[Ran Morrissett]

... is now posted under In My Opinion.

Short par fours are the current darlings of the PGA Tour but the ones that get broadcast into our living room from Arizona to Connecticut all feature water hazards. When American architects run out of ideas, in comes a lake or pond. Yawn. 

Apart from the UK, if you really want some clever short par fours, there is no better place to head than the Sandbelt region outside of Melbourne. 

As Mark puts it, 'In the Sandbelt’s case, it is swift, boldly contoured and sloped greens coupled with the stunning bunkering that is as lethal to play from as it is beautiful to look at. The temptation for the better player to make a formidable carry, squeeze a booming tee shot between native vegetation and the sprawling sand traps, or simply stay on a tiny elevated plateau green is often overwhelming, especially for overseas visitors who will not find a collection of similar holes anywhere else in the world no matter the breadth of their travels.'

Front to back greens are a GREAT feature to marry to a short par four hole. The 12th at The Old Course and the 7th at CC of Farirfield are prime examples but the best of all might be the 3rd at Royal Melbourne West. Watching play at this hole during the 1998 President's Cup was fascinating. Forward hole locations on this front to back green drove the players' nuts as they frequently drove too close to the green to be left with any type of reasonable pitch. A truly stellar hole.

Mark continue his tour through some famous courses (Kingston Heath, Victoria, Commonwealth) but also throws in two gems that were hidden when I lived there, namely Woodlands and Peninsula.

Look at Mark's captivating photo of the 8th hole on the North Course at Peninsula - give me a few well placed bunkers any day over the diarrhea of bunkers at Whistling Straits. Throw in the native scrub and guaranteed firm playing conditions and it is no wonder that ideal golf is represented by Australia as well as by any country in the world. Mark's excellent piece helps highlight why.

Cheers,

[RSLivingston_III]

Marks opinion piece is a must read.

The Golden age saw most every architect producing wonderful short 2-shotters that were based on landforms and/or bunkering to create the challenges. No water needed. They also fit the traditional idea of short, sub-325 yards. These days I am not sure what constitutes short...
But yes there are contemporary archies producing short fours not requiring water. Maybe their work would best be described as a modern update on the classic methods? Some are very new concepts entirely different from anything previously done. Wonderful.
This might prove to be best answered by one, or more, of the architects that hang out here.

Sorry I took off on attempting to respond to Ran rather than commenting on Marks piece.

[Mark_F]

Many thanks Ben and Ran, for both the opportunity to have my piece see the light of day, and the work you put into both it and the introduction above.  Hopefully people here find it interesting.

The death of GCA is greatly exaggerated...

[Kevin Pallier]

Mark

Thanks for the piece on my favourite style of golf hole. The Sandbelt is indeed blessed with a wide range of good quality "short P4's". Could you possibly add all the main yardages on each of the holes you mention - some have them - some dont. You seem to have a range of holes in question and I was hoping to put them into some context.

Which is your favourite of those you mention in your pictorial  ?

[Ash Towe]

Congratulations on your piece Mark. Of the ones I have played none of the holes look contrived.

I hope I get the chance to play Peninsula North with you at some stage.  The South course is terrific and I would recommend it to anybody going to the Sandbelt.  It is not a club that should be forgotten despite more famous ones in the vicinity.

[Mark_F]

Congratulations on your piece Mark. Of the ones I have played none of the holes look contrived.

I hope I get the chance to play Peninsula North with you at some stage.  The South course is terrific and I would recommend it to anybody going to the Sandbelt.  It is not a club that should be forgotten despite more famous ones in the vicinity.

Cheers Ash.  We will definitely catch up for a game or three more, I hope.  I also hope next time we can actually have a hit together, instead of me limping along just watching you effortlessly tear a course apart.

Mark

Thanks for the piece on my favourite style of golf hole. The Sandbelt is indeed blessed with a wide range of good quality "short P4's". Could you possibly add all the main yardages on each of the holes you mention - some have them - some dont. You seem to have a range of holes in question and I was hoping to put them into some context.

Which is your favourite of those you mention in your pictorial  ?

Kevin,

Thanks, glad you liked it.  No doubt you saw quite a few beauties last year?

Yardages vary quite a lot amongst the holes.  I went over the piece so many times I can't believe I left out something.

RM West 3 - 324 metres
Kingston Heath 3 - 269 metres
Peninsula North 8 - 351 metres
Commonwealth 17 - 307 metres
Woodlands 4 - 251 metres
Woodlands 13 - 295 metres
Victoria 15 - 289 metres
Peninsula South 7 - 299 metres
RM East 5 - 317 metres
Peninsula South 1st - 308 metres
Peninsula North 6 - 309 metres
Woodlands 7 - 341 metres
RM East 11 - 329 metres

Favourite?  That is quite difficult.  Also different from the best.

I really couldn't decide between Commonwealth 17, Peninsula South 1 and RM East 5 as my favourites. 

Best, however, might look like this, since I know you are quite partial to lists...

