Australia--Melbourne
(Part II)
Kingston Heath GC February 22, 2016: Located in the heart of the Sandbelt, this
place is a true treasure. Historically
much less known than Royal Melbourne, but many knowledgeable observers question
which is better (more later).
The course was originally designed by Dan Soutar, who won
the Australian Open in 1905. Stretching
to 6312 yards (par 82…no typo there) when it opened in 1925, many thought it
was way too long (it was the longest in Australia at the time). Alister Mackensie reworked KHGC’s bunkering
in 1925 and that handiwork is very obvious even 90 years later.
KHGC has appeared in every one of the 35 World 100 listings
that I track except for GM’s first three listings in 1979, ’81, and ’83 (all of
which were Top 50’s…but that is no excuse and more proof of the questionable
quality of early top 100 listings…btw…the first airplanes, cars, computers,
golf clubs, etc. were of questionable quality also…most everything gets better
as more effort and time is spent on it).
Highest rating has been in the Rolex guide where it has been one of 15
courses to be rated “100” giving it a “tie” for 15th in my
book. It was #16 on top100golf courses
website in 2011 (currently #17) and peaked at #20 in GM in 2005 (now #28). Very lofty ratings, but IMHO it is
underrated. It may be the finest example
of brilliant yet simple architecture anywhere.
Totals 7102 yards (par 72) for professional events. Wonderful example of strategic
architecture. My guess is that its
rating “suffers” (on a relative basis) because it offers very little in the way
of spectacular views. With 18 wonderful
holes, and great routing and flow, its design features are close to unmatched…even
with (IMHO) only one “fantabuous” hole…#15…a midlength par 3 (155 yards),
slightly uphill with all sorts of beautiful (unless you are in them) bunkers
between the tee and the green. And, my
opinion of this hole was formed before I got up and down for a par from the cavernous
front left bunker to a frontish pin (what a smooth way of working that in!!).
Course was in excellent condition…very firm and fast. Bunkers here are very tough…with sand that is
much finer and softer than most Sandbelt courses…these are real hazards.
How high should its rating be? That question is very much a function of how
one weighs design brilliance versus incredible views and surroundings. There is no “right” answer to this question
and both factors are key (remember…my favorite course in the world in Cypress
Point…far from a slouch in terms of design brilliance but clearly its strong
suit is its unmatched beauty).
So…Royal Melbourne vs Kingston Heath?? Let’s see what I find on my return to RMGC
later this week.
Victoria Golf Club, February 23, 2016: Founded in 1903, Victoria GC moved to its
present location in the Sandbelt around 1925.
Here again, Dr. Alister Mackenzie assisted with bunker design. The result today is a relatively short (6875
yards) but brilliant track that IMHO is one of the Sandbelt’s finest. The strength of this course is its bunkering
and green complexes, and its wonderful par 3’s and short par 4’s.
I played Victoria during my 1977 trip to Australia, but for
some reason, skipped it four years ago…clearly a mistake. Truth is remembered almost nothing from my
1977 visit. In terms of rankings, it appeared
on GM’s rankings from 1985-1997, peaking at #73 in 1987. Its highest rating anywhere was in Planet
Golf in 2009 (#65).
Best holes are:
#4…uphill 155 yard par 3...very tough. Reminds me of #11 at Shinnecock and the
approach shot on #2 at Pine Valley (not bad company);
#15…flat 320 yard driveable par 4 that turns just slightly
left…with “turn” defined by string of bunkers extending from left side of
fairway straight out to right side of green…these bunkers define the hole and
make it brilliant.
On the negative side, I was surprised by some aspects of the
course’s condition. The greens have a
lot of poa and the 13th green in particular seems to be in need of
re-grassing. Despite these conditioning questions,
I consider Victoria to be the third best track in Melbourne.
Commonwealth Golf Club, February 24, 2016:
Commonwealth was included on Golf Magazine’s World Top 100 in 1985-1995
(peaking at #75 in 1985) but has not appeared in any other World 100. It is a very good course but to be honest,
pales in comparison to the likes of KHGC and Victoria. Best holes are #1, 9, 14 and 15.
A member who I had met earlier on this trip advised that the
membership was grappling with a decision as to whether they should try to
reestablish Commonwealth to its former greatness. After playing it, I would suggest (if asked)
that the course would need a lot of work.
