[David_Tepper]

Site of this week's Australian Open on the Golf Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdsTld8axQI

[Joel_Stewart]

Originally built with 365 bunkers?  Good interview.   Interesting that Mackenzie had such an influence.

Cool photos on the web page.
http://www.rsgc.com.au/cms/

For those who have played it, how does it stack up to the sandbelt courses?

[Mike_Clayton]

Joel

It's interesting to compare Australian golf to South African golf. i have played very little down there - Fancourt,Houghton and toured a few courses near Fancourt - but I wonder if Australian golf was elevated about SA golf simply because of MacKenzie's visit and the influence he had on those who were to drive the game after he left.
Primarily his visit was based around RM and the fledgling clubs close by - and perhaps the same applies as Melbourne's courses are far above those in the other major Australian cities.

[Dieter Jones]

Joel, it is not an easy course by any stretch. The re built greens have plenty of movement in them and as Mike mentioned some are quite small, surrounded by deep traps and run off areas. The course is situated between Bondi Beach and the harbour so I would imagine that the base is pretty sandy. That being said I've seen it under a lot of water during some of Sydney's all too frequent wet periods.

The course is built in a basin and the opening 7 holes play around the outer edge of the basin. As a result there is some interesting natural slopes and elevation changes in the stretch which I like. There is a significant section in the middle of the property and course that plays back and forth along the flatter sections of the property.

I've played it quite a few times before and after the last changes. The current design is better than the previous but it still feels more "huntingdale" than classic sand belt in style.

Where does it sit in comparison to the Melbourne sand belt? Well below the top echelon of RM x 36, Kingston Heath, Victoria and Metro that I have played myself. It is said to be around or a little above the next tier of sand belt Like commonwealth or Yarra Yarra but I have not played those myself.

[David_Tepper]

Here is a link to an extensive photo tour of the course:

http://www.rsgc.com.au/cms/course/hole-1/

[Scott Warren]

The routing is unfortunate, and the course overly tight on the back nine. Were they to punt the 10-hole Centenary course and use that land to expand the back nine, it would improve the course greatly.

The front nine is on some very good land and has some standout holes, though it's about as overbunkered as everything else Ross Watson has ever touched.

On the back, only 13, 16 and 18 are of much interest to me. And 12... every good storm we get in Sydney I say a little prayer that the trees on the inside of the dogleg come crashing down!

For my money, it's not as good as Spring Valley on the sandbelt, let alone the top tier.

[David_Elvins]

It is said to be around or a little above the next tier of sand belt Like commonwealth or Yarra Yarra but I have not played those myself.

You need to play Commonwealth ASAP. 

[Colin Macqueen]

Adam Scott seems to have got the hang of this game!!

Cheers Colin

[Anthony Butler]

The routing is unfortunate, and the course overly tight on the back nine. Were they to punt the 10-hole Centenary course and use that land to expand the back nine, it would improve the course greatly.

The front nine is on some very good land and has some standout holes, though it's about as overbunkered as everything else Ross Watson has ever touched.

On the back, only 13, 16 and 18 are of much interest to me. And 12... every good storm we get in Sydney I say a little prayer that the trees on the inside of the dogleg come crashing down!

For my money, it's not as good as Spring Valley on the sandbelt, let alone the top tier.

A little harsh there, Scott. I would put it on the level of C'Wealth/Yarra Yarra.

Interesting that MacKenzie stayed at the Royal Sydney clubhouse for a week or two before traveling down to Melbourne... The military types who'd just got the lease at La Perouse found out about his situation and convinced him to come out and do a routing for NSW before he left Sydney.... Apparently he spent about 6 hours onsite and then went back to his room at Royal Sydney and produced a routing and topographical map without the aid of any photos etc.

When they started building the course months later they found his drawings were never off by more than 3 feet across the entire layout.

[Mark_F]

A little harsh there, Scott. I would put it on the level of C'Wealth/Yarra Yarra.

Impossible, Anthony; Commonwealth is miles ahead of Yarra Yarra.

Though mind you, Yarra is such a mess it would be more at home in Sydney...

[Ben Jarvis]

A little harsh there, Scott. I would put it on the level of C'Wealth/Yarra Yarra.

Impossible Anthony; Commonwealth is miles ahead of Yarra Yarra.

