Gunnamatta Course - Tom Doak Redesign/Renovation of The Ocean Course

[Charles Lund]

Today I had my first experience playing the Gunnamatta Course, Tom Doak’s reworking of The Ocean Course at The National Golf Club in Cape Schank, Victoria, which is on The Mornington Peninsula.


This is my 16th trip to Australia and my 11th as a member of The National Golf Club.  The Club has three other courses and made a decision to redo The Ocean Course about three years ago, hiring Doak to complete the work.  I participated in a detailed member survey, which summarized general considerations that related to lower play by members and the view that it was the least desirable of three courses at the original three course complex.  Australia course rankings also reflected it was thought of as lowest of the three in Australia rankings.


Doak’s work essentially retained the original footprint areas for 13 of the original holes with substantial relocation of greens and some degree of repositioning of tees.  Five holes were reconstructed.  Three new par threes replaced four original par threes.  Two of the new par threes take advantage of the view toward the Bass Strait.  The opening par five moved the green sharply to the right and altered fairway bunkering, retaining the dramatic start the earlier version provided.  The old number 4, a par four, was converted to a par five.  Another par five, previously number 7, is now number 13, and removed some inappropriately placed bunkering, expanded the fairway, and replaced what had been an unnecessarily difficult green complex.


I never enjoyed the four original par threes and liked some features of the original par fives, with number 17 being my favorite.  Each of the other par fives had fairway bunkering which seemed overly punitive and/or overly difficult green complexes.  The new par fives reflect an improvement as far as playability.


The reworking of the course yielded par fours which improve substantially on the old ones.  My experience was that a day at The Ocean involved hybrids and fairway metals heading to targets not that receptive to shots coming in from a lower trajectory due to false fronts, greenside bunkers, and contouring which moved balls away from greens.  The newer arrangement involves par fours of varying lengths which, depending on wind conditions, will allow a range of different clubs for second shots.  At least three of them will generally require fairway metals for me, with some hope of a green in regulation on some days. 


I liked the new greens.  They seemed today to yield putts which left me believing I could trust my eyes and eyeglass lens prescription.  Putts seemed to hold a line fairly well. I don’t recall other players asserting confidence in how they read putts in the course of playing the course prior to the redesign. 


The past few months I was home in Washington State.  I was able to play Wine Valley and Gamble Sands.  Playing these courses led me to think of playing courses on The Mornington Peninsula in terms of open space and with no reality base for claustrophobia.  I was hoping the Doak reworking of the Ocean Course which reopened as The Gunnamata Course would offer both a fun and challenging playing experience similar to what I had at Wine Valley and Gamble Sands.  The earlier course certainly was not conducive to claustrophobic feelings because of the abundance of open space.   But open space with an overly punitive routing and an excessive number of bunkers in lines of play never really provided much relief from making perfectionistic demands on  myself before a shot and needing to refrain from self-castigation after the often encountered bunker from hell after the shot. 


I am pleased with the approach the club took, the general direction of the member survey, and Tom Doak’s work to move forward on the project, which highlighted his views about the importance of player enjoyment as a consideration in golf course design.


Charles Lund

[Ash Towe]

Charles,


Thank you for the review of the Gunnamatta course.


Where do you think it now sits in relation to the other 2 courses on the Mornington Peninsula site?

[Brian Walshe]

The Ocean course wasn't a lot of fun.  Whilst it had width off the tee, the greens featured some significant slopes, particularly given that 9 greens had to be modified not long after it opened.  On a site that sees a fair bit of wind, the predominant slopes, false fronts and the domed nature of a lot of the greens made approaches very difficult in anything more than a gentle zephyr. From the Club's perspective there was a really good bit of land that had a course that was significantly less popular than the other two on the same site.  The vote to have Tom Doak build what amounts to a new course was overwhelming.


