1. EvergladesCC | Rated | 03 Dec 2011 | Add A Review

What! that doesn’t make sense it was considered to be the best course i Australia but it’s 3.5 that means Everglades Country Club is better than it NOT TRUE! this has got to be a mistake.

GO EVERGLADES COUNTRY CLUB!! :)

2. Sandplay | Rated | 18 Mar 2008 | Add A Review

Shocked at the 2007 review. A million miles from the mark to my mind.

This course is well justified in being considered among the best in the world.

While the first hole might seem intimidating you will be surprised to learn it is among the most tame on the course.

This place will whisper in your ear to play the shots you think you can play. Only problem is you need to find the greens in regulation. Even then, less than half the work is done.

You will be tested on these slick and undulating greens. It’s a real treat!

Played this recently with a good mate from the US who is fortunate to call a PGA tour course his home club. He’s a good golfer but found trouble from the tee on 12. Struggling to recover he found the greenside sand with his 3rd shot. 8 shots later he was able to skull the ball behind the green. He was completely fried. It was not one of those times you offer encouragement. You keep your mouth shut. Even when he elected to putt from the back fringe. Another 4 strokes later he was lifting his ball from the cup and RM was declared the winner.

All hopes for his round were dashed in about 4 minutes flat.

From there he was able to take his eyes off the scorecard, birdie a few holes home and walk away thrilled for the experience.

3. scenicpeak | Rated | 12 Oct 2007 | Add A Review

It stuns me this course still ranks in the very highest of echelons. I played the east course just last week (Oct 07) at the invite of a member there. I can think of 40 other course I’d choose in Victoria alone that I’d rather play. It’s short, wide, the greens and fairways are only in average condition. I went with a biased opinion. Couldn’t sleep the night before, was so excited and then continually let down. If I was invited again I’d suggest we actually played elsewhere.

4. rogerhammond | Rated | 19 Oct 2003 | Add A Review

Given the chance to play the East course at Royal Melbourne was a great milestone for me. Getting to play at least a few holes of the 8th ranked golf course in the world and the best course in Australia saw me get very little sleep the night before...and also arriving at the course a good 20 minutes before sunrise - it was an experience...and I hadn't even set foot on the course yet!

1st hole is ranked at the easiest hole on the course and a good chance at birdie...the trick is that you stand on the tee and your brain instantly turns to mush. You can see the flag, you can see some monster bunkers between you and the flag and not much else. If you buy the guide, it shows that you should drive left of the bunkers...but it looks so wrong, but that's where I hit it putting my faith in the printed matter. My 3 playing partners ended up way right (on a different fairway). My shot ended up nicely positioned on a right-to-left sloping fairway with a simple 9 iron to the pin. 2 putts later I was in for par and a great start to my morning.

Needless to say, the rest of the round plays out in a very similar fashion. There are plenty of lures and traps to catch the unwary and putting blind faith in the course map really does pay off.

One thing can definitely be said of Royal Melbourne...Stay out of the rough. I'm sure missing persons would clear up a few cases if they only concentrated on the rough here! One hole where I flirted with danger was trying to chop the corner off at 11. The rough here is quite clear and you may get a good lie in there, but drive long on the fairway and the rough will get you if you go long.

Finally, marching up the 18th. The fairway is super wide and you can really smash the ball for all it's worth without too much worry as to where it ends up - it's all good. If you find yourself a little further away than you like from the hole, take a shorter iron and lay up between the bunkers leading up to the green for a short, accurate pitch to the flag and an easy putt in.

Looking forward to playing the West Course! You really do feel priveleged playing here.