The choice of fairway turf is very important here. If the newer micro-leaf hybrid couches (bermuda) such as Santa Anna, winter-green and windsor green are used, it is very difficult to get them to be anything but fast and tight (because of the fine and dense leaf). And, if you allow them to go above 1 inch off fairway, there is an undesirable tendancy for the ball to settle deep down into the turf, more than desired for a rough. I've seen such fairways cut at a third inch (8 mm), although often at 0.4 to 0.5 of an inch (10 to 12mm) with a maximum of 0.6 of an inch (15 mm). There is a balance (?meld) of playability, water, fertilser, colour and thatch build-up there somewhere to be found
I applaud those great courses that have had the intestinal fortitude to retain their historic grasses on the fairways. The fairways may not be as 'pure' as others, but how important are 'pure' fairways compared to 'good' fairways. I read recently that in CB MacDonald's ideal golf course rating, he applied a 6% factor to the quality of the fairway. Only 6%.
Royal Melbourne is a case where the traditional fairway turfs and maintenance practices have been retained, thankfully. Otherwise, the rolling fairways would have very few divots in them, irrespective of the quality of the golfer.