Many of the bunkers are shallow and the turf did not seem as firm as
some of the other great Sandbelt tracks.
On the other hand, the club owns a vary large field (quarry??) right
next door part of which would be available for new/replacement holes…and the
rest could be sold to help finance the work.
Me thinks this type of decision needs a very strong majority to be
successful…and people need to remember that the bar is constantly being lifted
and the greatness required to make a World 100 list getting measurable harder
each year. I have certainly seen proof
of that over the past few months.
Royal Melbourne Golf Club-West, February 25, 2016: For decades recognized as one of the world’s
greatest tracks. Either the West or the Composite Course (consisting of 12 holes from W and 6 from
East course) had appeared on every World Top 100 list that I track (from 7
sources)…and only once has its rating been lower that #15 in the world (on the
Rolex First Edition…it scored 95, and their were 15 courses scoring 100…believe
it or not, Torrey Pines-South scored 100 in the Rolex First Edition…glad I
don’t depend on one of their watches for the time of day).
In terms of highest rating ever, the West (excluding ratings
based on the Composite) was #4 on Planet Golf in 2009 and 2014, and its highest
current rating is #6 (Planet Golf and Golf Digest).
The club was founded in 1891 and moved to the area of its
present location in 1910. After land
acquisitions in 1905 (28 acres) and 1911 (68 acres), the club agreed to the
construction of a new course (which would become the West) in 1926 with the
design work led by Dr. Alister MacKenzie assisted by Alex Russell (a RMGC
member and 1924 Australian Open champion).
In 1929 the club approved the construction of the East course designed
by Russell.
In 1959, RMGC hosted the Canadian Cup (since renamed the
World Cup) utilizing for the first time a “Composite Course” partly to keep the
crowds off the public roads that bisect RMGC’s property. Since then, a version of the Composite Course
had been used for major events at RMGC, including two Presidents Cups (1998 and
2011) and two more World Cups (1972 and 1988).
It should be noted that in recent years all well respected rating groups
have excluded Composite Courses from consideration, simply because they are not
regularly available to members or raters.
To my knowledge, the only Composite Courses ever on a World or USA Top
100 are RMGC, The Country Club (MA, USA), and Royal Hong Kong GC (now Hong Kong
GC).
Like most MacKenzie tracks, RMGC is relatively open with
wide fairways…but green complexes that generally demand approach shots from
certain angles…known as strategic design and adopted from the basic design of
The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Relatively short by todays’ stands (7000 yards), the bunkering and green
complexes are the strength of RMGC-W. In
some cases the bunkers are cut right out of the green…with only green height
grass up to the bunker’s edge. Putting
into a bunker is quite easy to do here. Hitting
the fairway is not a problem. The best
holes at RMGC-W in IMHO are 5-7 and 18:
#5—a 176 yard par 3 that is downhill off the tee and has its
green up on a crest…with a very sharp hill in front of the green and a false
front extending a good 5 yards into the front of the green (and much further
when the greens are lightning fast). The
green is also very narrow in front and slopes sharply from back to front…back
pin placements are protected by deep bunkers. This hole was terrifying during
the 2011 Presidents Cup.
#6—a 430 par 4 dog leg right Cape hole with an approach shot
(almost never from a level lie) to a green sloping sharply from back left to
front right…again, just like #5, terrifying in the 2011 President’s Cup. As I recall, Lee Trevino once called this the
best and hardest par 4 he had ever seen.
#7--150 yard uphill par 3 with gapping large bunker protecting
the front right of the green…as with #14 at Victoria, reminiscent of Shinnecock
#11.
#18—(#12 on Composite) a 435 yard par 4 dogleg right cape
hole, uphill off tee and on approach shot, with tee shot required to carry two
large fairway bunkers for a shorter approach, and a reverse camber fairway on
the dogleg turn…to a green sloping sharply from back to front.
One side note, the current configuration of the Composite
Course drops holes #8, 9, and 13-16 from the West.
Sooo…which is it…RMGC-W or KHGC. I still don’t have an answer, but will
contemplate this important question over the next few days and attempt to
answer it in my final trip report. Next
stops for us:
King
Island—Cape Wickham
King
Island—Ocean Dunes
Tasmania—Barnbougle
Dunes
Tasmania—Barnbougle Lost Farm
Hawaii—Nanea
Hawaii—Mauna
Kea