The Gunnamatta course meets the design brief, it's wide, it's playable for all standards of golfers and it's fun.  The greens are superb and you quickly learn that whilst there is a ton of width (15 for example is 112m wide) being in the right spot is all important.  I have played with a few single figure players who have been frustrated by not being able to score on a course they regard as wide and short.  It's taking them a while to work out that you can't just hit it anywhere and score.  One feature that I really enjoy is the significant amount of fescue around the greens, at times from as far as 40 to 50m out.  It makes running approaches possible, something that you don't see all that often on new courses and a feature that will be appreciated by those without clubhead speed to burn.

[Charles Lund]

I played it again today in strong wind.  I also reviewed Australia course rankings for 2019.  The Ocean had historically been ranked in the mid 30s before a sizeable drop9, with Moonah ranked a bit ahead of The Old, around number 10 and The Old between number 12 and 15. 


For those members preferring The Old over Moonah, I would guess that they would continue to prefer The Old over the other two.  For those preferring Moonah over The Old, there is the possibility they might prefer Gunnamatta over Moonah, based on the novelty factor and  certain playability considerations as individually defined.


I don't hit a high ball and like being able to access many greens on Gunnamatta and Moonah with running shots.  I would anticipate I would find Gunnamatta and Moonah equally enjoyable.


A difference I realized today is that the final six or seven holes on Gunnamatta are quite a bit of fun, whereas the final seven holes on Moonah are a grueling experience.  I like the way Moonah and Gunnamatta get me to focus on hitting solid tee shots, while the difficulty of some holes and green complexes on The Old seem to promote ideas of futility as I approach the hole.


Given that The Ocean and now Gunnamatta have highly ranked comparisons in Moonah and The Old at the same club, I have a hard time imagining Gunnamatta vaulting over one or both of them.


St. Andrews Beach ranks in the 20 to 30 range and  nearby The Dunes has been in the top 20.  The question might be how Gunnamatta compares with St. Andrews Beach, given the same designer.


Comments by other members about Gunnamatta have been favorable, but some view it as maybe too short and easy.  With the ever present wind and changing directions, it will offer many different playing conditions.  Many green surrounds offer slopes and contours off fhe green that feed into selected areas of the green, so for those that enjoy flying shots at these areas at certain times, it will be fun.


Brian's comments about views of low markers seem to mirror summaries provided by members and staff I have spoken with.  Other courses at the club may provide a better fit for their style of play and proficiency.


We are fortunate to have another very good option for play.  I look forward to my time here.   


My thanks to Tom Doak.


Charles Lund






I thquote author=Ash Towe link=topic=67731.msg1619523#msg1619523 date=1573583499]
Charles,


Thank you for the review of the Gunnamatta course.


Where do you think it now sits in relation to the other 2 courses on the Mornington Peninsula site?

[Ash Towe]

Charles,


Thank you for the superb explanation to my question. Much appreciated.


Hope you enjoy all the clubs courses for many years to come.

[Tom_Doak]

  I have played with a few single figure players who have been frustrated by not being able to score on a course they regard as wide and short.  It's taking them a while to work out that you can't just hit it anywhere and score.  One feature that I really enjoy is the significant amount of fescue around the greens, at times from as far as 40 to 50m out.  It makes running approaches possible, something that you don't see all that often on new courses and a feature that will be appreciated by those without clubhead speed to burn.

The first part of your comment is the cliche about my work.  As you note, wouldn't be so many complaints from the good players if they were actually posting low scores.  The GM told me that in their first few Stableford events over the winter, the winning scores were similar to the old Ocean course, but the back of the field scored several shots better.


It is especially easy to accept this criticism at The National, though, because we were building a third course for the club (fourth if you count Long Island).  The course doesn't have to be every member's favorite - it just needs to appeal to more than 1/3 of the members, and from the early feedback it appears it will easily clear that bar.  The Ocean was unpopular because it was just as tough as the other two courses, but not as appealing in terms of views or memorable holes.


The truth is, it's not just clubs with multiple courses where this approach works . . . Very few courses appeal to everyone, but it's not a requirement to be successful.  So it's silly to let any one group of players tell you otherwise.

[David_Elvins]

Tom,


I read Brian's comment as a compliment, not a criticism.

