Royal Melbourne Golf Club - West Course: A Pictorial!!! (18th hole posted)

[Matthew Mollica]

No wonder the magazines rated Kingston Heath #1 then, eh Mark?

MM

[Mark_F]

No wonder the magazines rated Kingston Heath #1 then, eh Mark?

MM

I was thinking of National Old when I wrote that, Matt.

After all, it apparently has everything...

Seriously, at what point does the lack of something influence a course's standing, no matter its other attributes?  For some it is the lack of a great short three or four.  What about a preponderance of holes that bend the same way, no matter their excellence? A collection of similar green types?

[Matthew Mollica]

Mark, you raise a great point. Personally, I feel the people who are critical of RMW owing to the lack of a long par 5 overstate the way in which they play them. I play there consistently with a long driving, long hitting member off 2. Sure he sometimes has 7 iron into 2, but he has lots of club in hand into 12. Are the golfers who suggest there's no par 5 out there all getting through 2,4,12 and 15 in -4? Are they all hitting short iron into all 4? I seriously doubt it.

Chris, I feel the lay-ups at 2 and 4 are really interesting, particularly with some pins. 12 not so much, and 15 less so, but they still require thought, and placement. And, I think there's a little more variation in compass points to which the par 5 approaches are hit than you're suggesting.

And, didn't MacKenzie say something even in one of his books about good long holes being three shot propositions for average players, but good two shot holes for accompliched players? Maybe RM is playing as he envisioned?

MM

[Patrick Kiser]

Did anyone try a ground approach to 3 during your round? After a good drive out right, a bump along the ground, with good judgement of weight, which rolls through the small depression at the front of the green, is a joy to watch.

MM

Matthew,

Tried and ... failed.  I think it's one of those shots that gets better over time as you get more and more familiar for how it plays on this 3rd.  For the first timer, being able to make out the contours from afar and how to play it is a tad tricky.  I found the East course to have a few of these as well, but the softer conditions on the East that day weren't as conducive to this type of shot.  Certainly a blast to try.  Plenty of these at KH to perfect this type of shot  .

[John Mayhugh]

Greens that slope away from the player are a great way to put pressure on the short approach shot.  As Scott pointed out, the swale in front makes the hole because it severely complicates a ground approach.  I suspect that running a shot up could work, but quite a bit of practice is probably needed. 

One of my favorite short par 4s.

[Mike_Clayton]

If anyone has ever played - or even looked at it - 2 West off the flat ground behind 17East green they will know there is a potentially great long par five on the West.
If they had stuck with the 1998 Presidents Cup routing they could easily have played that hole because they follow each other. It just needs a little flat tee in there and some minimal tea-tree removal down the left.
The carry on the bunker is about 290 yards.
If the longer hitting members wanted to play from there they could easily manage the traffic issues with 17 East.

Then is they called the 430 metre 15 what it really is - a par four - they would have what the critics would accept as a great group of par fives. That new back tee at 4 makes it a pretty tough tee shot and hole for the best players.

[Sven Nilsen]

I think the 3rd is where RMW starts to shine.  After playing the East in the morning, this was the first point in the afternoon round that I felt like I was on something that was going to be different and a little more fun than what I saw in the morning.

I thought the stretch from 3 to 7 was as good a five hole stretch as I've seen anywhere.  This hole, in particular, jumped out as a masterful way to use contours in routing a short par 4.  Not overly complex to the eye, but a ton going on.  Coming over the rise in the fairway, the first timer really has no idea what to expect up by the green.  I could play this hole 18 times over and probably find it just as challenging and fun every time.  Unfortunately, I only had one crack at it (with rented clubs and borrowed shoes, thanks to my good friends at Quantas).

[Kyle Henderson]

#4 is a par 5 stretching to 461 meters (507 yards).

One highlight of the pre-Boomerang festivities included dinner at Yarra Yarra with the head pro Andrew Bertram, a man who served as long-time assistant pro at Royal Melbourne. Among the many changes to the West course during his tenure, he mentioned that the area short and left of the fairway bunkers off of the number 4 tee was once maintained as fairway. That area is now full of native grasses.

A strong drive over the crest a bit right of the bunkers is ideal.


From there, the hole sweeps back down and to the right. Tee shots to near the inside of the turn may feed into the starboard gunch.


The green is accessible from long range for those adept in playing long irons and woods from tight, uneven lies. Although it is a large target, the green offers challenging two putts from any distance over 10 feet.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Nice pics again Arnie,
Can you speak to your philosophy on framing your pics, in particular the position of the horizon in the frame please?
Bm

[Kyle Henderson]

Nice pics again Arnie,
Can you speak to your philosophy on framing your pics, in particular the position of the horizon in the frame please?
Bm

I try not to be too conscious about it. I scan for a seconds until it "looks right" and the horizon is horizontal...

Near greens, bunker, or other interesting features. I'll tend to include more earth in frame to capture more of the details.


Conversely, If I'm standing in the middle of a wide fairway with nothing interesting at my feet, I'll may aim higher to capture interesting clouds, trees or whatever.



At RMW, the partially cloudy skies forced us to be quick with cameras to catch half-way decent light, but the sky was purdy enough to warrant some frame space, so you might see a trend in this thread.

My apologies for the monotony.

[Kyle Henderson]

The world-famous par 3 5th (161 meters/176 yards) is noted as the only hole completed during MacKenzie’s whirlwind consulting tour of Australia finest golf clubs. His plans came to fruition largely at the hands of trusted associates after his departure.

