Royal Melbourne on TV February 19-22 (Women's Australian Open)

[Benjamin Litman]

Just an FYI, for those who didn't see the mention in my previous post.

Golf Channel will be broadcasting the event live, at the following times (all times eastern):

FEBRUARY 18 11:00 P.M. - 2:00 A.M.
FEBRUARY 19 11:30 P.M. - 2:00 A.M.
FEBRUARY 20 11:30 - 2:00 A.M.
FEBRUARY 21 9:00 P.M. - 2:00 A.M.

Happy viewing, and go Lydia!

[Mike_Clayton]

Finally after 15 years of multiple changes to the routing of the Composite Course it goes back to the original routing made for the 1959 World Cup.
It was changed for the 1998 Presidents Cup to make three closing greens close  - 18w,1w and 18e - to the clubhouse. It worked in that sense for match play but the old routing is much better. The par 3 16e used for the last Presidents Cup is replaced by 4e
The course looks really good -  almost as much brown as green.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Awesome, cant wait to watch, especially following MC's comments

[Benjamin Litman]

Thanks for the insight, Mike, and thanks for the pictures on Twitter--the course does indeed look tournament ready. When you say 16e is replaced by 4e, does that mean 16e won't be played at all or just in a different order? If the former, that's a shame, as 16e is one of my favorite par-3s on the property (hard to separate it much from 4e and 5w).

Could you give us the final routing that will be used? Thanks again.

[Mike_Clayton]

Benjamin,

16 East isn't played.

Routing is 1W,2W,1E,2E,5W,6W,7W,10W,11W,12W,17W,18W,3W,4W,3E,4E,17E,18E.
You could make a pretty reasonable argument for it being the best course in the world.

[Benjamin Litman]

Thanks for the routing, Mike. And you won't get any counter-argument from me.

By the way, I saw a Twitter picture of Kingston Heath this morning soaked with rain. Does that mean the hard, fast, brown conditions at RMGC are no longer? Or was that picture from a while ago?

[Ben Jarvis]

Thanks for the routing, Mike. And you won't get any counter-argument from me.

By the way, I saw a Twitter picture of Kingston Heath this morning soaked with rain. Does that mean the hard, fast, brown conditions at RMGC are no longer? Or was that picture from a while ago?

That photo was captured yesterday as a storm swept through Melbourne in the afternoon.

As we speak, there is more rain this morning. I'm supposed to play but I'm not liking the sound out the window!

[Ben Jarvis]

After three holes on Saturday morning, the rain cleared and now we are back to hot and sunny weather.

Whilst the course has greened up with the rainfall (see photo of 4 West below) and the greens were relatively receptive, it won't take much for brown and firm to reappear. Weather forecast during tournament week suggest that too.

[James Bennett]

so much rain Friday night and Saturday morning down at Black Rock.

At RM West on Saturday morning, I saw slight pitch marks in the greens.
Shock, horror !

They only occurred on the low side of a green if you were two or three feet from the edge.  Still played firm to any shot played to the middle of the green.

I suspect the course will be firming up nicely.  And the mowers will working a treat on the grass following the rain.
I suspect the bunkers have had quite a bit of work over the last day to fix some of the wash that occurred.

Should be a great event.

James B

[Benjamin Litman]

Thanks for the updates, Ben and James.

Pairings for Round 1 have been released and are available here:  http://www.womensausopen.com/news-display/pairings-ko-tees-off-thursday-with-ryu,-hull/84538

Note that the course will play 200 meters longer than in 2012 for a total, in yards, of 6741. As I was saying, we should all watch women's golf more because it's the game to which we can best relate.

And here is the course guide for spectators:

[Benjamin Litman]

Watching the pre-tournament interview with last week's winner, Su Oh, she revealed that our own Mike Clayton will be caddying for her this week. So, in case the course wasn't incentive enough to watch, there you have it.

