Sometime in 1908 a certain young gentleman returned from his studies in Edinburgh, Scotland, obviously smitten with a disease purported to have originated in that country, "golf". Dr Malcolm Morrison, the newly qualified practitioner, no doubt aroused sufficient enthusiasm in other members of the Morrison family, that they too, were intrigued by the new game's subtle attractions. . . and so the seed was sown. It was not long before the very first venue was nine holes on Woodcocks Road.
In this early period, no doubt golf clubs, especially good woods, would have been about as plentiful in Rodney as the proverbial hens teeth but this didn't worry the early exponents - in fact they made their own, using Puriri or Miro for the wood head and either Ti-tree (kanuka) or Tanekaha for the shaft.
In 1925, the first set of club rules were drawn up by John Ewart and witnessed by V.W.Holden, a young Warkworth Solicitor and club member. These were duly presented to the Incorporated Society, approved, and in 1925 we officially became a registered Golf Club.
In the late 1920s, members must have decided it was time to own their own property and so in 1933 or thereabouts, they purchased a block of land on Matakana Road consisting of 88 acres and set about transforming a wilderness of swamp, gorse and ti-tree, into the nucleus of what is a fine golf course today.
The total price was about 880 pounds ($17,600) which doesn't seem much on today's prices, however the course's present valuation is approximately $1.6 million. In keeping with many other country courses throughout New Zealand, this was brought about by the dedication and enthusiasm of succeeding generations of golfers, but especially the countless hours of voluntary labour and materials, given so generously at the many working bees by the members. All this on a shoestring budget.
Initially the new (and present) course opened in 1935 with 9 holes, later extended to 12. For the club-house, a "bach" was moved in two sections onto the land and was enlarged and modified several years later.
The development of the last six holes was slowed by the advent of World War Two, and was not without supreme sacrifice on the part of two of the Club's oldest and most revered members. Whilst burning gorse in 1943, they both succumbed in the fire. No one else was present at the time so the circumstances concerning this double tragedy are not clear. A brass Memorial Plaque in the club-house commemorates the names of these two members, Ross Pulham and Selwyn Morrison.