Commonwealth 17
RM West 3
RM East 5
Woodlands 4
Woodlands 7
Peninsula South 1st
RM East 11
Woodlands 13
Peninsula North 8
Peninsula South 7
Peninsula North 6
Peninsula North 13
Victoria 15
K Heath 3

You must have played them all?  What are your two or three favourites?

[Shane Gurnett]

Mark, no love for the short fours at Metropolitan, Yarra Yarra or Huntingdale?? 

[Mark_F]

Mark, no love for the short fours at Metropolitan, Yarra Yarra or Huntingdale?? 

Shane,

The only love I have for anything at Metropolitan is the toasted ham, cheese and tomato before the round.   16 is just an absolute shocker, isn't it?  If I took a photo of the skate ramp down at Knox park, it would look eerily similar to Metro 16.   And probably play better.

I was going to include the 16th at Huntingdale, but I fell in a fairway bunker and had to spend the night in there since no one could hear my cries for help.  That put it firmly off the list. 

Yarra is a nice course, but 3, 6, 10 and 14 are not its shining moments...

[Shane Gurnett]

Mark, what about 13 at Huntingdale? (I agree with the rest of what you said)

[Mark_F]

Mark, what about 13 at Huntingdale? (I agree with the rest of what you said)

Shane,

The one with the rocks along the side of the pond?

Never thought of it, to be honest.

If Paul Daley is going to do another volume in his Golf Architecture series, I may ask if I can contribute a spread, as long as they float a boat in the middle of the pond like they did on Capital's second hole - a pond on a golf course without a boat is just a water storage facility, not a visually strategic hazard.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Mark,

great essay, also my favourite hole type, forever fascinating and challenging.

My good friend and fellow poster on GCA Darren Gloster has holed out on the 17th off the tee (one witness only) and most disappointingly for him, it was late Christmas Eve, and just the two of them and a single bar man to share the joy and excitement.

A great hole.

Cheers
BM

[Patrick Kiser]

Perfect, perfect timing Mark ... 

Just in time for the Boomerang homework.

I thought this had been posted for at least a few weeks though, because I searched Woodlands a while back and your segment came up in my search.

Good stuff.  Much to think about.

[Warwick Loton]

Mark,

Thanks for a great piece, and for drawing attention to a worthy topic. Your article prompted some head-scratching around here, and one thing that dawned on me was just how many Sandbelt courses open with a short par-4:
Victoria
Commonwealth
Kingswood
Peninsula North
Peninsula South
RME
In addition, Yarra Yarra opens with a long par-3 which presumably played like a short par-4 for most members in the days of hickories.

As for the holes you didn't feature, even if you don’t care for the 16th at Metro, surely you can’t overlook the 1st of RM East.

Also interesting that you left out Mike Clayton’s new 1st at Victoria and the 15th at RM East (although it's obviously not the hole it was pre-Hawtree).

The 3rd at Yarra Yarra would have been fantastic in its day (before alterations, and before the modern ball allowed longer hitters to simply carry all of the fairway bunkers).

You mentioned the holes that have been lost at Commonwealth - their old driveable 1st used to be a lot of fun.

[Philip Gawith]

Thanks for the contribution Mark. Nice to see you stepping up to the plate and a delight to be reminded of some of these great holes/courses which are so wonderfully visual and distinctive. The 3rd at Kingston Heath is the on that sticks most in my memory, but that is probably more a comment on my memory than anything else!

[Mike_Clayton]

Warwick,

I drove past Yarra Yarra last week and they are building the new 3rd green on the old 4th tee and the 4th hole is gone.
30 years ago it was one of the great sub 130 yard holes in the game.
There are some good ones at Peninsula -and if the 6th North had a better green that made playing the left fairway an almost essential option if the pin was in a particular part of the green it might be the best of the lot.

[Mark_F]

There are some good ones at Peninsula -and if the 6th North had a better green that made playing the left fairway an almost essential option if the pin was in a particular part of the green it might be the best of the lot.

Mike,

Do you think you will get the chance in the next couple of years to reshape some of the greens on North and South?  5,6 and 8 North could be all-world holes with greens as good as South 1.

Mark,

great essay, also my favourite hole type, forever fascinating and challenging.

My good friend and fellow poster on GCA Darren Gloster has holed out on the 17th off the tee (one witness only) and most disappointingly for him, it was late Christmas Eve, and just the two of them and a single bar man to share the joy and excitement.

Cheers Brett.  Darren must be a fine player - that's quite an accomplishment.

Perfect, perfect timing Mark ... 

Just in time for the Boomerang homework.

I thought this had been posted for at least a few weeks though, because I searched Woodlands a while back and your segment came up in my search.

Good stuff.  Much to think about.

No problems Patrick.  Hopefully you can get to see them all in person in a few months.

It had been posted a few weeks back, but both Ben and Ran are very busy men.  I thank them again for the effort in putting it together and getting it up and running.

As for the holes you didn't feature, even if you don’t care for the 16th at Metro, surely you can’t overlook the 1st of RM East.

Also interesting that you left out Mike Clayton’s new 1st at Victoria and the 15th at RM East (although it's obviously not the hole it was pre-Hawtree). 

Thanks Warwick.
 
