Royal Melbourne

[David_Elvins]

It is only one week until Royal Melbourne, for the first time, hosts a full professional field armed with new generation eqiupment and hard sumer fairways.  Is anyone else worried about how the course will stand up?  I don't mean in a scoring sense but a strategic sense.

Consider the following:
(By the way, Hole references are for the old composite course.  I neither fully recall or like the new hole order. I mean, 1W is what an opening hole should be and that is what is what it was deisigned as.  As a 17th hole it is very average.  The old 16, 17 18 seemed to be an interesting climax to the round/tournament.)

-Most fairway bunkers will not come into play. THe sixth is known as one of the worlds great par 4s.  However a lot of players wont even look at the bunkers, instead blasting a driver over/around the trees and leaving a wedge into the green.  THe feature bunkers on 2, 3, 10, 12 and 14 have been out of play for years.  Will the long hitters be able to take the ones on 9 and 11 out of play as well?

-The 17th will be the only real Par 5.  However, with hard fairways the cross bunkers (the major feature of the hole) will only come into play with a northerly wind.  Otherwise players could be hitting mid irons into the green.

My fears could be really wrong, and of course I haven't considered all the interesting variations that can occur under a variety of winds.  I hope it blows.

Before I go I should admit that the new technology could tempt alot more players to go for the 3rd and 8th greens of fthe tee, making those holes more interesting.  

[John_D._Bernhardt]

I hope you are wrong. I will watch with great interest for i am one that loves to see stategic course confound the touring pros who seem to trive on target golf.

[Tim_Weiman]

David:

I've not yet made it to Melbourne, but nonetheless would be sadden to hear #6 at RM hole lose its strategic value due to technology.

Is lengthening the hole an option?  Is there room?  Is it possible to preserve the original design intent?

[Chris Kane]

Hopefully the greens will be as quick and firm as people are talking about.  People I've spoken to say that the new Suttons mix greens are magnificent.

If it blows hard, and the greens and surrounds are lightning, then don't be surprised if the players are thrashed.  The genius of RM lies in the subtleties - I hope they aren't made redundant by equipment and ProV1 balls.

Composite Hole 17 is the 9th on the Heineken layout
Composite 3 is 1st
Composite 8 is 12th

The course layout is as follows: W-West Course, E-East Course
1.  3W
2. 4W
3.  5W
4.  6W
5.  1E
6.  2E
7.  3E
8.  4E
9.  17E
10.  2W
11.  7W
12.  10W
13.  11W
14.  12W
15.  17W
16.  18W
17.  1W
18.  18E

[Mike Clayton]

RM will be fine -always has been always will be
6 when the pin is left has to be played from close to the bunkers -a high soft fade with a driver or a good 3 woood is perfect. Just smashing it miles over the bunkers is no good except when the pin is right.Not many will figure it out.Plus many of the fairway havn't been in play for 50 years .

[Paul Daley]

With Melbourne's weather patterns this time of year, plus just a little wind at Royal Melbourne, anything is possible.

Some guys will go off like pop gun's - but watch them come back to the field soon enough: Gentle Ben started one tourney here with seven straight birdies and that was that for the week.

Don't worry about the 6th, it will claim more victims than vica-versa. Into a slight breeze, it remains a bear of a hole.

There has always been new technology, see how it effects the scoring at Australian Opens:

1984 Watson -7

1985 Norman -4 (54 holes only)

1987 Norman -15

1991 Riley -7

Hardly Bob Hope Classic scoring spree!

[Tim_Weiman]

Mike/Paul,

Thanks for the reassurance on #6.  I never thought too much about the left side pin placement.  It appears The Good Doctor was even smarter than I thought.

[Lynn Shackelford]

David:

Agree with you on No. 1 on the West course.  I thought it was one of the great #1's in golf.  Just fire away and get into the game!  Wide open, but go a little right and have a better second shot.  As the 17th it is blah.  I played both courses in the late 80's and was told which were part of the composite course.  What was the change, something about crowd control or better viewing?

[Chris Kane]

Lynn,

When RM was selected for the Presidents Cup, it was decided that, since most matchplay contests finish on the 15th or 16th hole, it would be good to have those holes around the clubhouse, both for atmosphere (have the spectators all together) and convenience.

The original composite layout ended with 4W 3E 4E 17E 18E.  This meant that the 16th hole was in the corner of the property, not great for atmosphere in a close match of the President's Cup.  

So they used the the new layout, and I agree with you that 1W is a great opener but not what a 17th hole should be.

[Mike Duffy]

I will back Royal Melbourne any y in a championship setup.

It is not how far you hit the ball at RM, but WHERE you hit it, both on the fairways and the greens. This is something that escapes so many people that visit the shrine - placement.

Then the real test of nerves starts, figuring our the borrows and most importantly the speed of the greens.

February is a good month for hot, blustery and physically debilitating winds from the north.

Yes, RM by five lengths easing up, for my money.

[Chris Kane]

I'm not particularly concerned if the field carve up RM (although I highly doubt it would happen). What is most important is that the course ensures the best player throughout the four days wins. RM has identified the champions in the past, and will do so again.

If you read a list of champions at the great courses, isn't that what tells you it is great?  Won't a great course separate the men from the boys?

[Shane Gurnett]

The sixth tee has been pushed back about 10 metres (its almost onto the fourth fairway) so that should ease any concerns about driver wedge, if thats an issue anyway.

The beuty of Royal is that it demands strategy off the tee to ensure the best second shot into the pins, The strategy changes daily depending on which side of the green the pin is. Simple really.