[Tom_Doak]

Tom,


I read Brian's comment as a compliment, not a criticism.

Yes, and I took it as one, because he pointed out the flaw in the low-handicappers' criticism.  And to be fair, it's only SOME low handicappers who say that.  I played the opening with Michael Clayton and Lukas Michel and neither of them thought it was too easy.


When we finished the round my foursomes partner noted that we were still playing the same ball we started with, and I giggled when I noted that the only player to lose one was the guy who's playing in The Masters next year!  (He hit driver at the 8th just for fun.)

[Brian Walshe]

Charles,


It will end up higher than Moonah, if not this set of rankings then the next.  I doubt enough people have seen it to date with only a group from Golf Australia mag thus far.  Feedback I have had from a few people on that day was that it was lots of fun which means that the design briefing has been met.


Tom,


I'll happily take bets that when they tally up the number of rounds across the 3 courses at Cape Schanck in a couple of years, that Gunnamatta comes out as the most popular.  I used to walk off Ocean, particularly if it was windy, feeling a bit beaten up, just from the difficulty of the approaches to those crowned greens.  I'm yet to walk off Gunnamatta and not see people smiling. 

[mike_beene]

Curious about the significance of the name. Also, was changing name part of the original plan to differentiate it as a new course?

[Brian Walshe]

Mike,


Gunnamatta is the name of the beach the other side of the dunes from the course.  Once the decision was made to effectively build a new course changing the name was always going to happen.  I was a little disappointed that my choice of "Docean" didn't get up in the poll.

[Charles Lund]

I really am not trained in how to conduct formal course ratings using some of the standardized ratings, so I hesitate to say how it might compare with others using aggregated weighting of various factors.


I've now played it three days in a row and had positive experiences with each round.  On this trip I have not played Moonah and The Old.  Being able to play nine holes is a plus and I think the back nine took me an hour and 20 minutes playing solo yesterday.


Brian could be right about what might transpire over time with formal ratings.   The abundance of positive comments seem to point in that direction.


Charles Lund

Charles,


It will end up higher than Moonah, if not this set of rankings then the next.  I doubt enough people have seen it to date with only a group from Golf Australia mag thus far.  Feedback I have had from a few people on that day was that it was lots of fun which means that the design briefing has been met.


Tom,


I'll happily take bets that when they tally up the number of rounds across the 3 courses at Cape Schanck in a couple of years, that Gunnamatta comes out as the most popular.  I used to walk off Ocean, particularly if it was windy, feeling a bit beaten up, just from the difficulty of the approaches to those crowned greens.  I'm yet to walk off Gunnamatta and not see people smiling.

[Matthew Mollica]

Gunnamatta is very very good. The best course at The National. Great variety of holes. Ample width for manageability in strong winds, for the entire membership. Many greens also feature collection bowls and slopes which can be used to advantage in approach or recovery from a missed green. Bunkers and greens are infinitely better - in design, location and construction. There’s subtlety in many green complexes, which is hard to deliver on a windy site of great scale.

Doak and co have changed the routing imaginatively, building a great feel to the latter part of the round. They’ve also been more than effective in dealing with the constraints of having to use existing corridors for holes, where they’ve created new holes of different character and better quality. Top 10 in Aus without doubt. When asked for the three favourite holes on the course, one could reasonably select from ten different holes. The short fours are a clear standout.

The fairway grass is really good but the fescue near the greens and the putting surfaces themselves are already firm and of high quality. They will likely improve too. If you get a chance to play it - get there.

[Pete_Pittock]

    I was able to play, in the company of  member Peter Wood, on the Saturday of their championship week.  An excellent members course which seems to be gaining more popularity amongst the membership.  As has been said before the fairways are wide enough to stand any wind direction. Despite the width the angle of attack varies according to hole location and it probably will take a few plays to partially solve some riddles.  While some mention the side slopes, etc. they didn't seem to help me very much if the pin wasn't really accessible from the play.  The greens were very good, yet difficult for a stranger to putt because there always seemed to be a slight mound, or two, involved which only rewarded those with good touch and eye.
    Haven't played Moonah or Old in over twenty years, but the Gunnamatta presents a different challenge than they do, and that is a good thing. A very good iron player will be the standout here.
    Wouldn't disagree with the other sentiments about how it will place among its rivals in Australia.

