Kooyonga - Par 3's

[Andrew Summerell]

I quite like the par 3’s at Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide, preferring them over the par 3’s at Royal Adelaide. They have enough variety, although no really short hole, with a variety of green shapes and options.

The other nice thing is that on each of the par 3’s, the green doesn’t reveal itself until you have walked on the tee, whether because the path to the tee is through bush that hides the view or the routing turns a corner. It’s kind of nice to stand on the tee and get your first glimpse of the hole.


3rd Hole - 198 yards    


7th Hole - 167 yards


14th Hole - 159 yards


15th Hole – 232 yards


Distances are my metres to yards conversions, so are only approximations

[Tim Copeland]

I like the bunkering...all but one hole gives you a bail out.

I went to the Kooyonga website and they give a schematic drawing of every hole....pretty cool.

[wsmorrison]

Andrew,

There is a lot of variety in this collection of par 3s.  I saw on the website for the club that its origins date back to a 1922 train ride (that happens over here as well, e.g. Pine Valley).  Do you have any early photos of the course?  I'd like some idea how they were maintained and looked compared to the look and maintenance today.  Were they always so cleanly edged?  Did they once have a rougher surround?

[Kevin Pallier]

Andrew

Thanks for the pics. - I must admit as Wayne pointed out - I can't remember them as having such clean edges ? I agree with your assessment as a collection of P3's they are superior to Royal Adelaide's.

# 7 is my favourite followed by # 15 which I always found tough to hit let alone putt on with that ridge across the middle...

[Shane Gurnett]

Andrew,

I understand the bunkers at Kooyonga have gone through a refurshment program in recent years under the guidance (I think) of Greame Grant. Some detail of the work done to the 15th are on his website at:

http://www.gggolfdesign.com.au/kooyonga.html

Below is a photo of the 7th scanned from Tom Ramsey's Great Australian Golf Holes book published in 1989 (photo credit to John Knight)



Contrast this with your recent picture

[Andrew Summerell]

Wayne,

I was going to post the picture Shane did of the 7th, but he beat me to it. I have nothing older, but James Bennett may. My understanding is that the bunkering was quite eclectic & they have made an attempt to tie it al in.


Kevin,

All the bunkers are clean cut, except for the fairway bunkers on the inside of the 18th.


Shane,

You are correct. Graeme Grant is doing the work there at the moment. Some of the work is good, but some of the work looks out of place.

This one to the right of the 13th green (par 4) is out of place when seen in its surroundings & it also has a depression behind it, which makes it look worse.

[James Bennett]

Great to see you in Adelaide Andrew, even if you and your golfing pal are 'sinistra' (latin for left handed).

Neil Crafter is an expert on Kooyonga, having played there since late 60's (I guess).  I first played 9 holes there as an 11 year old in about 1971, when the 9th green was being relocated up the hill (20 yards left and back) from its original location.  A lot of 'toughening' occurred at Kooyonga following the onslaught by Player and Nicklaus in 1965, when Player shot 2 rounds of 62 (for 264) and Nicklaus shot a 63.  The first green was also moved, perhaps 50 yards from being a straight hole to a spot elevated high and right on the hill.

Many of the other greens have also been altered over time, often from simpler circular designs to more complex designs.  It is probably easier to say which greens are still similar.  That would be #2, #4, #8, #11 through #14 (although #13 green has recently had changes, including the bunkering you showed) and that is about it.  Cargie Rymill (a local) set out the course on wonderful rolling sand dunes in 1923.  MacKenzie apparently had an indirect influence here, as Cargie was well read on the good Doctor's works and beliefs.  Though apparently Cargie's version had pencilled comments where Cargie disagreed!  So I have heard.

Today, I would say that Kooyonga's greatest asset is the gently but constantly rolling terrain.  It has better land over all 18 holes than the other Adelaide sandbelts.  And many (but not all) of the green rebuilds have produced an improvement over the last 40 years.  Bunkers have shifted from original (whatever that was) to circular dishes and now to a 'tits and bums' style common with Graeme Grant.

Kooyonga's general day-in-day-out presentation has always been of the highest level.  I am sure the scores in 1965 were due in part to the outstanding presentation of the course.  Fairways AND roughs have irrigation (not as common down under).  However the greens have always been the Club's heartbeat.  When an event was played, FIRM and FAST with tight pin positions were the norm (along with a few complaints from the pro's).  Kooyonga had a reputation for fast greens, which brought out the 'high beam' in the subtle contours.  Absolute control was/is necessary to play well.  Which probably explains why good players tend to win at Kooyonga (I recall the Craig Parry final round there one year - an exhibition of the finest tee-to-green ball control that I can recall watching).

