GOLFING THE SANDBELT: Playing Golf in Melbourne, Australia - An American's Perspective

Royal Melbourne Golf Club

(West is #1, East is #6 on AusGolf’s Top 100 & #6 in Golf Digest’s 2016World rankings)

#18 Green - East Course (#16 Composite Course)

What was originally started in 1891, the Melbourne Golf Club is one of Australia’s oldest golf courses.  It became the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1895 when Queen Victoria granted the right to add “Royal” to the name.  Looking for room to grow lead to the Club moving out to Sandringham in 1901.  While there, it grew some more and expanded until it finally purchased land in Black Rock where Dr. Alister MacKenzie laid out the West course.  The land for the East course was purchased in 1929.

As stated, Royal Melbourne is a 36-hole facility featuring the East and West courses.  Of the two courses, the West is known as the better.  However, when Royal Melbourne hosts a major event (Presidents’ Cup, Aussie Open), the course used is a “composite” course, made up of twelve holes from the West and six from the East.  In particular, there is a stretch of holes in the middle of the East course that are not as conducive to high-level professional play, but the East does feature some very strong holes.  For the composite course, Holes 1-7, 10-12 and 17-18 of the West are used along with the East's 1-3 and 16-18.

Regardless the course, the greens are large … and not flat.  Unless you are within five feet of the hole, it is likely you will not get a flat putt.  This makes chipping and pitching, as well as lag putting, difficult.  Yet, they are very smooth and true, so if you can get the ball online, you will make putts.  As one might expect, the greens at Royal Melbourne can be groomed to be very quick, but fortunately that is not the case on a daily basis.  If that were the case, any player with a rather shaky putting stroke could be in for a long day. 

In general, the fairways are firm and fast but give you plenty of room to miss; however, if you do miss, you will have that infamous sandy lie, often with some native vegetation playing havoc with your intention of getting a good strike on your next shot.  The trees do a great job of framing, or defining, the holes as opposed to providing an obstacle.  They are not an issue if you are just off the fairway but will create problems for the ball that goes slicing or hooking severely.

As its reputation suggests, the real challenges are the bunkers and green complexes.  Known for his mastery in bunkering, MacKenzie’s masterpiece boasts 89 bunkers on the West, 105 on the East and 96 on the Composite course.  Avoiding bunkers should be the player’s intention when he starts his round, but he had best be prepared for when his ball ends up in one … as it inevitably will.  As with the other courses, playing from the greenside bunkers is not the player’s biggest problem.  The ball generally ends up on the flat bottom as opposed to burying in the face.  But, the fairway bunkers are another story.  Seemingly every bunker has a lip high enough that requires a shorter iron to escape it unless you happened to be far enough from the front of the bunker. 

After the round, spend time looking through the clubhouse at many of the fascinating and historical pieces of memorabilia.  It has hosted countless of events such as the Australian Open (16 times!), Women’s Australian Open, Australian Masters and the President’s Cup, with a list of champions that include Gary Player, Tom Watson, Adam Scott and Greg Norman.  The Club is so rich with history and makes for a complete day.  You also should check out the website as it beautifully portrays all of what is Royal Melbourne. This is a definite to have on your “bucket list” of courses to play if you will be in Melbourne.

GOLFING THE SANDBELT: Playing Golf in Melbourne, Australia - An American's Perspective

Kingston Heath Golf Club

(#3 AusGolf’s Top 100; #20 Golf Digest 2016 world rankings)

The next course to be reviewed from the Sandbelt is KingstonHeath Golf Club.  If it were not for the fact that Royal Melbourne is a very short distance away, Kingston Heath likely would be the main attraction in the Sandbelt region.  Unfortunately, though, for the less knowledgeable golfer, Kingston Heath is often overlooked, and the golfer is worse off as a result.  “The Heath” is well worth any effort to play and has received praise from some of golf’s greats. 

Ian Baker-Finch has said this is his favorite course in Australia and one of the best in the world. 

Tiger Woods claims to have used some of the architectural features when designing some of his courses, and referred to it as an “unbelievable golf course.” 

“One of my top five courses in the world.”  Jason Dufner

“Kingston Heath is totally awesome.  Best yet.”  Ian Poulter

Alister MacKenzie, who did the bunkering, stated, “The course has been so well designed and constructed there is little for me to suggest with the exception of a bunkering plan.”  High praise for someone who has Royal Melbourne and Augusta National on his resume.

The history of Kingston Heath (formerly Elsternwick Golf Club) has ties back to Harry Vardon in addition to MacKenzie.  Melbourne’s Stanley Dutton Green lead a group to build a course in the sand-belt area.  During the planning, Green was in contact with Vardon and fellow Open champion JH Taylor and gathering advice.  Vardon was reported to say “construct a course of sufficient length to stand the test of time.”  When the course opened in 1925, it was 6,312 meters (nearly 7,000 yards) and par 82 … six par fives and a lone par three on each side.  When faced with the criticism of the course being too long, Green said, “If we are proved wrong, it will be easier to shorten than lengthen the course.”