[Kevin Pallier]

I haven't been fortunate to see the new course at The National - as yet. From what I've heard / read it is worthy of Top10 discussions in Australia.

If that's the case - that would mean three courses from the one site (Ocean + Moonah + Old) are widely regarded as being in the Top20-25 courses in the nation.

I can't think of any other site in the World that also has 3 courses listed within it's nation's ranking of Top25 courses.

[Pete Lavallee]

Just curious, who designed the original course?

[Greg Gilson]

Thompson Wolveridge Perrett (TWP) although Mike Wolveridge (who passed this week) led the design/construction work on behalf of the company

[Tom_Doak]

I can't think of any other site in the World that also has 3 courses listed within it's nation's ranking of Top25 courses.

Puts them right up there with Singapore Island CC      There are probably a couple of others, I just can't think of them right now.  Eagle Ridge in The Philippines?


The irony of all this talk about rankings is that in my initial communication with the club, I told them to forget about rankings and just concentrate on what the membership wanted, and specifically that I doubted that the course would reach the top 10 in Australia because there were so many other good ones.  I thought that the high rankings of Barnbougle and Tara Iti probably had the club thinking bigger than it should.  In fact, it did get there, in one ranking, by bumping New South Wales to 11th    which I don't think is going to hold.


It's sad to me that so much of the focus of discussion is on rankings.


Reading back through the original thread, I got a laugh about the comment from Charles below.  Lots of people at the Renaissance Cup last week noted how difficult it was to read the greens properly.  Of course, the greenkeeping staff know them quite well by now, and I saw a lot of hole locations that were very close to the places on greens where water starts draining in the other direction.

I liked the new greens.  They seemed today to yield putts which left me believing I could trust my eyes and eyeglass lens prescription.

[Tom_Doak]

Thompson Wolveridge Perrett (TWP) although Mike Wolveridge (who passed this week) led the design/construction work on behalf of the company

Michael passed away this week?  I'm sorry to hear that, I did not hear anything about it when I was down there.  He was kind enough to meet me for lunch at Victoria GC on my first visit to Australia, 32 summers ago.

[jeffwarne]

Had the opportunity to play it in three different winds where use of the "width" became apparrent.
This isn't width like Cape Wickham where you stand on the tee and see a ginormous fairway (another very windy site)


It's width that's somewhat protected , both visually and strategically, and certainly isn't evident standing on the tee for the first time.
I laid up on several holes the first go round-not seeing the extra fairway that could be reached with a longer(often just visually appearing long) carry to a wider point that offered an angle to a certain pin. 3 and 12 being excellent examples of this.
Holes 3,6,7 12,15 to my recollection the best examples of at least visually protected width that opens up a preferred or even at times an essential angle only evident once in the fairway or looking back from the green.(or from observation of others tee shots both intentionally(long and sometimes wrong Cedric) and not) There were certain holes that due to tilt and sideslopes where one's drive needed to be 30-60 yards left or right of a previous round to use the slopes rather than have the ball repelled away from the hole.


Other holes such as 1, 2 ,4, 14 only revealed their width in certain winds, otherwise you have to pick a side unless the wind is favoring due to central bunkers.


It didn't hurt that I was suffering pretty bad with a bad back and playing at 3/4 speed so I had better control of my ball than normal, but had much less ability to carry central hazards, and less ability it bring it in high on approaches when out of position.
Angles mattered a lot more than usual due to firm greens and surrounds and me playing at a slightly lower ball speed.


Definitely a course that wouldn't reveal itself on one play unless someone was very observant.

