The Gold Coast has seemingly been on a path of continually reinventing itself for nearly four decades. Never was there a truer marketing slogan than the “ever changing, always amazing Gold Coast” campaign of a few years ago.

But if you look hard enough you will find some institutions that have aged gracefully while most of the tourist strip has been, at some stage in recent years, torn down and rebuilt in the name of progress. In that sense, it is refreshing that less than two minutes’ drive from the heart of this jungle of beachside high-rise apartments lies a golfing oasis where the game as first played more than 80 years ago.

Golf was first played on the rolling land now occupied by the Southport Golf Club in 1924, which makes it the oldest golf course on the Coast, pre-dating the Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club by three years. Back then, the land was part of a complex that included a cinema and hotel having earlier been purchased from a dairy farmer. A nine-hole course covered the property for many years and it wasn’t until 1937 that the Greater Southport Golf Club was established. More land was purchased after World War II and the layout was extended to 18 holes and within a few years the club dropped the ‘Greater’ from its name.

The membership grew and the layout gradually evolved over the following three decades but by the early 1980s the club looked to upgrade the layout and then modernise the clubhouse.

Like the ever-changing cityscape of the surrounding suburbs, Southport has not been immune to redevelopment in the quest to remain one of the Gold Coast’s premier private courses.

In the most significant change to the course since 1948, most of the holes were rebuilt during a six-year stretch in the mid-’80s.

It was also during this time the greens were changed from bent grass to the more humidity-friendly Bermuda 328 grass and most of the fairways were converted to Greenlees Park couch grass.

The then design team of Graham Marsh and Ross Watson was also commissioned to come up with a masterplan that would improve the playability of the layout as well as the drainage. By 1990, the designers had overseen the reconstruction of eight new greens as well as the addition of eight new lakes, which alleviated further drainage problems.

The complete redevelopment of the back nine was completed in 2009 with the redesign of the shortish par-5 13th and the tight-driving par-4 18th, which are now two of the standout holes on

the course.

Southport is not a long par-71, measuring just 5,806 metres from the back markers. Nor does it cover wildly dramatic terrain. It is an easy walking layout where defence of its par comes from tight driving lines on heavily tree-lined fairways as well as strategically placed bunkers and numerous ponds and lakes.

For mine, some of Southport’s most memorable holes are its par-3s and par-5s. The layout opens with the easiest hole on the course, a 445-metre par-5, which provides every player the chance to get their round off on the right foot. The challenge gets ramped up at the next though – a picturesque 153-metre par-3 that includes the first of many water carry shots you will have to play during a round here.

The shortest of Southport’s par-3s demands good club and shot selection to make par or better. The downhill 127-metre 7th looks like a piece of cake as you stand on the tee, where you are sheltered from any breeze that may be blowing across the hole. This immediately brings the three bunkers, which surround the front half of the long, narrow green, into play.

The 469-metre par-5 8th is arguably the best risk-and-reward hole on the course. The double dogleg fairway tempts the longer hitter into carrying their drive over the first corner to set up a possible second shot onto the green. However, it is a long shot fraught with danger with small lakes to be found left and right of the entry onto the large putting surface. This is a fun, short par-5 where a player who shines with an eagle or birdie one day can quite easily rack up a high number the next day.

Southport’s back nine might be significantly shorter than the front nine with an inward par of 34, but it certainly plays harder. With three par-5s on the outward half there is always a chance of establishing a good score by the time you have reached the turn. The trick at Southport is maintaining that level of achievement en route back to the clubhouse.

At 452 metres, the previously mentioned par-5 13th is certainly a birdie hole if you can keep your ball dry between tee and green. From the elevated tee, the watery trouble either side of the driving zone is immediately apparent, with the pond on the right edge of the fairway just 220 metres away and easily reached from the back pegs. That said, if you strike a confident drive down the left half of the fairway, being careful not to hit it too far into the hazard just left of the short grass, then you will have set yourself up for a long, but straightforward approach, into the green.

Water comes into play, to varying degrees, on all of the remaining holes. At its most difficult – with a flag cut on the right edge of the green and the tees well back – the 159-metre par-3 14th is a brute as you are forced to carry your tee shot over a lake all the way to the flag. However, on most days the lake, which flanks the right side of the hole and green, really only catches the mis-hit tee shot.

The penultimate hole is certainly Southport’s toughest with length, water, bunkers, hundreds of trees and an undulating putting surface combining to make sure a par here is one that is well-earned. The tee of the 383-metre par-4 is tucked in amongst tall pines trees and forces you to take a driving line down the right half of the fairway, near two well-placed bunkers. Any drive long and left of the bunkers is a real chance of rolling through the fairway into a pond, which is hidden from view as you stand on the tee. Most golfers will be faced with a long shot into this green and, again, a lake short left of the green can inflict a hurtful penalty late in the round.

Southport is not a course that will easily submit to a player long-bombing drives all day. This is a thinking golfer’s course where length from the tee is not an issue but making sure you play to the right position in the fairways or on the greens is paramount.

A quick scan at the club’s honour boards confirms that smart golfers excel at Southport. Ossie Moore, a former junior and club champion, won the 1981 Australian Amateur before embarking on a successful pro career. In a rarity for any Australian club, Moore’s national championship victory was repeated by another Southport member just seven years later when an 18-year-old Stuart Bouvier claimed the trophy.

THE COURSE

LOCATION: Slatyer Ave, Southport Gold Coast, Queensland.

CONTACT: (07) 5571 1444.

WEBSITE: www.southportgolfclub.com.au

designers: Original designer unknown. Graham Marsh & Ross Watson redesign (1988).

PLAYING SURFACES: Bermuda 328 (greens); Greenlees Park couch (back nine fairways). Front nine fairways to eventually be converted to Greenlees Park couch

BUNKERS: 45.

PGA PROS: David McKean and Ben Campbell.

GREEN FEES: $35 (member’s guest only).

THE CLUB

Memberships: Southport is considered one of the premier member-owned golf clubs on the Gold Coast. Membership is capped to ensure overcrowding does not impede play in competition rounds, and social rounds can be enjoyed without pressure. There are a limited number of memberships available on application.

JUNIOR GOLF: The club invites beginners to Sunday morning clinics starting at 8am. Young golfers are guided by PGA Professionals in the fundamentals of the game in a relaxed environment.

You don’t need to be a member of a golf club, you just need to know a current member of the Southport club. To book, call (07) 5532 1577. CORPORATE DAYS: No corporate days.

FACILITIES: There is a fully equipped driving range that allows members and guests to warm up, practise or receive a lesson on a quality turfed hitting area. The modern clubhouse has a spacious bar lounge, restaurant and there is plenty of room for functions and weddings.

AWARDS: The club’s reputation is also enhanced by its focus on environmental management projects. These include the commissioning of a water treatment plant that won the 2007 Environmental Award for the Queensland Golf Industry. This

project, which also received the 2007 premier award from the Australian Golf Course Superintendents’ Association.