[V. Kmetz]

I'm never going to make it there, so professional events on TV are all I've got.


So with that in mind, what can I notice or appreciate (somewhat) from the tube?


cheers    vk

[Peter Flory]

Here is a good write-up:


https://www.golf.com/news/columns/2019/12/11/presidents-cup-2019-royal-melbourne-star/

[Tom_Doak]

The most striking thing about Royal Melbourne (and all of the sand belt courses) is the conditioning.  You'll see balls bounce when they hit the green, instead of grabbing.  And there is never a cut of grass to stop the ball from going off the fairway or green and into trouble. 


So, it matters what angle you are approaching the green from, and what the through-line is.  There are several fairly short par-4's where you could get up pretty close to the green, but the angles dictate that you want to be coming in from far-left pin high or far-right, instead of right in front.


You'll also notice that the greenside bunker shots are not the easy up-and-downs that they are from our perfectly manicured cat boxes in America.  The sand is different, and it takes some getting used to.

[Peter Pallotta]

I'm glad VK started this thread.
I'd been wondering whether a course like Royal Melbourne might prove a challenge to the latest stats/theories by gurus like Broadie, e.g. about always being better off closer to the green /not laying up to set distances; about the penalties incurred for top players for being in hazards etc. A golf course so different than the average PGA tour stop should 'produce' different stats-results-theories, no?
P

[JMEvensky]

I'm glad VK started this thread.
I'd been wondering whether a course like Royal Melbourne might prove a challenge to the latest stats/theories by gurus like Broadie, e.g. about always being better off closer to the green /not laying up to set distances; about the penalties incurred for top players for being in hazards etc. A golf course so different than the average PGA tour stop should 'produce' different stats-results-theories, no?
P

I'm also glad VK started this thread and hope Mike Clayton drops by to opine.


With respect to RM proving a challenge, I wonder if the course would be set up differently for a stroke play tournament or if this is just the "normal" composite course set up for any kind of tournament. Match play would seem to give them some extra options.

[Kalen Braley]

I haven't been this excited for a course viewing golf event in quite awhile, especially given how bad the old SD feed was from prior PC plays.


Has the weather been holding up?  The one in the 90s I've believe was so wet the course seemed to play quite a bit different.

[Mark_F]

I'm also glad VK started this thread and hope Mike Clayton drops by to opine.

Clayton wrote this fine piece for Golf Australia magazine.
https://www.golfaustralia.com.au/news/the-beautiful-mind-behind-the-creation-of-royal-melbourne-535247?fbclid=IwAR2MX1n2rs3fVvCTyA2gUwzmQjAYiiyR5LvVGO7krJhkKZRIkxvWk6cBBNY

[JMEvensky]

I'm also glad VK started this thread and hope Mike Clayton drops by to opine.

Clayton wrote this fine piece for Golf Australia magazine.
https://www.golfaustralia.com.au/news/the-beautiful-mind-behind-the-creation-of-royal-melbourne-535247?fbclid=IwAR2MX1n2rs3fVvCTyA2gUwzmQjAYiiyR5LvVGO7krJhkKZRIkxvWk6cBBNY

Thank you sir.

[Thomas Dai]

Others are far better qualified than me to comment but I spotted this short video that may be of interest -
https://mobile.twitter.com/GolfDigest/status/1204595143527084032
Contours by Messrs MacKenzie/Russell/Morcom, short grass and firmness. Wonderful!
I do wonder though what the speed of the greens would have been like when the courses was initially opened for play?
Atb

[MKrohn]

I think it will be interesting to see the way things play in a 4ball as opposed to 4somes assuming the same conditions.


With Tiger and JT out first today, presume Thomas will have a go at anything.

[Tom_Doak]

I'm glad VK started this thread.
I'd been wondering whether a course like Royal Melbourne might prove a challenge to the latest stats/theories by gurus like Broadie, e.g. about always being better off closer to the green /not laying up to set distances; about the penalties incurred for top players for being in hazards etc. A golf course so different than the average PGA tour stop should 'produce' different stats-results-theories, no?
P

Unfortunately, with only 24 players and three days of competition, there won't be nearly enough "data" to analyze and make firm conclusions.

[Ken Fry]

Given the well educated and experienced opinions thus far, I will humbly offer a few points/surprises from my visit:


-  The course plays so fast.  The overall distance of the course is meaningless.  Proper placement means everything.


-  Off the playing areas, the course is left very rough.  It's not wall to wall perfect manicuring.  Wear spots show in the walking areas.  God bless them for that.


-  Sandbelt course bunkers cutting into the greens is such a unique feature.  It's not just a RM thing.


-  The entire area around the course is surprisingly developed.  You drive from downtown to the course and think "how is a world class course right here??"  It's true of all the courses around the sandbelt!


