Commonwealth (Melbourne) in photos

[tonyt]

Commonwealth is another club of late where I have been given the opportunity by my host and the lack of heavy playing traffic to bring my camera along for the ride. Apologies, as this tends to add up to half an hour to the game if done extensively and has meant that the final hole and a half came out poorly in the darkness. We got done ok, but the camera didn’t have a bar of getting anything meaningful on #18.

The flow of the routing has always been a strength here, as it takes the golfer throughout most the property at least twice, without ever feeling like a march. Many years ago when I was at a Women’s pro event here an saw an overhead routing plan on the program, I was surprised, as I’d never noticed in prior playings the extent to which the property was cleverly traversed.

So in the name of another photo tour of the wondrous sandbelt, here is the first instalment.

#1 (330y) has been spoken about here there and everywhere quite adequately. It isn’t what it was. The land on which it sits however provides more than enough opportunity to create a fine opener. For example, opening up even further the left side to welcome all tee shots that head there, and then reconfiguring the green to make the left side approach look and play more formidably than the right




#2 (508y). Commonwealth has a number of relatively long par 4s and short par 5s that collectively, make up one of the highest caliber series of 4.5 holes anywhere in Australia. Despite Royal Melbourne now having an overabundance of easily reachable par 5s, I think it establishes an exciting number of high interest half par holes in line with their longer 4s, and Commonwealth’s set do an equally solid job.




#3 (425y). Everything leans gently right here, down to the water. Not a complicated for the average club golfer with a little slice, as long as he avoids running into the drink. The second shot can be played like his first, with both the lie and terrain assisting him in coming in from the left side. But it takes two good shots from such a player, whilst the better players have a chance to attain a birdie opportunity via means more within their control should they play a well positioned tee shot

[Shane Gurnett]

Tony, as a member at Commonwealth I look forward every week to my regular Saturday morning game. Holes 2 and 3 are amongst my favourties, each wonderfully exploiting the subtle movement in the terrain, and thus requiring carefully positioned tee and approach shots. The vast improvement in playing conditions over the past 5 years have improved the course immensely. I look forward to the upcoming photos that you took during your visit.

Shane

[Andrew Thomson]

Tony,

3 is also one of my favourite holes at Commonwealth, perhaps even my favourite alongside #11.  #2 is a hole I have played 5 times now, each time as a temporary Par 3!  It looks great from the tee, at least I'll have no excuse if I execute my approach poorly if I manage to place the tee shot well when I finally get to play it from the back.

Regarding #1, would you be for an attempt at restoring the original hole, or tinkering with what is in the ground now?

I never had the pleasure of playing the old hole, but on page 33 of Tom Ramsey's Great Australian Golf Courses, there is a great picture of the old opener, that really makes one wonder why it was ever changed at all.  It looks fantastic.

I look forward to more pics, the 5th is also a hole I enjoy.

[Chris Kane]

Thanks for the photos Tony - I miss my home course.  It looks very different to my last game there in July!  I'm told that the condition of the greens has improved significantly in recent months, which is great to hear.  

[Andrew Summerell]

The flow of the routing has always been a strength here, as it takes the golfer throughout most the property at least twice, without ever feeling like a march. Many years ago when I was at a Women’s pro event here an saw an overhead routing plan on the program, I was surprised, as I’d never noticed in prior playings the extent to which the property was cleverly traversed.

Tony, I agree about the routing. I have always thought it was one of the best routings in Australia. It says a lot for Charles Lane, who I believe was responsible for the routing. He seemed to be a man who knew his stuff & was interested to keep learning.

