It was a grand collection of superstars befitting a grand occasion. When The Vintage Golf Club officially opened on January 27, 2003, the first foursome on the tee included the course designer, Greg Norman, current Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh and rugby league immortal and Cessnock local, Andrew Johns. Joining them was

Vintage member Lotz Lazar, who scored the equivalent of a lottery victory when he earned the final spot in the group by recording the best score on the club’s first day of play three weeks earlier.

Mooted as a potential golf development as far back as the late 1980s, the opening of the $450 million residential and golf course project was a milestone occasion. The Vintage at last added considerable ‘oomph’ to a region ideally suited to become a golf haven but to that point under catered for, given its proximity to New South Wales’ two largest cities. Even today, nearly 11 years later, The Vintage remains the pick of the now numerous courses in the Pokolbin wine region of the Hunter Valley.

“My involvement with the golf course land at The Vintage goes back more than 15 years,” Norman said at the time. “To begin with the end in mind that far back and to see the dream become a reality is extremely rewarding.”