acclaimed and diverse golf events. Since inception, the event, which is Australia's richest Pro Am, has raised well over $600,000 for charities and was named PGA Tournament of the Year in 2002 and 2003 at the Queensland Golf Industry Council Awards.
1995 saw the world's biggest international amateur golf tournament in the Southern Hemisphere - the Mitsubishi Motors World Masters Golf Championship - join the growing list of tournaments held at the Resort annually. The weeklong event, which is open to Amateur golfers over the age of 35 and raises much needed money for charity, draws hundreds of competitors from across the world, with more than 850 participating in 2004 alone.
In April 1996, a fourth 'gold' nine was officially opened at Royal Pines and completed what locals fondly referred to as the Resort's West course. This was a much more undulating course and well complemented the Resort's existing 18-hole championship layout.
The Holden Scramble, Australia's largest and most successful Pro-Amateur teams event, followed in the path of other championship tournaments, by making Royal Pines Resort home to its national final in 2001, for three consecutive years. Since inception, the tournament has seen more than half a million players participate.
Early 2002 saw the original master plan for Royal Pines revisited and the subsequent demise of the West course, saw preparations for a new nine-holes commence, which would see a purposeful return to the Resort's original vision for more ways to play.
Development of the new nine holes as designed by Graham Marsh Golf Design, marked the beginning of a new era for Royal Pines Resort and with this re-invigoration, arose further opportunities. During the construction period, Royal Pines began to reflect on the history of golf and what it really meant to the Resort.
This, combined with the need to move back to a 27-hole composite course, saw the evolution of Binnowee, Wangara and Aroona; and positioned the Resort as the Gold Coast's only three 18-hole composite golf course offering. Players now have the choice of three distinct layouts with three unique golf course experiences.
Symbolically, each of the new course names, as well as brand logos, was created to embrace the natural history of the region and the Resort, whilst also depicting the unique characteristics of each composite layout.
Royal Pines continues to set the benchmark in Australia's golfing industry and host some of the nation's most prestigious tournaments. The Resort's courses have and will continue to inspire, motivate and challenge the very best in golfers. |
