The Federal Golf Club was established in 1933 and its current golf course designed 15 years later, by noted local architect Prosper Ellis. The course is best remembered for its gently undulating, woodland setting and the numerous kangaroos who roam the course and keep the golfers company.

Federal may not be the most famous course in Canberra, but in the opinion of many good judges it is at least the equal of the more celebrated Royal Canberra course. After a short ranking hiatus the course returned to the Australian Golf Digest Top 100 rankings in 2012.