-  There's more undulation to the property than TV will show.  It's not as dramatic as Augusta but surprising given the surrounding terrain.


I'm with Kalen on this.  I've been looking forward to seeing this event just for the course!!


Ken

[Michael Whitaker]

Very firm & fast! Balls bouncing and running forever... and nothing around the bunkers to slow the ball down or keep it from going intp the bunkers. The greenside bunkers are sharply cut into the greens unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. Very distinctive!

[Marty Bonnar]

Very firm & fast! Balls bouncing and running forever... and nothing around the bunkers to slow the ball down or keep it from going intp the bunkers. The greenside bunkers are sharply cut into the greens unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. Very distinctive!

Visually, it’s simply an absolute blast. The way the curves of mounds and hollows, bunker edges and surfaces, green edges and aprons, fairway and rough grasses intersect with each other in 3-dimensions is utter genius.
F.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

I'd been wondering whether a course like Royal Melbourne might prove a challenge to the latest stats/theories by gurus like Broadie, e.g. about always being better off closer to the green /not laying up to set distances; about the penalties incurred for top players for being in hazards etc. A golf course so different than the average PGA tour stop should 'produce' different stats-results-theories, no?

Generally speaking, no. Balls are hopping and moving along even when hit high in the air with 8I. Patrick Reed just spun a ball out of a bunker on the second hop.

Generally speaking, the stats still hold.

The stats don't account for the differences angles can apply, and as I've said, when the ball bounces and rolls as much as we see at RM, angles start to matter again, unlike week to week on the PGA Tour.

[Don Mahaffey]

The most striking thing about Royal Melbourne (and all of the sand belt courses) is the conditioning.  You'll see balls bounce when they hit the green, instead of grabbing.  And there is never a cut of grass to stop the ball from going off the fairway or green and into trouble. 


So, it matters what angle you are approaching the green from, and what the through-line is.  There are several fairly short par-4's where you could get up pretty close to the green, but the angles dictate that you want to be coming in from far-left pin high or far-right, instead of right in front.


You'll also notice that the greenside bunker shots are not the easy up-and-downs that they are from our perfectly manicured cat boxes in America.  The sand is different, and it takes some getting used to.

And most will never grasp how this simple and common sense approach to golf maint negates so much of the ball and equipment nonsense.
Change the ball? Fine.
Can’t get that done? Then let the ball that goes far, go far

[Rob Marshall]

I’ve been told that if you have a fairway bunker that has no rough buffer the fairway on the edge of the bunkers will die. If this is true how are they able to maintain the edges of the greens that go right into the bunkers? The sandy soil?

[Don Mahaffey]

I’ve been told that if you have a fairway bunker that has no rough buffer the fairway on the edge of the bunkers will die. If this is true how are they able to maintain the edges of the greens that go right into the bunkers? The sandy soil?

They don’t kill it

[Tom_Doak]

I’ve been told that if you have a fairway bunker that has no rough buffer the fairway on the edge of the bunkers will die. If this is true how are they able to maintain the edges of the greens that go right into the bunkers? The sandy soil?

It's a combination of things, but it starts with the fact that the soil there is a very fine, loamy sand that binds well with the roots of the couch grass and holds up to mower traffic better than most soils do.


Also, they aren't trying to keep the rest of the fairway green like we do, so the stressed grass at the edge of the bunker doesn't stand out compared to the rest of it.


Also, with the grass watered less and fertilized less, and minimal golf cart traffic, it doesn't grow as fast so they don't have to run a big fairway unit over the lips of the bunkers every couple of days . . . they can get away with mowing it less often, without it standing out from the rest.  It's a very Scottish approach to maintenance despite a very different climate.

[Rob Marshall]

Thanks Tom

[Adam G]

What about having the bunker cut into the green? I assume they have to mow the green frequently, but the green can come right up to the edge of the bunker because of the sandy soil?

[JESII]

Change the ball? Fine.
Can’t get that done? Then let the ball that goes far, go far

Yep


We’ll never get the chance to see, but if they played every course similar to this, the guys would voluntarily roll themselves back...

[William_G]

love no rough
reminded me of PH #2 and Bandon Dunes
fantastic

[Jeff Schley]

What about having the bunker cut into the green? I assume they have to mow the green frequently, but the green can come right up to the edge of the bunker because of the sandy soil?

Metropolitan is famous for this.  Most dramatic bunkers cut right into the green surface I have seen or played.

[Thomas Dai]

How do the best members and those who play the course regularly like the plus hcp players, top amateurs, ex/current local pros etc play the course?
Do they bang away with Drivers?
Do they play position and angle?
Just curious.
Atb

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()