Golfers in Sydney’s southern suburbs, particularly those in and around the famous Sutherland Shire, have yearned for more golfing facilities for as long as this writer can remember. Golfers west, south-west, north and east of the city have had the lion’s share for a long time, with more courses per head of population in

those areas.

Courses like Woolooware, Cronulla and Kareela have been shouldering the load for decades, with the other option for Shire golfers being to try their luck at a tee-time south in the Illawarra region.

The conundrum facing any possible golf course development in the south has always been the availability of suitable golfing land, with the region bounded by the Royal National Park to the south, steep terrain sloping down to the Woronora River, and high-end real estate pushed to the edges of the Georges River.

So the official opening of The Ridge Golf Course earlier this year has, not surprisingly, seen big numbers of golfers flocking to the layout.

The evolution of the course has covered 10 years from initial construction on the site to the opening of the back nine to complete the 18-hole layout.

As mentioned, with land for golf courses and sporting facilities in general being at a premium, the Sutherland Shire Council and Waste Service NSW undertook the redevelopment of an old tip site at Barden Ridge, about 10 minutes’ drive west of Sutherland, into a major regional sporting facility covering 104 hectares.