[tonyt]

Chris, the greens are bordering on being as immaculate as is possible. For a mid week game away from any period of tournament play, they are a delight. The trueness is of a type where the lip out from 40 feet was hit on the wrong line or speed


#4 (379y). A humble looking hole, the type that many courses of all quality levels may have but few see its benefit ‘nor allow it to evolve in a way that retains these qualities. In short, the dogleg that favours the tee shot over the bunkers or shaped to the right, by offering the shorter shot in and a better line if the ball is able to hug the corner. Plenty of room away from the challenging tee shot if you want a much more difficult second shot





#5 (409y). Like at #6, further clearance of the vegetation left may assist, as it would further entice people away from the bunker which guards the most open line in to the green, especially for the multitudes with a little tail on their ball flight. After #4 charms (or poisons) you subtly in looks, #5 returns to the grander Commonwealth vista, welcoming and yet there are a few questions asked of the player who proceeds without considering them. With much of Commonwealth’s kudos delivered in the green complexes, this like many of them is never intensely exciting at a glance. This course never aims to confront the player with a lot of “cool” looking putts of diabolical hard breaks. It has intimate creases and highly understated fault lines, overall tilts that are almost unseen, and a generous size to these surfaces that seem inviting (and play so to the bogey golfer who’s challenge is in making bogey), but will strip many a player of hoped for opportunity if the green miss is the wrong miss or if they have carelessly failed to play to the correct portion. None of these penalties here are terminal, but anyone who escapes these talons and still makes birdie or  great par save will only do so in a manner of providing them and their partners a measure of joy (or side bet opponents a reason to puke)




From back left



#6 (579y). A wonderful hole that culminates in a wonderful and clever green. Again, there are no sledgehammers ready to pounce on the player, as his unwinding is all his own doing. For the most part, the players not able to reach the green in two can choose anywhere on the fairway off the tee, with angles less inclined to hurt here for the second shot. A tiger line or ball shaping is required for those who want in on an eagle or easier birdie opportunity. Marvellously, the left hand foliage has been thoroughly cleared which excellently recaptures much of how the hole used to be (when showing him a photo, a relative of mine who played extensively here in the early 60s remarked that it used to be approximately this clear during the hey day of this course being ranked well in the top half dozen throughout the nation). This masterstroke has offered more virtual width via very minor widening but greatly lessening the proportion of punitive penalty inflicted on the slightly wider ball. In any case, shots from here are less easy in to the green. They have to be bent strongly right to left, be kept very low with fronting bunkers in the way, or can only access the front right portion of the green. Almost nothing in strategic golf is more brilliant to me than the clearing of a landing zone from which the following shot is difficult. Thus the vista looks more benign and harmless, but the resulting relaxation and abandon from the golfer allows him to gently fall on his own sword



The green suffers no fools. The tilt (which is ever so slight) and right front side openness repels all unconvincing suitors and offers them a lesser slice of pie further from the action. You still get to sail this ship, but you are in steerage. First class is for those who can flight the ball deeper into the green and/or approach from the right or shape their shot

[Mark_F]

Commonwealth is a fine course, only let down a little because it is so strategically pure.

A little bit of amiguity never hurt anyone.

[Shane Gurnett]

Mark, I would actually argue that there are a few "impure" things at Commonwealth that make it play a little deceptive. The two par 5's on the front nine, 2 & 6 theoretically have the second shot fairway traps on the wrong sides considering how the greens are angled. But for the most part everything is pretty much where it ought to be.

The club recently announced the appointment of Clayton Golf design as Course Architect, with the preparation of a master plan proposed over the next 6 months. It is hoped that this important document will provide the fabric for ongoing management of the course and its environs. I'm confident that the course will continue to improve over the next 5-10 years now that the club has successfully implemented the legend couch fairways under the skilled hand of superintendant Mark Prosser.

[Chris Kane]

Mark, the only things that have let Commonwealth down have been some indifferent holes, excessive trees and inadequate conditioning.  But the skeleton of what is there is top-class.

With Clayton now involved, I hope that the tree problem will eventually be a thing of the past (to be fair, significant progress has already been made, but there is a way to go), and those uncharacteristic holes from the 80's and 90's will be intelligently altered.

Commonwealth has been well-documented on this website for negative reasons, but I really feel that the club has turned a corner in the last 12-18 months; and it sounds like the conditioning is on another level to when I left.

[James Bennett]

Here is a Google Earth of Commonwealth.  North is to the left, with east at the top of page.  #17 and #18 are just to the east of the clubhouse, running from the north to south.  #1 is just to the west of this, playing south-east.  #9 (short par 3) is just west of the clubhouse.  #10 runs along the western boundary at the bottom of the page.  And #16 runs around the dam, to the north along the east of the dam.  Sorry, don't know the other holes.  Others do.