To the par 3's.  #14 is still 'original', played to a small green ringed with bunkers and a valley behind the green.  A lay-up option is available for the lesser player to the front right, complete with backstop.  It works well.  The wind quarters into the player from the left quite strongly, but the tee is calm because of trees.  Underclubbing is common.  A great short par 3.

#3 is from the original teeing ground, to the same green location, but the bunkering is more aggresive, and some interesting slopes and mounds in what is otherwise quite a flat green.  A good tee-shot has a genuine chance at a 2, and a lesser shot is likely to take 4.  The wind is similar to #14 (quartering into the player) but it is more obvious on this tee shot.

#7 is my equal favourite with #14.  An example where changes can really be for the better.  The tee has been lowered and pushed to the right (it used to be up closer to #6 green), and a simple green replaced with a triple tier with a very strong false front.  The hardest pin is the front pin on the low tier (front right section of the green, especially as the hole plays with the prevailing wind).  A short iron is all you need but you can't really get below the hole,  so play conservatively.  The middle tier is the left third of the green, and the high tier is the back half of the green.  Bunkers, hollows, knobs and severe front slopes add to this gem.

#15 has recently been rebuilt.  The original green had similarities with Plainfield's #14 green, with the reverse slope and 'weird' knobs.  Plus a strong fall away to the right.  The new green ahs retained the fall away to the right, but the green whilst very interesting has had the 'quirkiness' removed.  The tee has been moved to the left, enabled by the purchase of the house that abutted this corner of the course.  This is a real hub of the course, with three greens and three tees very close together (4 if you count #7 green/#8 tee as well).  The hole plays with the prevailing wind, and will take a running shot, although an aerial play short is likely to stay short.

Some comments on the bunkering next.

James B

[James Bennett]

My recollection of Kooyonga bunkers has always been of native sands, clean lines and sharp edges.  I can recall some dalliances with grassed faces, but not as a generality.  Certainly, I can recall plugged lies on the face of the fronting bunker on #7 par 3, and that may have led to the trial of a grssed face.  Kooyonga's native bunker sands have been a delight to play from for many years, enabling skill to be exploited.  Members of all handicaps seem to enjoy their encounters with bunkers there, although I am aware of members who aren't necessarily as happy (this is quite normal at all golf clubs from what I gather).

I have copied a couple of photos from Tom Ramsey's 25 Great Australian Golf Courses, circa 1980.  The first shot is of #7, with the grassed faces.  You can see some pegs in the front bunker, perhaps indicating some recent rework.  I have also attached a shot of the play to the #1 green, which shows clean edged bunkers (with native reddish sand).  The original green can still be seen at the left, just before the large pine tree.  I have also re-posted the Kooyonga routing aerial from Google.

#7 green (1980)

#1 green (1980)

Course Aerial

#3 is bottom left, playing east.  #7 is middle left of the picture, playing NE towards the swimming pools.  #14 is middle right, playing west whislt #15 is nearby playing NE with housing on the left.  If you look carefully, you can still see #9 green from 30 years ago (just south of #15 tee, the new green has a triangular bunkering strategy, the old green is a deep green colour to the south-west).

If Sean Arble ever visitied here, I would suggest he played 17 holes and then walked in.  Originally, this hole had a left and right greenside bunker (and a couple of approach bunkers), adn a couple of bunkers inside the dogleg corner.  The rest of the hazards came from the natural dune to the left of play.  Today, the hole has perhaps 10 bunkers.  Sean would be in shock if he saw today's offering.

Any other bunker comments?  Any other questions?

James B

[tonyt]

James' photo of #7 above is what I remember during the mid 80s (85?) SA Open fought out between Vaughan Somers and Ossie Moore. I remember on the one and only occasion I've seen the cleaner look, it would take getting used to simply due to how much of a change it is. I had previously used a few courses with similar bunkering to the old look as a comparison and rated Kooyonga most highly among them (courses that typically had a well executed moulded look about the overall green complexes). Now the courses used as a point of reference will have changed.

The course is still marvellous, and I remember that in the 80s the players were split as to which Adelaide course was better. I prefer RA, but prefer the one shotters here as a set for sure. RA's par 3s get a raw deal, but my defence of them doesn't raise them to these standards of quality or enjoyable playability.