Today’s version of the 5th features many characteristics common to par 3s all over the sandbelt: firm greens with plenty of movement, greenside traps scooped right from the sides of the putting surface, and neatly-trimmed swales that will draw poorly-struck shots away from the flag. Generally, the green is steeply-pitched from back-to-front.

[Mark Chaplin]

5 and 6 on RMW the best back to back holes I've ever played. The 5th is all about distance control as anything short comes back down the slope and anything long is impossible with the greens hard and fast. A very fine par 3.

[Shane Gurnett]

Couple of good You Tube vids on Royal Melbourne

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26mndTZD-PA

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eysb120OIU&feature=related

[Ben Jarvis]

Kyle,

Thank you for providing this wonderful thread. As a prospective member of Royal Melbourne (currently on the waiting list), i've really enjoyed the posts thus far. Having just signed up to GCA, i can now look forward to posting myself on what I think is one of the world's great courses!

The 5th is a terrific par-3 and certainly rivals the 15th at Kingston Heath as Australia's premier short hole. For those that haven't played at RM, no photo of the 5th can truly show the grand scale of the land in which this hole occupies. I was astounded the first time i played it.

I'll back up Mark's comment - 5 and 6 RMW are certainly the best back-to-back holes i've played also. That is perhaps until i play 15 and 16 at Cypress Point this July 

[Brett_Morrissy]

Hey - Welcome Ben - hope you enjoy GCA.

Can someone provide indication of prevailing wind on this hole pls?
cross breezes will certainly add to the challenge of hitting the green.

[Patrick Kiser]

This is what I remember about the 5th...



When asked about this penal fern kind of rough that is rather evident in various areas of the course, we were told it had nothing to do with toughening up the course for upcoming President's Cup.  Rather, the Melbourne area had experienced one of its wettest summers ever...  So the growth has been tremendous and it was only then starting to dry out.  We saw one maintenance crew on the 2nd working on the stuff.

Back to the 4th for a moment.  I thought it was one of most wonderful sweeping holes I've seen.  Just a an attractive hole.  Fine green as well.

Here's looking back from the green to give a different perspective on how much the fairway sweeps towards the green:



What's tremendous about RM is how you get a continuous view of the various other holes on both courses and from different angles across the courses.  As evidenced here where immediately adjacent to the left tee of the 5th is the East's 2nd green and the West's 6th approach and green in the distance

[Kyle Henderson]

6th (391meters/428 yards) tee shot is a dogleg to the right at a fantastic angle that dares players to bite off as much as they can chew.


Failure to carry the bunkers will almost certainly cost most golfers a stroke. Failure to reach the bunkers may provide golfers with the opportunity to play another tee shot…


Beyond the 2nd green of the East Course (outside the dogleg of the West course’s 6th fairway), the West’s 6th green is benched against the hillside, with bunkers protecting both flanks.  Personal anecdote: Standing in the short left bunker in the distance, with my ball just outside of the pot on short grass around waist-high, I gripped a putter 5 inches about the mallet and took a mighty swing to set up a successful par putt from 5 feet.


One may find use the slope along the right side (left of frame looking back from behind the 6th green) of the putting surface to access starboard pin locations, but such a shot must be carefully judged to avoid the adjacent bunkers


The back-to-front tilt of the 6th green and the spatial relationships of its surrounding hazards are viewed from the right along the path to #7.

[Kevin Pallier]

Probably my favourite P4 in golf.

[Patrick Kiser]

Yes, tip top this one!  Nice pics there El Capitan.

The only issue was the fern rough being ridiculous at the corner and leading up to it as Kyle hints to.  Ask David Kelly how that went...

The tee shot calls for a Vijay fade.  The power fade is such a cool shot and it sets you up nicely.

I think what does it for me besides the obvious approach is the ebb and flow is ideal.  Just a sweet hole.

I can easily say the stretch of 4-6 had me smiling at the time and I said to myself it was right up there for me as some of the best experienced thus far anywhere, but ... it somehow gets better and the stretch keeps going...

[John Mayhugh]

The 5th is all about distance control as anything short comes back down the slope and anything long is impossible with the greens hard and fast. A very fine par 3.

Just a fantastic green site.

From below the green.



Looking back towards the tee.  The photo really doesn't convey how much slope there is from back to front, but you sure see it standing over a shot.

[Scott Warren]

Pics just can't show how steep the front slope on 5 is. It's awesome.

And the putt from above the hole is as slippery as they come. From memory I was about 15ft right and 4-5ft above the hole and stopping it within a couple of feet was a really tough proposition (I think you can actually just make my ball out in the pic below).

Then you walk onto the 6th tee and it's as good as golf gets, IMO.

The 5th and 6th might just be the best two holes I've played consecutively, despite some pretty tough competition.

A couple more pics.

The 5th:


Approach to the 6th:

[David_Elvins]

Scott,

As I walked off the 6th green, I was thinking the same.  The best two hole stretch I had ever played.  I think i also thought the same thing as I walked off the 5th green!

It is a real pity that the back tee on 6 is gone.  A simple 3 wood for the pros now.  And I mid teen handicapper liek me should not be hitting driver-wedge into that green.

[Wade Schueneman]

Great stuff, Kyle!

[Wade Schueneman]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether the bunkers that you can see from the tee on number 4 should be removed?

[Scott Warren]

Wade:

Scott, isn't that couch grass rather than fescue?  More importantly, I have it on good authority that the club is replanting the greens  (for the President's Cup) with the Scott's mix that they used to use.  Any comments on that from the turf experts?

The greens have already been changed back, haven't they?

There is - we were told in March when we visited - a ring of fescue around the greens to stop the couch creeping into the greens, as there's a product that kills everything other than fescue than can be applied to that area periodically.