The brownish areas are replanted fairways I expect, changing from common couch to Legend couch.  Commonwealth ahs used a two-grass policy in the past, with couch and winter grass co-habiting.  Not sure whether the same approach is being used with Legend.

The choice of the club to use Legend is, IMO, a very good one.  It is a more open leafed grass (compared to the micro-fine leaf varieties such as wintergreen, windsorgreen, santa anna and CT-2) which seems to behave more like the tradiyional common couch.  I hope (I don't know for sure) that legend gives up a llittle less run than santa anna, ie more like common couch.  I do know from the GCA visit to St Andrews Beach that Legend is less forgiving than Sanata Anna when it comes to mis-hit shots.  Legend will give a proper 'fat' shot compared to Santa Anna.

James B

[Shane Gurnett]

James,

Legend is an excellent couch variety that does limit the run on the ball. It also allows the ball to stay on the side of slopes rather than always running to the bottom as santa anna does. It also appears to come out of dormancy faster than santa anna does.

There are still 3 fairways to sow to legend this summer - 3,10 and 16 - the fairways with the least tree shading. Once sown, the fairways have been given 2-3 years to establish, with the winter poa being sprayed out each year. At this point it is unclear whether the club will retain its two grass policy. This will not be known until the legend has been given the full opportunity to establish on its own without any competition. The greens are still predominantly poa (with some bent) and in recent years have provided an excellent surface when maintained firm.

As Chris indicated, tree removal has been a big priority at the club for the past 5 years. Commonwealth had extensive tree and shrub growth which had gotten out of hand, however with each passing week the members continue to see more and more unsightly undergrowth being removed, revelaing excellent vistas across holes and allowing the new fairways the best opportunity to flourish with reduced overshadowing. There is still a long way to go, but the results thus far have been very positive.

Shane

[James Bennett]

Shane

I have seen Legend couch on many courses, but have only played on it on one round, plus a few odd holes.  The appearance of santa anna is superior to the eye, but the playability of Legend from a running ball perspective and from a golf shot perspective are superb.  

I have commented to others how fortunate Royal Melbourne is to have retained the common couch, and not installed the fine leaf couches such as santa anna.  Great surface santa anna, but changes the playing characteristics of the course significantly.  Legend seems so much better.  I'm pleased to hear that the Club is allowing a few seasons for the fairways to establish.  If I recall correctly, the Legend is a fairway grass at Commonwealth, with the softer bents/poas being used from perhaps 30 yards in to the greens.  

Any classic course with sloped fairways that changes the turf type is undertaking a high-risk decision - a bit like regrassing heavily sloped classic greens with a new A or G variety.  The resulting stimp reading can blow the classic course's playability out of the water - greens and fairways!  This has not been an issue from what little I have been able to see at Commonwealth.

I was fortunate to walk much of the course with Mark Prosser in June 2003 and June 2004.  He is a delightful guy, very frank and honest, and appeared a realist of a greenskeeper.  2003 was ealry into his time at Commonwealth, and the greens were certainly average.  A lot of fusarium, and very soft, sappy leaf.  12 months later, a significant improvement.  I expect good things are continuing to happen.  He showed us the recent vegetation improvements (and a couple of other 'course improvements') as well as a couple of problems he had had.

I also understand that in prior years that Commonwealth had established garden beds around most tees.  These 'works of art' had required two full-time gardeners.  In recent times (perhaps lining up with Mark Prosser's appointment timeline) these garden beds were removed and returned to grass, and the staffing resources devoted to the golf course.  It seems to me as a casual onlooker that the Club has made a number of good decisions in recent years.

I loved the old-style clubhouse.  Hopefully we will get a picture of that on this thread.

James B

[James Bennett]

Tony,

Regarding #1, would you be for an attempt at restoring the original hole, or tinkering with what is in the ground now?

I never had the pleasure of playing the old hole, but on page 33 of Tom Ramsey's Great Australian Golf Courses, there is a great picture of the old opener, that really makes one wonder why it was ever changed at all.  It looks fantastic.