Kingston Heath has hosted its share of championships, including the Australian Open (7 times), Women’s Australian Open, Australian Masters (twice) and the 2016 World Cup, won by the Danish team of Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen.  The list of champions also includes Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Adam Scott, Karrie Webb and Aaron Baddeley. 

When describing the Sandbelt courses, the overriding adjective, or concept, that keeps coming to mind is “simplicity.”  There is nothing complicated about these courses in design, and that is what makes them so special.  Aside from digging out the bunkers, there was little moving of earth to create them. The routing just seems to fit so well.  Of course, the bunkering design by Mr. MacKenzie is timeless.  But, they are extremely challenging courses.  And, Kingston Heath is no different. 

If you use Google Earth® and view it from above,"The Heath" won’t seem to be anything special.  None of them will.  Yet, get on the ground, hitting the ball and trying to get it into the hole in the fewest number of strokes possible is another story.  Kingston Heath will bedevil you with the mounds and slopes and firmness that will direct what seems to be a good shot into nearby a bunker.  Just miss the fairway and you will leave yourself with a shot from a mixture of loose sand and grass.  Just miss the green and you will have a testy bunker shot that will leave you hoping you can get down in just two strokes.

Hole #15

Hole 15 is a great example.  What was originally a short par four, Mr. MacKenzie recommend changing it to a par three by moving the green 60 meters closer to the teeing ground and placing it on the top of a ridge rather than behind it.  It plays all of 176 yards to the middle of a green nearly 40 yards in depth that slopes toward all of the edges.  It has eleven bunkers, eight of which are around the green.  Where the bunkers are not, there are collection areas from which it is almost as difficult to make par as it is from one of the bunkers.  Come up short and the ball will roll back down a slope leaving you a challenging little pitch shot.  This hole is known as one of the great short holes in golf.

If you have the opportunity to play Kingston Heath ... take it.  You may not have many chances to play one of the top 20 courses in the world.  You will not be disappointed.

Next week:  Royal Melbourne Golf Club

GOLFING THE SANDBELT: Playing Golf in Melbourne, Australia - An American's Perspective

Victoria Golf Club

(#11–Golf Australia magazine Top 100 Courses in Australia 2016)

Adjacent to Cheltenham is Victoria Golf Club.  Victoria was founded in 1903 but moved to its current location in 1926 where it was designed by founder Billy Meader and Oscar Damon, architects you likely do not recognize.  However, Alister MacKenzie (Augusta National Golf Club) was in Australia that year designing Royal Melbourne, so Meader and Damon commissioned MacKenzie for £200 to provide the final touches to what has become a classic Sandbelt course. The course opened for play in May 1927, although the last of MacKenzie’s suggestions were not finished until 1935.  His greatest contribution was centered around the bunkering for which he is so well known, and the approximately 100 bunkers come into play frequently.

The history of Victoria is consistent with that of a club that has been around for over 110 years.  The list of tournaments it has hosted, the who’s who of Victoria members and the other notables who have played (and won) at Victoria would put it alongside the great courses of the world.  It has hosted the Australian Open, Masters and PGA Championships, Women’s Australian Open, World Cup, the Wills Masters (a European Tour event), World Amateur Team Championship and the Colgate Far East Ladies Championship.  Champions of these include Aussies Kel Nagle, Bruce Crampton, David Graham and Stuart Appleby (in a duel with Tiger Woods) as well as Texan Bill Rogers (in a duel with Greg Norman) and Englishman Ian Poulter (in a duel with Victoria member Geoff Ogilvy).  Other notables to play include Arnold Palmer, President George H.W. Bush and Jack Nicklaus.  In fact, it was when Nicklaus was playing Victoria in the mid-60s that he was first called the “Golden Bear” by local writer Don Lawrence, a name synonymous with him still today. 

Hole #1 - 233 Metres (256 Yards), Par 4

The course is terrific – layout, conditioning, playability, enjoyment.  Sandbelt courses are best “firm and fast,” and due to water limitations, they often play that way.  Victoria is no different.  You will get plenty of roll on tee shots, but it can be difficult holding greens unless the shot is struck well.

The landing areas are generous for the most part; although, the tea trees and other vegetation, along with the bunkers, give the appearance that you have less room.  But, if you venture too far off line, you can forget reaching the green and having a birdie chance.  The trees are full and tall, making it difficult to play toward the green from anyplace other than the fairway.