[Mike_Clayton]

Benjamin

I caddied for Su last year at Victoria as well as in the Victorian Open and the Kraft Nabisco.
The Vic Open 3 weeks ago was her first tournament as a pro - and she was tied for the lead with 3 to play. I got her from there to the clubhouse with 3 bogeys.
Last week her dad caddied in Queensland and she arrived at the 69th tee one behind the leaders. He got her from there to the clubhouse with 4 birdies.
Amazingly I still have a job this week:)
The course is really good - greens are hard by the standards of any course in the world yet some still see them as soft. Maybe they are 11.5 so sensible and that hasn't always been the case at Royal Melbourne.

A friend of mine caddies for So Yeon Ryu and the three of us spent the weekend down at St Andrews Beach.  I'd be surprised if she didn't have a great chance to win on Sunday.. Tremendous player.

[Benjamin Litman]

That's an incredible story, Mike. I'm curious how your work with Su as a caddie (and your general exposure to the professional game) influences your work as an architect.

Yes, So Yeon Ryu has an amazing golf swing and temperament--although the same can be said for so many of the professional women. Her group, filled out by Lydia and Charley, will certainly be one to watch, along with Su's group.

Somewhat relatedly, I'm praying you can hijack the Women's Open Twitter feed and post some good pictures; the ones that are currently up there--typically of players teeing off, but taken from the side (i.e., with no view of the hole)--are very subpar.

Have a wonderful week, and best of luck to you and Su,

Benjamin

[Benjamin Litman]

Showtime! Live on Golf Channel now.

Tough day for Mike and Su Oh, but the weather looks spectacular and the course looks even better.

Enjoy everyone.

[RJ_Daley]

lovin every minute of it on first round.  Tomorrow will be special with two of my all time favorites being televised from "the Riv" and RM. 

I may be mistaken, but it seems the rough at RM is even a little more baked out than it was one year ago next week when I played there. 

Looking for any of the GCA lads in the gallery in background.  Mathew, David, Mark, Paul.... is anyone attending?

Also, it made me wonder with local RM player Watson on Ryu's bag and Mike on Oh's, and some of the others with caddie or personal experience at RM, if there is a factor of 'the more you know... the more you overthink... the more misses on putting lines or angles into greens.   The current leaders seem to be among those without the depth of experience at RM.  It will also be interesting if the predicted heat that will settle in Sat and Sun might play a role on which player has that sort of stamina. 

It would be fun if the telecast had Mike do a little golf course architecture tour of RM showing some of the salient features from Dr. Mac and some of the resto-reno work.

[Matthew Mollica]

I spent a few hours there today, and you are right Mr Daley, the off-fairway areas are quite dry indeed.  More contrast between the fairways and the non -fairway grasses than I recall seeing in the last two years. The course looks really good. Firm greens, and not too quick. Some good players in the field too. Should make for a great tournament!

[Mike_Clayton]

MattM

We were out with Ariya Jutanugarm who shot 69. Coming back in the cart from the 9th green (2 tee start) Katherine Kirk asked her is she like 'this style of golf'
Without a hint of thought or ambiguity the answer was 'no'
You don't really expect a 20 year old to see much past what suits her but my guess is not once during the round did she stand on a hole or over a shot and think what a genius Alister MacKenzie was. I would be amazed if she even knew who he was.

In the afternoon the greens were not firm - they were hard and, by the standards of the LPGA, rock hard.

[Tom_Doak]

MattM

We were out with Ariya Jutanugarm who shot 69. Coming back in the cart from the 9th green (2 tee start) Katherine Kirk asked her is she like 'this style of golf'
Without a hint of thought or ambiguity the answer was 'no'
You don't really expect a 20 year old to see much past what suits her but my guess is not once during the round did she stand on a hole or over a shot and think what a genius Alister MacKenzie was. I would be amazed if she even knew who he was.

In the afternoon the greens were not firm - they were hard and, by the standards of the LPGA, rock hard.

