Royal Melbourne West v Composite

[Jim Nugent]

And you don't hear people lamenting that there are 13 par fours - including eight in a row mid-round - because the holes and course are so damn good.

Does that mean the composite has 3 par 3s and 2 par 5s? 

[Scott Warren]

And you don't hear people lamenting that there are 13 par fours - including eight in a row mid-round - because the holes and course are so damn good.

Does that mean the composite has 3 par 3s and 2 par 5s?  

Yes. 3 (5W), 5 (7W) & 14 (16E) are the par threes. 2 (4W) & 15 (17E) are the par fives.

8 (12W) & 16 (2W) are par fives for member play, but fours for the tournament.

[James Bennett]

And you don't hear people lamenting that there are 13 par fours - including eight in a row mid-round - because the holes and course are so damn good.

Does that mean the composite has 3 par 3s and 2 par 5s?  

Yes. 3 (5W), 5 (7W) & 14 (16W) are the par threes. 2 (4W) & 15 (17W) are the par fives.

8 (12W) & 16 (2W) are par fives for member play, but fours for the tournament.

Shame on you Scott!  17 W is a fantastic par 4, but plays as the ninth on the current composite.

!7 E on the other hand is a par 5, and is the fifteenth on the current composite.

[Scott Warren]

I also called 16E 16W. Let me go back and edit!

[Sven Nilsen]

Didn't want to clutter up Mark Saltzman's East Course photo thread with this, so I'll post it here.

The Dec. 4, 1989 edition of The Age had a special section on the Composite Course at Royal Melbourne (in a different order from what has been used lately).  Copied in below are pieces of that section.

Here's the routing with E/W holes used:

1 - 1W
2 - 2W
3 - 1E
4 - 2E
5 - 5W
6 - 6W
7 - 7W
8 - 10W
9 - 11W
10 - 12W
11 - 17W
12 - 18W
13 - 3W
14 - 4W
15 - 3E
16 - 4E
17 - 17E
18 - 18E

[Sven Nilsen]

[Sven Nilsen]

[Sven Nilsen]

Some fairly blurry photos from the piece:

[Sven Nilsen]

And a description of the course from Peter Thomson:

[Tim_Weiman]

It seems every time I try to figure the Composite out on TV they change the hole numbers.Have they come to some consensus and shouldn't they?Is the walk past hole a disruption or is it just a few extra steps? I realize I am full of questions but one more: is there public transportation for the crowds or a lot off site with a shuttle?Other than the extra holes the property looks surrounded by neighborhoods.

Mike,

There is a solution. Jump on a plane and visit Melbourne! It has to be among the very best cities for golf and the Aussies I've met on my two visits have been very welcoming.

For a long time Royal Melbourne ranked at the top of my list of places I most wanted to see and after finally playing there it is hard to imagine many places I'd rather play on a regular basis. I will say, however, Kingston Heath might have impressed me more. Not because it is better. It isn't. But, KH is amazingly good for such a modest property.

Bottom line: no golf architecture student's travels are complete until seeing Royal Melbourne - both West and the East course.

[mike_beene]

Every time I drive by DFW and see the big QANTAS  plane sitting there I think about going. The map of the composite should go into the thread with the route maps. Excellent. Thanks.