[David_Tepper]

Starting on the Golf Channel tonite (U.S.):

http://www.iseekgolf.com/news/46483-calls-for-more-events-at-metropolitan

[Matthew Rose]

I'll be watching.... I always make time to watch sandbelt golf if I can. Such a wonderful maintenance meld.

[Ryan Taylor]

Thanks for preview. Always make it a priority to watch the Australian Masters. Is next year back at Victoria?

[Jason Thurman]

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll set the DVR.

On another note, am I the only person who thinks Appleby sounds like he had a stroke somewhere in the middle of his five paragraph monologue in the article? Right around the third paragraph, it starts to read like the lyrics to a vaguely golf-related Beck song. I particularly enjoyed the "This is nothing like the US... this is more Augusta" bit.

[BHoover]

Metropolitan GC looks spectacular (the crystal blue sky helps). Stunning combination of turf with more than a hint of brown, lack of rough and excellent bunkering. The only negative is the coverage on Golf Channel...too many commercials.

[Philip Hensley]

Love the bunkering and it shows up well on TV.

[RJ_Daley]

Are any of our GCA.com Aussie mates in the gallery?  Or, perhaps some are doing a little volunteer marshaling or other chores... I'd volunteer to be on my hands and knees with an exacto knife sharpening the edge of the bunkers if they'd have me! 

[mike_beene]

I would like to hear a brief comparison of Metropolitan to Royal Melbourne. I assume the surfaces are similar but perhaps RM wider? Are the memberships similar? I am thinking they are almost contiguous? It appears the bunkers are prepared the same way with firm walls.

[Mike_Duffy]

Metropolitan is like an elderly lady. Always elegant, well dressed, demure, alluring, admired and . . . unattainable anywhere else. It is amongst the six most enjoyable courses that I have had the privilege of playing anywhere in the world

[Mark_F]

I would like to hear a brief comparison of Metropolitan to Royal Melbourne. I assume the surfaces are similar but perhaps RM wider? Are the memberships similar?

You would kill your Mother to be a member at RM.

You would only kill your Mother-In-law to get into Metro. 

The tournament is all but dead.  A beautiful Melbourne day, I had the day off and couldn't be bothered going.  Too expensive to get into, nothing to do but watch golf, horrible food, and players who are as exciting to watch as having acupuncture to your testicles.

IMG have zero idea about how to run an interesting golf tournament.  What a tragedy it is that such incompetent dickheads are in charge of one of only four big golf tournaments in the country. 

[Josh Stevens]

Metro and RM share a common history.  When RM moved out of its inner city location down the sandbelt early in the century, a group stayed behind and formed Metro.  Eventually they too were forced to move.

In terms of similarity however - looks similar except the property is basically flat,  Lots of interest but lacks that terrain component.

As for the tournament?  yes well it aint what it used to be when punters were 6 deep tee to green at huntingdale watching Norman in his prime.  It does seem to have lost its way a little.  Maybe it is just that there is no Norman any more.  Scotty is a fine player, but Norman in full cry was on a different planet, and most of that is down to equipment.  Norman was smashing the crap out of it, with little wooden bats - that was worth watching.

[Sean Walsh]

Of some interest to the GCA crew may be Matt Goggin, the guiding light behind the 7 Mile Beach project in Tasmania

& Matthew Griffin has some GCA links and is a nice guy.

Both in the mix heading into the weekend so looking forward to some good viewing on a more than decent course.

[Josh Stevens]

Quite different soil too.  Abuts Huntingdale and just over the road from Commonwealth and Yarra Yarra.  Few miles north of RM, KH and Vic and quite a bit further inland than Vic and RM which are very close to the bay, and as a result nowhere near as sandy.  Plays more parkland than the heathland you see over at Blackrock.

Plus they manicure the crap out of the place, while others are happy to leave things a little scrappy.

[Josh Stevens]

Ask Clayts, he is a member there.

No its not a negative other than the cost required to keep it up to that standard, and the question of whether or not it is necessary.  I cant comment too much as my shop is almost in the same category of manicuredness and while it looks amazing, it does create an unrealistic expectation and perhaps diverts attention away from the more important golfability of the course.  However to be fair, there has been a improvement in recent years with the opening up of some waste sandy areas, a la Victoria, so it is no longer wall to wall, but if anything that casts the amazing fairways into even more stark relief.

I don't play the same game as these pros, but I am told the tight fast fairways and the flat terrain do couple to make the course play shorter than it might otherwise.  Its a little sad when 7200 yards is short.

