Through the last few years, Tom Doak has worked with Mike Clayton to build several courses in Australia (Barnbougle Dunes and St. Andrew’s Beach), and one in New Zealand (Cape Kidnappers). The Gunnamatta course at St. Andrew’s Beach looks like it has been on the ground for some time, and work is no doubt hoped to start on the St. Andrew’s Beach Fingal course in the coming months. Gunnamatta has seen limited members play for around half a year now. I was fortunate enough to play the course for the first time, last Sunday.
As we know, Tom has been the recipient of widespread acclaim following the opening of Barnbougle Dunes and Cape Kidnappers. Reviews of the Gunnamatta course will only enhance his standing in golf architecture circles. He was given an awesome piece of land on which to create a course, and he has exploited it to the fullest possible extent. Undulating, windswept sandy soil, within a drive and a wedge of the beach. The plot’s natural features have all been integrated; dunes, sand blowouts, ridges and other natural features are cleverly and artistically incorporated within the route plan. The natural, almost untouched appearance yet strong functionality of Doak’s bunkering has to be seen to be believed. His greens and immediate surrounds are creative, imaginative and individual, with good variety seen throughout the eighteen holes. Doak doesn’t stick to convention either, with the 452m par four thirteenth hole boasting a tiny green, and the short par four second featuring a large putting surface.
The course boasts one of the best starting stretches one could ever enjoy. It opens with a genuine three shot par five, as is the case at Barnbougle Dunes. The hole plays from an elevated tee across a broad valley, to a beautifully situated green, over fearsome looking sand traps. The second, a short / driveable par four is a hole of high quality, and the long par four third, with its stunning green site, is perhaps the best hole on the course. The first one shotter of the day, the fourth hole, is a searching examination of long iron play. Playing into the prevailing wind, it is a daunting yet manageable hole of great natural beauty. Doak was faced with a myriad of sand dunes and small valleys in which par three holes might have been constructed. Assessment of the fourth hole and the other par threes on the course affirms that Doak chose correctly.
The sixth is yet another wonderfully situated one-shotter. The green sits just beyond striking bunkering, and is far more generous and forgiving than appearances from the tee suggest. It is located within a string of holes that wind around and through the main (yet sparse) copse of trees on the property. Indeed, the sixth hole is wonderfully nestled within a small natural amphitheatre among the trees. A host of tees and green sites for holes seven through eleven are intelligently positioned in close proximity to the stand of trees. One ventures away and then back again, without a hint of confinement. One may draw parallels between Doak’s use of this natural feature, and the method in which Alister Mackenzie employed a lone hill on the Royal Melbourne property to add excitement, challenge, beauty and drama to the string of holes 3 – 6 on the RM West Course.
The middle stretch of holes of the Gunnamatta course is characterised by a number of wonderful design features such as a front to back sloping green, a punchbowl green, beautifully constructed false fronts, great fairway bunkering and greenside shaping, and superb strategic elements. The twelfth hole typifies that this course is ‘one with the lot’. When standing at the tee and surveying the green site in the distance, one is naturally drawn to the direct line at the flag. Ample fairway exists to the left of the ‘line of charm’, and the prudent decision to aim left, away from the instinctive target, is rewarded with an easier approach. Those playing at the flag appreciably shorten their approach, yet must negotiate fearsome greenside traps and a green surface which slopes away from them.
The round builds nicely in rhythm, as the second nine draws to a close. The driveable par four fourteenth is a dramatic hole, which could see any score from 2 to 8. The fifteenth is a subtle hole, which gently bends around a stately hill, to a beautifully uncomplicated green. The hole will be a birdie chance with a southerly, yet a tough, blind mid-iron / long iron approach into the hot summer northerly winds. Played from the pegs, the closing four holes prove a searching examination, both of shot execution and decision making. The chance to make up a shot or two on an opponent lies in wait, especially at the devilishly guarded and tilted green of the par three sixteenth. The delightful diagonal fairway bunkering on the home hole provides the final hurdle to posting a good score.
Gunnamatta’s routing changes direction many times and features the great mix of short and long holes, as well as a mix of holes of varying difficulty levels. All use the natural terrain and prevailing winds extremely well. The par three holes are oriented to four distinctly different compass points. As is the case with Barnbougle Dunes, Doak’s love of the short par four is evident, with several such holes of great quality sprinkled throughout the round.
Doak has intelligently provided a number of bunkerless green sites, building challenges into the short game in a myriad of other ways. Doak’s philosophy on the use of short grass as an extremely effective ‘hazard’ of deceptively benign appearance is well recognised. This theme is evident at many green complexes throughout the Gunnamatta course, perhaps most noticeably the ninth, tenth and seventeenth holes. Doak has smartly surveyed the magnitude of winds on the Mornington Peninsula, their predominant directions and also their changeability. The course is eminently playable, offering enough width for the windiest of days, and the most erratic of swings.
Course conditions currently are very sound, with greens, fringes and tees all looking very good. Fairway grasses are gradually developing, and the two-grass policy boasting legend and fescue will no doubt prove fantastic with full fairway maturity.
Doak’s portfolio of course design now includes (among others) Apache Stronghold, High Pointe, Stonewall, Lost Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Texas Tech, Cape Kidnappers, Barnbougle Dunes, and St. Andrew’s Beach Gunnamatta course. He’s consulted to Pasatiempo and a host of others. The best of these courses certainly deserve their positions within the upper echelons courses in world golf. I suspect St. Andrew’s Beach is not far off Doak’s best work. Indeed, of his three recent creations in the southern hemisphere, Doak nominates the Gunnamatta course as the one he would prefer to play every day. Ranking lists will no doubt feature Doak’s Gunnamatta course within the top half dozen in Australia. While there will be disgruntled members of nearby clubs, and some clubs within the sandbelt, who have their own courses knocked down a ranking peg or two, such a result is more than justified.
Doak has created another wonderful eighteen hole layout with no weaknesses, and stunning crescendos. It was a wonderful pleasure to play, and I hope I get another look soon. Thanks to Mark Ferguson for the kind invitation, and to Chris Kane for the wonderful company around the course too!
Matthew