Here is that photo.  The green was set on the left side of the current fairway, a hole of about 260 yards, and downhill.  All visible from the tee.  The new hole is some 70 yards longer, but is tucked around the corner to the right.  What I would call a 'peek-a-boo' hole - you'll see it from the practice putting green, but not from the tee.  The course aerial shows the change in angles, and how the new green is tucked away.



James B

[T_MacWood]

Didn't Dick Wilson do some work at Commonwealth?

I think there may have been a stylistic consequence to his Melbourne visit. It seems to me his before Melbourne work (NCR, Deepdale) is different from his after Melbourne work (PGA, Doral, Pine Tree).

[Tyler Kearns]

Tom,

I have not heard that Dick Wilson did any work at Commonwealth, but he did a substantial amount at fellow 'Sandbelt' club Metropolitan.

TK

[Tyler Kearns]

I was fortunate to be guided around the course by Chris Kane who kept me up to date on the renovations at the club throughout the years. It was clearly seen in many of the newer bunkers where the attention to details appeared to be lacking. While efforts were made to mimic the shapes of the bunkers to that which existed, the depth was noticeably shallower.

Like all of the 'Sandbelt' courses, I was engaged by the short one-shotters at Commonwealth, No. 9 & 14. A fair amount of "pruning" would really bring out the quality of the design, because width is key. The greens are sloped in such a manner to force the player to challenge the fairway hazards or else face contours that are more prone to repel than accept an approach. Greater width would only enhance this simple and effective strategic element.

TK

[T_MacWood]

Tyler
My mistake - I confused Commonwealth with Metropolitan.

[tonyt]

It has to be said when looking at James' older photo above, look throughout the bases of surrounding trees and other growth. One can see daylight, which in turn means one can see golf balls that end up there.

I don't hold an aggressive stance towards the prolification of trees and shrubs here in the main (other than those which now impede play), just the tendancy here more so than anywhere else on the sandbelt to allow it all to thicken at the base to a point where isolation of holes has been achieved at the expense of playability. If a member is under a tree with another in front of him, he is unlikely to recover for a nett par. But when managed properly, he will make his higher score with the ball he commenced the hole with. The effect of "choking" the perimeters only serves to enshrine corridor golf, rather than the strategic version of allowing a player to find his or her own way (and suffering the consequences of poor choices). The cleared left side of #6 serves this purpose absolutely brilliantly.


#7 (198y). A great parcel of the property and point of the overall routing for a wonderful par 3. This hole is not what used to be here, and it is a hole that is flawless if we are looking for faults, but still not up to the standards of the remainder of the course. Another interim change over time that was perhaps a touch short sighted and not undertaken to the highest of standards. All that said, to someone who has never seen here prior to this and doesn’t see the interruption to the overall flow, it is not a poor hole in its own right. A lesson if ever there was one about how good routings and designs flow rather than rely on a mass of individual standouts






#8 (409y). This hole subscribes to Mark’s above point about being strategically pure if you like. He calls it a possible let down in the name of what is perhaps strict avoidance of ambiguity. Whilst indeed holes like this one are a banner example of Commonwealth’s adherence to the bunkering of the favoured side of the fairway, I think it is cleverer than that. In examples when courses are overly compliant, the examples or demarcation between sides regularly look forced. Or they match the theory but fail to deliver in practice. Commonwealth never in normal playing conditions beats anyone about the head, nor even necessarily often makes their shot more difficult in practice. A subtle hiding of the putting green floor, a few extra yards to play with of carry room, a gentle slope or contour that apologetically tends to guide a ball cordially just a few yards further away from paradise. The look and the feel of the less advantaged shot are more the effect than the physical playing of it. And yet when done brilliantly like at this course, even a long term member will still prefer the better angle in if able to enjoy it.

The masterful use of miniscule degrees of separation work better than the grandiose. For each hole here knows that there are 17 others, and that the process of unravelling the expedition along lesser lines is best and most ingeniously achieved proportionally and intermittently throughout the entire course of the round. To do so in staged blows with 100% success rates both jolts a course’s feel, and tries to hard to isolate and draw attention to signature moments, lest we be let down by the remainder. It also teaches the ignorant too abruptly, and never encourages them to learn over time more thoroughly, ‘nor deservedly leave in the dark those who’s eyes are shut.