The real challenge comes with the approach shots.  The greens are rather large, but many have run-off areas that like to collect the wayward stroke, and it does not take much to find them.  Of course, if you miss the green, you also have the likelihood of playing your next stroke from a bunker.  Getting the ball close to the hole, whether from your approach or a recovery from a bunker or collection area, is a challenge in itself as the greens are well contoured … in a subtle sense.  Nothing too dramatic as that would be out of character.  Putting also proves worthy of your attention.  It will test you to match the correct speed and line; otherwise, you will have more than your share of 4-5 footers remaining after the first putt.

As with any course that has hosted numerous professional championships, Victoria can be as difficult as you decide to make it.  If you are a very strong player, try it from the back tees and it will really challenge you.  But, for a fun outing, play it forward.  While you might have shorter clubs into the greens (and who doesn’t like that), it still will require accuracy and the deft short game I have previously mentioned.  It will give you the true flavor of Victoria, and Sandbelt golf, and is well worth the time!

Next week:  Kingston Heath Golf Club

GOLFING THE SANDBELT: Playing Golf in Melbourne, Australia - An American's Perspective

Huntingdale Golf Club
(#46 on AusGolf’s Top 100)

Huntingdale Golf Club is often overlooked when Americans think about playing the Sandbelt courses.  My guess for this is the lack of attention it receives in America in comparison with Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath.  However, that is not to suggest it is not worthy of the effort to play.  Quite the contrary, it is very enjoyable – playable but challenging, great condition, rich history and very welcoming staff.

While the club officially opened in 1941, it has historical threads to other golf clubs that can be traced back to 1896, first to the Surrey Hills Golf Club then to Box Hill Golf Club.  Neither were in the sand belt area.  But in 1938, the owner of the Melbourne Hunt Club was willing to sell the property, thus giving the opportunity to build a new course.  Interestingly, the course was “designed” by C.H. Alison, an English course architect, who never saw the property.  His layout was based completely on reports of the property.  The responsibility of making Alison’s layout a reality was Sam Beriman.

Australian Masters
Trophy

Beginning in 1979 with the inaugural event and through 2008, Huntingdale served as the home to the Australian Masters, an event that routinely brings in some of the world’s best players.  Some of the more notables to win at Huntingdale include Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch, Gene Littler, Bernhard Langer, Mark O’Meara, Colin Montgomerie, Justin Rose and Aaron Baddeley.

Huntingdale offers only two sets of tees on the scorecard -  Blue and Red.  The Blue are for the men and played 6,344 metres (just under 7,000 yards), while the Red measure 5,420 metres (just under 6,000 yards).  From the Blue tees and with over 80 strategically placed bunkers, Huntingdale offers a stern test for even the best players.  Upon checking in, you should inquire about other tee markers so you play the length best suited to your game.  By doing so, you will have a better experience.

If you are not one of the best players, you will still appreciate Huntingdale Golf Club.  The course is very enjoyable and playable.  The fairways are very well maintained and generous, so you didn’t have to hit the ball perfectly on a line every hole.  When the ball finds the fairway, it will leave you with a good lie and a respectable shot to the green.  Yet, miss the fairway, even by just a little, and you often will have a sandy lie that will make hitting the green a challenge.  On a few holes, those bigger misses from the tee will require some creative shot-making to simply get the ball back in a position where bogey becomes a good score.

Unfortunately, it is easy to find a bunker if you miss the green.  While the sand is very fine, the bunkers as a whole are firm; thankfully, you will rarely encounter any buried lies.  For the better player, the greenside bunkers at Huntingdale would not provide a severe penalty.  That said, playing from the fairway bunkers provides a different and more difficult test.  Your first objective is to get the ball out.

The green complexes at Huntingdale are not severe, but they are not easy.  The greens are rather large and have contours that require the correct speed and line to make longer putts.  The surfaces (just like at virtually all Sandbelt courses) are firm, so it requires a well struck approach shot to hold the green.  Any shot without much backspin will release and run out; this is especially true for bunker shots.  You have to make sure you find a landing spot short of the hole in order to have it finish close.  When you manage to miss a green and not end up in a bunker, you will find it easier to get the ball closer to the hole.  One of the shots Americans will have to become accustomed to playing is the putt from well off the green (the “Texas wedge” as some call it).  Often, the fringe is cut very close to the same length as the greens that it makes putting your best option, even from 15-20 yards away.  As the saying goes, “A bad putt is often better than a good chip.”  This is true at Huntingdale.  The areas around the greens are magnificently manicured ... frequently making this your best option.

Upon completion, make sure you go in for lunch.  The food is delicious and the staff is very accommodating.  Make sure you put Huntingdale on your short list if you are going to play the Sandbelt.

Next week: Victoria Golf Club

18th Green & Clubhouse, Huntingdale Golf Club