[V_Halyard]

I also had the pleasure of playing the Gunnamatta last week and here are some impressions as a higher handicap jet lagger. I defer to Tom and the RGD team to add any technical corrections but IMHO and having never previously played the Ocean/National let alone anywhere in Australia, I found it a quite entertaining piece of golf. I appreciated the flow, elevation changes and intra/inter dune routed use of contours.Regarding ratings, as a rater, I don’t mind the immaturity and usually  see through it. If grass growing in will negatively affect your rating as a rater, I would let it mature as the fescue surrounds are young and the surrounds and fairway adjacent ares are still being dialed in by RGD and the fantastic super US/Iowa born and Iowa State Grad, Ex-Pat Tony Gordon. ;-)

IMO, conditioning was excellent, firm and fairways were “Bermuda” Fast. The fescue surrounds were especially festive for me, a mid handicap old guy. I had some nice run up opportunities, but ONLY IF I was able to place them in the fairway properly. Great risk reward for accuracy. When you get it right, the results are like a carnival. Hit the wrong side of the fairway, you might find yourself behind a dune with a blind shot to the flag where your opponent across the same fairway can see the paint drip lines inside the cup. Short side yourself on hole 14(?), creativity becomes your best tool for a punchbowl like putt around a horseshoe green side Pot bunker to a flag tucked “around the corner”. All of the above make for great golf competition and entertainment.

Interestingly a number of the holes have an amphitheater feel which made for entertaining viewing of the final matches. I had not played the pre renovation Ocean course. As a first timer, it felt like an outstanding course for a club where a good player can play 18 and not lose a ball… although the... :”every snake and spider you see can kill you”...  thing gives one pause when/if you decide to go ball hunting. It struck me as an outstanding course for competition, excellently balanced for everyday member play. Lazy member golf will be penalized, but focused member play, as I assume the membership prefers, was quite enjoyable. When the wind came up from one of the three prevailing directions, the routing balanced risk/reward for each wind direction. In touring the other two courses, I echo previous comments, if a person has one of the others as a favorite, this will likely not supplant their favorite. For me, this would be my choice. I enjoyed the way it worked into the land forms and the dunes. It felt like a sibling to the sand belt course further north.


Neither twin nor triplet of Royal Melbourne or St. Andrews Beach, but a symbiotic sibling. Gunnamatta was more formal and manicured than St. Andrews Beach but equally bold. With natural amphitheaters, intermittent vistas of the Pacific and a couple of infinity greens, when Gunnamatta matures, it will likely end up high on a number of Top XXX Lists. As far as the RGD courses I was able to visit, RMGC was of course the most bold and regal. The National was bold and formal. St. Andrews Beach was boldly whimsical, a golfing carnival of a playground. All were architecturally excellent. If a rater/rating is able to discount the immaturity of the new grass, Gunnamatta was an excellent improvement over the previous and likely in the top group of courses in the Sand Belt “neighborhood”. If a rating criteria has to include aesthetic conditioning, wait a season for the new grass, surrounds and fairway adjacent to mature. Either way, it was an excellent piece of golf. The experimental enjoyment grew with each lap. Plus there are few things as fun as the thump of playing a sand based course with new grass as the first organic layer next to the sand. Fresh Golf.

[Greg Gilson]

FROM the club website:



Published on 29th February 2020 in Latest News, Members[/size]
 [font=&amp][/size]The National Golf Club is deeply saddened by the recent passing of Mr Michael Wolveridge. [/font]
[font=&amp][/size]Michael was a director of Thomson, Wolveridge and Perrett, and played the leading role in designing the Ocean course. He also was instrumental in successfully presenting the planning application for the expansion of The National from 18 holes to a 54 hole complex.[/font]
[font=&amp][/size]Michael had a passion for golf and the land, The National was built on. [/font]
[font=&amp][/size]Throughout the years Michael maintained his passion for the Club spending much time inspecting the site with the Club’s superintendent, particularly the Ocean Course, this was his pride and joy.[/font]
[font=&amp][/size]Michael was a true gentleman and will be greatly missed.[/font]
[font=&amp][/size]Our sincere condolences are extended to Michael’s wife Barbara and all of Michael’s family and friends.[/font]