From the tee


The approach, and perhaps a photo that captures the simple beauty of what good sandbelt golf looks like. Nothing overdone, everything understated, and yet all fully in play with potential variety of outcomes that excites


Looking back, from back left and back right





#9 (145y). An ominous sign is that regular playing members have learnt to respect this hole in such a way that it lays out on the table that each have succumbed in a number of ways here. There are more bad misses than good ones, and even portions of the green from one side to another are often to be negotiated with fortitude. The visitor who hits the green and makes 3 will give regard to the bunkering hiding the surface and therefore making the look more troubling, and the banked nature of the green imposing the law that a shot be reasonable for the ball to acquire dancing shoes. But only time teaches the perils of the almost unseen right to left drifting of the putting surface, rendering some green hits a lot more preferable to others, and with hole locations strongly influencing which is which. Among many other intricacies that I hope the members on here can speak of with more authority than I. This hole can’t often make a card, but it can break one heartlessly

[Mark_F]

Mark, the only things that have let Commonwealth down have been some indifferent holes,

Chris,

Are you sure there is such an ugly beast?  

I seem to recall an article somewhere recently saying there was no such animal...

[Shane Gurnett]

Tony,

Matt Cohn in his article entitled "Golf in Australia" provided an excellent synopsis of the 9th hole:

"My favorite par-3, and one that nobody talks about much, was #9 at Commonwealth. It’s 128m/140y, and it plays about 10-15 feet uphill. First of all, it’s beautiful, and very Aussie-looking - the gum trees, the bunkering, and the coloration are all particularly Australian.

It’s a very strategic hole, and a difficult one, which is saying a lot for an 8-iron shot up a hill! Basically, the green is like an elongated triangle pointing to the player’s left, i.e., there are 'corners' front-right, middle-left, and back-right. There is sand right, and short-left. The green slopes very strongly off the right bunker all the way off the green to the left. There is a little shelf in the front, between the bunkers, just barely big enough for a pin position.

Depending on the pin position, the hole can play in three completely different ways. A front pin is only a 125 yard shot, but what a difficult one! A tiny miss left or right finds a bunker, and recovery from the right bunker is not possible. Misses short are repelled off the front of the green, and a miss long leaves a fearsome putt. With the pin up, it is a do-or-die shot where one must aim at the pin and make a good swing.

A second pin position is middle-left, approximately on line with the bottom of the gum tree in the photo. Anything left of the hole will bounce off the green, away to the left, but the putt from right of the hole is exceedingly fast.

Finally, the back-right pin presents a totally different scenario. Playing safely left of the pin leaves an uphill putt, but the golfer is tempted to aim at the pin, as he is only about 150 yards away. However, it only takes a small mistake to find the right bunker, from which recovery is impossible and 5 is a possibility"

When the headwind is from the north, the 9th must be as tough as any 133 metre hole that I can think of. It is simply an outstanding short hole.

Shane

[Mark_F]

Indeed, Shane.

Best short par three in Melbourne, if you take RMWest 7th as the best.

[Anthony Butler]

Indeed, Shane.

Best short par three in Melbourne, if you take RMWest 7th as the best.

I'm sticking with the 15th at KH. The 8th is a might good par 4 though...

[Mark_F]

8th is a terrific par four.

Tony did me a great injustice using that hole to highlight my need for the occasional ambiguity.

8 must surely be the first hole at Commonwealth where Mike Clayton fires up the chainsaws.

[Shane Gurnett]

Mark, the second shot into 8 is an excellent test. The green is much longer than it appears from the fairway and the green slopes hard from back to front - maybe the easiest green on the course to rack up 3 or more putts. Originally the fairway bunkering was on the right hand side, with more tree growth down the more preferred left side. The left side could certainly do with a trim in due course.

Anthony,

I may be in the minority, but I'll take the 9th at Commonwealth over the 15th at the Heath anyday. Why? Because the 15th at KH is simply a hit the green and take your two putts par 3, whereas at the 9th at Comm you have to think about where you intend to leave your ball depending on the pin location. Both are fine holes in their own way, but I feel that 9 at Comm slips under the radar for most players.

Shane