And Royal Sydney!

[Mark_F]

I have never been there, Ben, but I will trust your good judgement. 

[Scott Warren]

Royal Sydney is, however, as good a club as you'll find anywhere - with full-size billiard tables and Vale Ale on tap. This all matters!

[Ben Jarvis]

Well played Mark  

Scott, RSGC is a tremendous facility. As you know, I stayed there for four nights. We had a wonderful time, but the only negative for me was that there was minimal sense of club feel. In other words, I felt like a number, not a person.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate staying there again. It's facilities are phenomenal and its in a great location!

[Neil_Crafter]

Interesting that MacKenzie stayed at the Royal Sydney clubhouse for a week or two before traveling down to Melbourne... The military types who'd just got the lease at La Perouse found out about his situation and convinced him to come out and do a routing for NSW before he left Sydney.... Apparently he spent about 6 hours onsite and then went back to his room at Royal Sydney and produced a routing and topographical map without the aid of any photos etc.

When they started building the course months later they found his drawings were never off by more than 3 feet across the entire layout.

Anthony, Mackenzie did indeed stay in the Royal Sydney clubhouse but it was after he had been in Melbourne (and Adelaide) and not before. As to when exactly Mackenzie was contacted by the people who were behind the NSW project is not exactly clear, and could have been when he was in Melbourne or it could have been while he was at Royal Sydney as you suggest. He did inspect the site in the company of Colonel Bertram who was the Secretary at Royal Sydney and a St Andrews man, and Mackenzie recommended to NSW that they take on Bertram as a consultant to keep an eye on things which they did. Norman Bissett was engaged to build the course and be their greenkeeper.

As to the story of the accuracy of Mackenzie's plan that is a rather fishy tale I reckon. His plans were rarely if ever scaled so I can't imagine them being able to determine whether they were three feet out or not

[Matthew Mollica]

Originally built with 365 bunkers?  Good interview.   Interesting that Mackenzie had such an influence.

Cool photos on the web page.
http://www.rsgc.com.au/cms/

For those who have played it, how does it stack up to the sandbelt courses?

Joel,

MacKenzie wrote this in The Spirit of St Andrews -

"When we advised the Royal Sydney and Australian Golf Clubs, we suggested that they should convert over one hundred sand hazards on each course into grassy hollows, and I do not think we put in more than ten new ones in their place. Since these alterations have been carried out I am informed that these courses have not only become far more pleasurable and interesting but also better tests of golf."

The course was certainly over-bunkered in its early days, and alas has returned to that form today.

Where would I rank Royal Sydney's course relative to those on the sandbelt? Maybe ninth or tenth. Ben and Scott's comments on the Club are spot on - a wonderful Club, with an impressive clubhouse ( they have an art sub-committee! ) but the course is certainly an order of magnitude (or two) behind most in the sandbelt. It's light years behind RM, and is not as good as Commonwealth or Woodlands, or Metro. Probably in the same bracket as Yarra Yarra, with dozens of courses in the country ahead of it.

MM

[Pete_Pittock]

The commentators think that the 15th green has too much contour for the length of the hole and it needs to be flattened a bit. Leaders are hitting sand wedge in on a 403m hole.

EDIT: Okay, it was 17

[Scott Warren]

Pete, I believe they made that comment about the 17th, and I absolutely agree.

[Pete_Pittock]

Crikey. I stop watching for a while and I miss the 17th hole part of the telecast. I'll have to wait until rebroadcast or the final round to eat my words.

[Mike_Clayton]

17 would be a really good hole from the Women's tee.

[Brett_Morrissy]

what is the turf used for the greens?

[Ryan Kelly]

Their website says Penn G2

[Josh Stevens]

RS basically ends in three hard par 3's, in two holes

17 is an impossible hole .  You stand on the tee and have a table cloth to land on, about 200m away.  Anything amiss and it falls away down into valleys and swales in every direction

And then 18 is basically two par threes joined together - you must land the drive on a large table cloth 250m away or be blocked by trees, and then hit a mid iron to a small table cloth or fall away into, you guessed it, valleys and swales in every direction.

But the 19th is fab.  I can recall being so pissed there over beer and snooker I couldn't find my face.  At least so I was told.

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