What is scary good is the number of holes I left out, because of the length of what I already had.

RM East 1 and 3, West 10 and 14, Woodlands 3, KH9, Peninsula South 12, Commonwealth 4 or 14.

I did get images of two of the above:

Thanks for the contribution Mark. Nice to see you stepping up to the plate and a delight to be reminded of some of these great holes/courses which are so wonderfully visual and distinctive. The 3rd at Kingston Heath is the on that sticks most in my memory, but that is probably more a comment on my memory than anything else!

Cheers Philip. hope you are fine and well. I look forward to catching up with you again someday - maybe next year if I don't go back to school.

I am a tad disappointed, however,  that you came all the way down here and your best memory is of Kingston Heath...

[Chris Kane]

My good friend and fellow poster on GCA Darren Gloster has holed out on the 17th off the tee (one witness only) and most disappointingly for him, it was late Christmas Eve, and just the two of them and a single bar man to share the joy and excitement.

There were at least two witnesses (myself included), and from memory it was on New Year's Eve. It was back in the days when the left treeline encroached much further into the fairway - he hit over the trees, and spent a number of minutes looking in the rough to the left of the green before checking in the hole.

I will never forget the look on his face when he found the ball at the bottom of the cup.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Hi Chris,
I thought Glossy was only playing with Prez, and thought it would not be logical for them to be playing golf on New Years Eve instead of out partying or there would be a function on at CGC, so I figured it must have been a quiet Chirstmas Eve. Sorry about the error.
Cheers
BM

[Chris Kane]

No problem mate - I'm probably overly sensitive to being excised from the story of the greatest shot I've seen!

Back to architecture, shots like Darren's illustrate perfectly why I'd like to see even more trees removed from the top of the hill on 17 at Commonwealth (though it has improved significantly from the tree removal which has already occurred). Ideally, one should be able to see the flag from the tee.

[Warwick Loton]

Mark,

The 11th of RM East has an interesting history. Russell never intended players to be able to hit on the line that you choose to aim for (ie long down the right edge of the fairway). There used to be an enormous bunker complex in front of the green. Your photo actually shows the remnants of this bunkering - the rolling mounds in the centre of the photo and the depressed areas surrounding them were all part of it. The footprint of the old bunkers is easy to see via GoogleEarth.

Long ago those bunkers were filled in due to drainage problems, but before then players had to either lay out short of the bunkers or else hit long and left, going around the bunkers and opening up the back of the green. This made the hole much more of a strategic puzzle than it is today. (Miscalculating and landing in those fairway bunkers must have been a truly frightening prospect - imagine being left with an 80m sand carry to one of the smallest and narrowest greens on the course.)

[David_Elvins]

Warwick,

Do you now when the bunkers were removed? 

Do you think that improved construction and maintenance techniques would allow for these bunkers to be restored? 

[Warwick Loton]

David,

There aren't clear records of when those bunkers went. They were all there in 1936; they were in a state of transition by 1945; and documentation infers that a transitory state may still have existed around 1950. The current layout was definitely in place by the late 50s.

There have been competing explanations as to why they went, but I think the only credible one is drainage. Parts of the outer east paddock are low-lying and these bunkers would have held water after it rained.

Drainage issues resolved after government agencies installed major drainage infrastructure - needed as the area became more heavily populated. However, with the drainage issue resolved, no-body seems to have thought much about re-instating the old bunkers. I'm confident it would be feasible to rebuild & maintain them. They were truly spectacular, and I suspect they were the biggest bunker complex ever constructed on the Sandbelt.

[Darren Gloster]

My good friend and fellow poster on GCA Darren Gloster has holed out on the 17th off the tee (one witness only) and most disappointingly for him, it was late Christmas Eve, and just the two of them and a single bar man to share the joy and excitement.

There were at least two witnesses (myself included), and from memory it was on New Year's Eve. It was back in the days when the left treeline encroached much further into the fairway - he hit over the trees, and spent a number of minutes looking in the rough to the left of the green before checking in the hole.

I will never forget the look on his face when he found the ball at the bottom of the cup.

Chris was certainly in tow educating me on the finer points of Sandbelt architecture I might add.  And Yes, NYE.  Made for a big celebration.

We all get lucky occasionally  and thanks to Brett and Chris for the fine pump up.  Its become hard to remember the Golden Age of my golf game 

[Mike_Clayton]

Mark,

Hopefully we will get to do those greens.I think 6 is the most important to do followed by 8.
I quite like the 5th and the way that ground in front feeds anything right into the bunker.The green could be better though but getting 6 done is the priority.

[Ian Andrew]

Mark,

I think you picked an excellent set of holes to discuss.

I was awestruck by the swale in front of the 3rd at Royal Melbourne and that hole has stuck with me longer than any other hole on the course. The 4th at Woodlands was a great example of difficulty without bunkers and made a nice contrast to the previous short four that I really liked. That green is brilliant.

Do you like the 3rd at Woodlands?

Would the original 1st at Commonwealth have made your list?


There are so many good short fours in Australia. It seems to be something that Australian golf has over all other lands.

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()