I dont know if the course separates the men from the boys, but it certainly rewards patience and strategic thinking, rather than just raw length. I'll be interested to see how Daly measures up. I suspect if he scores well it will be due to his fluid short game rather than his brute strength.

[Chris Kane]

Won't a great course separate the men from the boys?

Perhaps I didn't use the right wording here.  What I mean is that a great course will separate the good players from the great ones.  

"To separate the men from the boys" implies an emphasis on power, which I don't believe to be the case at RM.  As has been said before, I think the guy who can place his tee shots correctly, and manage to handle to greens will fare best.

Daly won't be able to rely on 350yd drives, because he'll be out of position many a time.  Royal is a course that could be played as successfully by Corey Pavin as John Daly.

Hole 6 is a case in point.  Can't see Daly tearing it up unless he can hit a perfect high fade.  Otherwise he'll have to sacrifice his length for accuracy.

[Ran Morrissett]

Stuart Appleby and V. Singh both hit four wood pluses from RM West's 6th tee during the President's Cup. I was on the tee with them and it looked like you needed a cannon just to carry the junk on the inside of the dogleg. Yet, here they were hitting a four wood plus    I was SHOCKED.

Still, as has been noted above, so what?  It still has to be a perfectly placed four wood plus, especially when the hole is on the left portion of the green.

Just as at The Old Course, I will be hoping for wind next week too. I remember Greg Norman smashing a three wood into the teeth of the wind at a tournament (maybe the Holden 4/5 years ago?) on the 18th hole at RM East. The shot almost went in and was one of the most thrilling strikes I've ever seen. The point of the story is that - like at The Old Course - wind lets the best players show off just how deep their talent is and unlike a lot of modern courses, RM encourages/promotes the display of such talent.

Cheers,

[Justin_Hanrahan]

My view of Royal has always been that it is a super course because ALL players can have a good day out there. Wide fairways give everyone a chance of keeping the ball in play, but for the pros there is a need to push the boundaries if they want to score well.

This is the key with tournament golfers, isn't it? That some will push too hard in the wrong spots and the course will bite back?

You've only got have stood over a 10 foot downhill putt at RM to know you shouldn't be there! That knowledge doesn't prevent you from ending up in the same spot on the next hole though, does it?

[Shane Gurnett]

Having spent the afternoon at RM today, I can assure all those with any concerns that there is little to be worried about. The course is in A1 condition (despite a few of the pro's grizzleing about the fairways - the Metropolitan factor).

The beauty of RM is that is doesn't change from year to year or from tournament to tournament. Doesn't have to, never has. No TWP influences here. Before you walk in the gates you know what is there waiting for you, and thankfully there are no suprises. The sheer magnitude of the challenge is breathtaking every time.

As for the sixth (west), its still a fine test of golf no matter whether its a 5 iron or a wedge in your hands for the second shot. Justin Ryan and I can attaest to this fact having seen Mike Clayton hit driver, seven iron and roll the downhill putt for a three in the pro-am. Just like many others have in the past, and will over the next four days. I think a score around 12/13 under will win, unless the northerly howls on the Saturday, as predicted.

[Chris Kane]

As Mike Clayton explained to me yesterday, the fairways at RM are better from a design standpoint.  Because it is a thicker, more dense grass, the ball doesn't run as far as Santa Ana.  This is another way that RM counters technology: the course plays longer than the other sandbelts becuase of the fairways.  These fairways provide a perfectly reasonable surface to hit the ball from, which is all that is really necessary.  There is still plenty of run, but you don't see the ball rolling along the ground like could be expected at Metro.

Metropolitan fairways are great to look at, walk on and play from, but the ball runs so much further than it should.  Metro has also sparked an expectation for perfection that is impossible for all but a couple of clubs, who need a huge budget to even get close.  

For my mind, the fairways at RM are more desirable, because they don't compete with the integrity of the design, and these surfaces are attainable for most clubs.

The only surfaces where so-called perfection is desirable is on the greens, and this is where RM gets it just right.  Those are the best surfaces I have seen in my life, and they weren't even shaved down at that stage.

[Justin_Ryan]

Shane g

Maybe you should have kept quiet about Mike's birdie on RMW6 (4 in this event).  If certain parties hear that the hole has been rendered obsolete even by the old timers using the latest ball technology, the next time an Australian Open is held there we may find a brace of random and stupidly placed pot bunkers in the middle of the fairway.  

[Chris Kane]

"to maintain the characteristics and challenges of the course proposed by Dr Alistair Mackenzie when he designed the course in 1926" is the aim of Royal Melbourne Golf Club.  I have no doubt whatsoever that they will stick to that no matter what the AGU throw at them.

It is also the nature of the RMGC that they wouldn't be willing to jump just becuase someone else says so.  They have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations with the AGU, and they know it.  Fair enough too.

[Richard Chamberlain]

Geez, the morning players are thru on Thursday and Ernie posts a -8 (64).

It must have been the weather....the ball...the club technology...the shaft.....the hat.....the stimp....the composite mix of holes....the suttons mix...the wind....the fairway grasses...the hot dog at the turn....the yellow tees he used....the biorythems....

Call me a cynical prick but maybe he played really well.

[Barney Grum]

Doc,

You are dead right. He played very well. And there is no crime against that. He did say later that he is hitting it 20 yards further than a year ago and he thinks technology is getting out of hand. But he did it today with a putter.
And so  he putted better than the others so is in front. Good on him. Good to see Paul Daley there flogging his new book. Its a great buy.