Mike Clayton | Rated | 17 Nov 2003

The West Course at Royal Melbourne is the one truly great course in Australia. It is a course to rival the best in the world and it owes its position to three important factors. The land over which its wonderful holes are played is perfectly undulating and the sandy nature of the ground must have been a dream for those charged with the construction of greens and bunkers.

The clubs initial routing was altered by the great Scottish architect, Alister Mackenzie in 1926 and it, unquestionably, exploited the full potential of the land. It was Mackenzie who came up with the blind drive up over the hill at the par five fourth that was not, in itself, ideal but it opened up the chance to incorporate the best second shot on the course, down the hill to the green and he followed it with the world class par three, fifth and the brilliant sixth hole.

The third part of the equation is the under rated genius of Mick Morcom, the clubs curator and the man Mackenzie entrusted with the job of bringing his ideas and plans to life. "Morcom", said Mackenzie "was the best greenkeeper I have ever worked with".

Mackenzie's ideals were based upon the genius of The Old Course at St Andrews where the golfer had a multitude of options to consider before both club and shot could be correctly selected. He abhorred the use of long grass as a means of punishing the wayward and it seems he enjoyed confusing the golfer as he confronted them with the golfing equivalent of a multiple choice exam.

The finest examples of this aspect of the design come at two of the clubs most famous holes.

The dogleg sixth hole takes up a huge piece of land and demonstrates perfectly the advantages Mackenzie had at Royal Melbourne over the tighter courses he influenced during his extraordinary twelve week visit to Australia in 1926, including Kingston Heath, Yarra Yarra and Victoria.

From a high tee the golfer is confronted with a drive playing comfortably downhill but over an extraordinary expanse of heath and sand. Those unable to make the carry have the option of flying left and playing it as a three shot hole; a strategy Mackenzie spelt out clearly in his famed "Thirteen Principles" penned in his 1920 masterpiece "Golf Architecture".

He wrote "There should be a sufficient number of heroic carries from the tee but the course should be arranged so that the weaker player with the loss of a stroke, or portion of a stroke, shall always have an alternate route open to him".

The approach is up to a wide green known for its severe contour both down and across and the challenge is play for a part of the green where there is a promise of a relatively simple putt. Nothing, however, is that easy on one of the most treacherous putting surfaces in the country.

Another of the great holes is the 280 metre tenth where the longest hitters face the chance of driving a green set tantalizingly at the top of the opposite hill from the tee. A huge bunker embedded into the left corner is the principle hazard and it is a shot only the longest, bravest of most foolish try. The alternate route is to play safely away from the bunker and a long iron from the tee will leave most with a pitch of somewhere between eighty and a hundred meters.

If I were to choose a list of the finest eighteen holes in Australia it would be impossible not to add the following holes to the list headed by the sixth and tenth.

The 3rd

The third is a short four featuring a brilliantly conceived fall away green protected by a severe swale at the front that demands the most precise of pitches if the pin is in the front.

The 4th

The drive at the short par five is blind over the bunkers in the hill but the hole turns right from the peak of the hill and the approach is hit down to a large green protected by bunkers both left and right.

The 5th

The great downhill par three modeled on the Eden hole - the 11th - at St Andrews.

The 7th

This was a par three built by Claude Crockford in the thirties. Crockford took over after Morcom retired and his contribution to the course should never be underrated. He managed "his course", its turf and the beautiful indigenous heath brilliantly for forty years. This hole plays uphill to a wide, shallow green and only the most precise shots find the target during a breezy championship day. If the green is missed the severity of the surrounding bunkers ensure threes are difficult in the extreme to make.

The 11th

This is a sweeping par four turning left and one of the most difficult on the course.

The 12th

A two shot hole playing as a short par five for the members but as a four during championship play. The drive is played over a small rise to a wide fairway but the perfect line for the approach is from the left half of the fairway.

The 16th

Here is the best long par three in the country. Playing around two hundred meters the player is challenged by a tiny green and a sea of sand all the way down the left side of the hole. There is a safe play short and to the right but the real fun of this hole is to pull off the great shot one is asked to hit.

The 17th

The seventeenth hole is a perfect example of a classic dogleg to the left. The principle hazard is a bunker built into the left corner of the driving area and those driving close to it are rewarded with a clear shot down to the flag. The drive flying right and away from the bunker is severely disadvantaged by the huge bunker guarding the front right of the green.

The Verdict

The West Course may not be the most difficult course in the country and many will argue it is not the most "perfectly" conditioned. Nor does it have the spectacular views of courses like The National, Laguna Quays or New South Wales Golf Clubs. What it is, however, is our greatest feat of golfing architecture and it matters not how many times one plays it, there is always another layer of subtlety to be uncovered and another series of fascinating decisions to make.

Access

Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a private golf course. Visitors should be from Interstate or Overseas recognised golf clubs, with a current membership identification card and a letter of introduction written from the home club.

* Photos courtesy of David Scarletti at [url=www.sportscapes.com]www.sportscapes.com[/url]