When I was at the Golf Channel last year, I had a brief conversation with Paige Mackenzie and she asked why I liked Royal Melbourne.  When I asked why she didn't, she said because there are so many holes where she can't see the tee shot land.  I just told her that's why the second shots were all so good, but it just goes to show that different people think differently about architecture.

[Steve Lapper]

Is there a better non-seaside golf course in the world??

Everything you could ever ask for: strategic width off the tee, intelligent fairway hazards, rugged (but fair) bunkering, not an artificial trick anywhere to be found, and arguably one of the greatest set of greens found on Planet Earth.

This a golf course that presents itself in multiple dimensions: aerial and ground and combinations of both. It's a rich panoply of architectural features that doesn't allow for any laziness, mental or physical. RM is a delight to play under almost any condition and if sentenced to play but one property for the rest of my life...this would be it!

Cheers!

[RJ_Daley]

It will be a crazy weekend in Melbourne this weekend.  The White Night Festival (all night) is going to draw 500,000plus revelers to the CBD on Sat. night.  And, there is Chinese New Years.  I wonder if any of the young lady golfers won't  get a bit caught up in the festivities.

Last year, my wife and I got caught up in the crush of the crowd mostly by accident and my special round was scheduled for tee off at 7:30 the next morning.  We took a wrong trolley from Fitzroy and it went direct to the middle of CBD where we tried to walk back to Flinders Station to head back to our hotel, totally gridlocked in the massive crowd, stopping to hear several bands and street dances along the way.  Rather than a nice dinner at the beach area in St. Kilda's and an early turn in to make the tee time, I got to bed at 2Am and with 3 hours fitful sleep in anticipation of playing at my golf venue life long dream.  I barely made it in time to enjoy the one in a lifetime experience.  Whilst I was dog tired by the time I got back to hotel, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Watching the 2nd round, it is striking how few folks are out and about watching the tournament.  Do they not know these are the best female players in the world and one of only a very few in the Pantheon of golf courses.  The area around the club house is empty!     Looking for Paul up in his office window... but shade is down and probably looking after f&b service. 

[Chris Kane]

Dick, some will blame the small galleries on it being Friday, but the truth is that Melburnians are no longer interested in professional golf. The crowds won't be much better at the weekend. Apart from Tiger's two Aussie Masters appearances (2009 and 2010) and the Presidents Cup (2011), you see bigger crowds at a game of suburban footy.

There are rumours that the Aussie Masters won't be played this year - if true there will unquestionably be moans of disappointment from many but the truth is in the numbers. We just don't support golf tournaments here.

[Josh Stevens]

IMG ran the masters and the Perth International.  The tournament in Perth wont be played this year, and there are rumours IMG want to essentially combine the two and reduce to one Australian event that is co- sanctioned with the Euro tour, and move it to Feb.

That change in timing means skipping this year and restarting in Feb 2016 with the new and improved combined event, and not necessarily in in Melbourne.

Who the hell knows, money talks

[RJ_Daley]

Josh and Chris,  you know that this sort of real world information from those of you on the scene is causing me some serious cognitive dissonance?   

 The notion that several of the best golf courses on the planet can be found around OZ and my long held belief that the Aussie's are genuine sporting enthusiasts across many sports, and my long held belief about these aspects of Australian lifestyle, along with seeing this disaster of attendance at such a talented field of players on a storied golf course, and to see the patina and textures of turf and architecture at a maintenance meld ideal there at RM .... well I am just not ready to accept any of this so-called reality.

[Chris Kane]

Who the hell knows, money talks

Or in this case, lack of money. Pro golf is dead in this country, which for the tiny minority of us who like it and attend at every opportunity is a real shame.

[Matthew Mollica]

A broad look at the Clubhouse area, 18E, and the dried out off-fairway areas.



A wedge for Belen Mozo, after pushing her drive on 3E (15 Composite) and having to tap out with the second.