[Ryan Taylor]

More buzz: http://www.linksmagazine.com/the-buzz

GC coverage has been good. Ian Baker Finch is the best in the business imo. Scott Walker is god awful.

[BHoover]

More buzz: http://www.linksmagazine.com/the-buzz

GC coverage has been good. Ian Baker Finch is the best in the business imo. Scott Walker is god awful.

GC coverage would be better if they would simply let the Australian TV feed play without interruption.

[Ryan Taylor]

Agreed.

[Matthew Rose]

It's nice to hear Ian B-F on the commentary; he's always been a favorite of mine.

I don't really care for the other Channel 7 crew very much... there's one guy that's always on the telecasts; I don't know his name but I've never cared for his voice very much.

The tournament has kind of an amateurish feel to it, which is a shame. I think since they took the Open away from Melbourne and made it an exclusively Sydney thing that it's kind of watered down both events, which I don't think was the plan. I think Australia's national open should be played on sandbelt courses at least some of the time.

Still worth watching if only for the architecture.

[RJ_Daley]

Whilst watching TV, I was struck by what a similar feeling I got from the look from the tee of Metro #2 and Kingston Heath #10, despite Metro's being about 50 yards longer.

I'm really rooting for one of the young guns to break through and capture a gold jacket.  Let's get some new blood in the mix. 

[RJ_Daley]

I have to say, I was mostly rooting for the plumber Spargo to pull it off.  Yet, another S.A. Adelaide bloke won.  I wonder if our own James Bennett has been giving group lessons there at Royal Adelaide with so many of the S.A.s placing so high. 

Too bad about Ogilve's finish.  He seems to be pulling it back together, then....?

Does anyone have thought on those trees planted up the right side of 17?  They seem as out of place within he context of the design as palm trees at a Christmas tree farm. 

Interesting to hear how the Metropolitan Club design has withstood the onslaught of distance as the winning scores there over the years have remained in the same range. 

I also thought it interesting that commentators IBF and Wayne G., spoke in high praise of "Jack's work" at the Australian, next week in Sydney.  Maybe some Sydneysiders will start a thread on that to discuss that design merits or detractions. 

[Josh Stevens]

Not sure this forum will look kindly upon Jack's work at the Oz

I confess I have yet to see the new work and I am too young to recall the original course.  I do recall playing it in the 80's and thinking it was the most wonderful place.  But then I was young callow and shallow and played most golf on public tracks and was  overawed by the prestige of the club, the American styling and the extraordinary conditioning.

My Dad on the other hand was a regular on the old course and thought the new one was an abomination.  Of course I thought he was a old fool.

I went back about 10 years ago,  when in Sydney, older and wiser and it really made me cringe. 
Some mates have played the most recent incarnation, and suggest it is better looking, but its still a bit of a case of putting lipstick on a pig, although that is perhaps a bit harsh.  One of the more thoughtful of the group suggested it plays better than it looks, but it still looks like just another Florida golf course, and so that is not high praise- it is still a Florida golf course that really doesn't belong.

I recall an interview recently where even Jack seemed surprised that the members wanted him to make it as hard as possible, they seem to have a fetish for being miserable on the golf course.

Amazing clubhouse however and members are good fun, so it remains a fun day out.

[BCrosby]

Metropolitan is like an elderly lady. Always elegant, well dressed, demure, alluring, admired and . . . unattainable anywhere else. It is amongst the six most enjoyable courses that I have had the privilege of playing anywhere in the world

Wonderful.

Bob

[Bill_McBride]

Metropolitan is like an elderly lady. Always elegant, well dressed, demure, alluring, admired and . . . unattainable anywhere else. It is amongst the six most enjoyable courses that I have had the privilege of playing anywhere in the world

I've only seen photos of Metropolitan but have to say I find the images of the deep bunkers eating into the green surfaces to be breathtaking.  There doesn't appear to be any frog hair in between the green surface and the bunker edge.  I don't think I've seen anything quite like it elsewhere.  The walls of the bunkers must be incredibly stable!

[Bill_Yates]

Bill, I agree.  What a marvelous architectural feature to have those glassy greens cut right to the edge of the bunkrers. Strategically spectacular in my opinion.

Does anyone know of a U.S. course with that feature?

[Josh Stevens]

I can only imagine it must be quite an expensive thing to manage - I guess it is done by hand

Not something that every club would want to countenance.  However as spectacular as it looks, does it actually play any different to a slope feeding down to a bunker cut a little further back?  Balls will still end up down there if they trickle an inch too far, however I guess it opens the potential for balls being in a bunker and only actually being 2 or 3 yards from the pin.  That makes for a different type of shot

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