The Metropolitan Golf Club: A Pictorial!!! (18th hole posted)

[Kyle Henderson]

Links to other pictorials of my Australian exploits:
Barnbougle Dunes
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,47613.0.html
Barnbougle Lost Farm
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,47929.0.html
Royal Melbourne - West
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48238.0.html
St. Andrew Beach- Gunnamatta
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48455.0.html
New South Wales
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48698.0.html
Woodlands
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48900.0.html
Portsea
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49351.0.html
The National Golf Club - The Moonah Course
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,50449.0.html
The National Golf Club - The Ocean Course
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49598.0.html
Victoria
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49756.0.html

The Metropolitan Golf Club is gifted with another exceptionally designed course on a small site blessed mostly by the consistency of its soil - Melbourne is flush with such courses. Sadly, I did not wait an extra week to play “Metro” in the company of my fellow GCA Boomerangers, opting instead to spend that entire day stuck in an airport coping with cancelled flights and lost bags on the way to Tasmania. Hopefully this thread will allow me to finally engage in some of the discussions I missed down under.

Driving on to the property, I knew only that the course here was known for bunkers that eat well into the sides of its greens,that the membership was among of the more exclusive and multi-generational variety, and that the daily fee for overseas visitors was quite steep. I was sent off on the back nine first, which I later learned is the common daily practice. This turned out to be a favorable sequence, as I much preferred the front nine. My preference is apparently no accident, as Dick Wilson made significant changes to the back side to accommodate various troubles afflicting the golf course (the prosaic problems found throughout the civilized golfing world, e.g. encroachment of roads and houses, tree-happy greens committees, etc., but mainly a school). Not to say that the inward half is bad, but it is clearly not as good.

To avoid confusion, I will present the holes in their numbered sequence with the exception of the 19th hole -- I will describe #19 where it falls within the round (between the 5th and 6th).



One of the better opening holes in the sand belt, this gem bends to the left, amply rewarding players able to shape a draw around the left-hand fairway bunkers.


Hooks will find serious trouble.


Tis a pity, aesthetically and functionally, that so few American courses present their hazards in the manner pictured.


The tight turf and firm greens favor golfers able to hit high shots with plenty of spin, especially when their drives end out of position, yet low ball hitters that find the left half of the fairway here have space to run one up.

[Scott Warren]

Agreed it's a strong opener, Kyle, and in the discussion with Peninsula (North) and Royal Melbourne (East) for the best I've played in Melbourne.

I'm interested to hear what others think about the set of par threes and par fives. I loved one of the two and was unimpressed with the other.

And as you look at a lot of these Sandbelt courses you really do realise that while the soil might be for the most part almost ideal, the land is in most cases far from brilliant and it's fairly impressive what the respective designers managed to get from sites like Kingston Heath and the front nine at Metro.

[Mark Chaplin]

Scott you are correct about the land RM uses the slopes of the middle paddock quite brilliantly but the other three paddocks are pretty flat just like Metro and KH. The Sandbelt shows how Florida should be!! I've played Metro two or three times and really enjoyed the experience.

[Mark_F]

I'm interested to hear what others think about the set of par threes and par fives. I loved one of the two and was unimpressed with the other.

The first on Peninsula South is a better opening hole than the North Scott.  You might need another trip down here. 

Vis a vis Metro, the spare hole, the 7th and the 11th are all very fine par threes, although not in the class of those on other Sandbelt courses. 

14 is an good five on average land, but four and six are horrific, which is a double pity in six's sake, since it is on the best piece of land.  8 is a good, albeit overrated, hole.

[Kyle Henderson]

I'm interested to hear what others think about the set of par threes and par fives. I loved one of the two and was unimpressed with the other.

The first on Peninsula South is a better opening hole than the North Scott.  You might need another trip down here. 

Vis a vis Metro, the spare hole, the 7th and the 11th are all very fine par threes, although not in the class of those on other Sandbelt courses. 

14 is an good five on average land, but four and six are horrific, which is a double pity in six's sake, since it is on the best piece of land.  8 is a good, albeit overrated, hole.

I think 6 is pretty good overall, through the current green is over-shaped.

The 2nd is certainly the weakest par 3, as I'll share later today. Is the new 13th open or is the 19th still in play at Metro?

[astavrides]

Oh, the other Metropolitan--i.e., the one that it takes longer than a 40 minute drive for me to get to.

[Kyle Henderson]

#2:


Though it requires skillful play to secure a good score, the second hole does not seem particularly inspired when compared with so many great par 3s in the neighborhood. Slightly elevated and with traps at each corner, there is little to contemplate aside from the influence of wind and club selection. There is some room for a miss short, though it does not look this way from the tee, but a pitch over the fronting bunkers will often prove more difficult than the mid-iron shot bungled to such a position.

[Kyle Henderson]

#3:


At the third, the quality of golf quickly recovers. Trees seem a bit constrictive from the back tees.


But there is plenty of room available in the driving zone.


The first bunker on the right is hardly in play for strong golfers, as a drive well past it to left-center is ideal.


From near this left-side trap, the green can be had via running or aerial approaches. Poor bunker players should favor the right edge of the green.

[Mark_F]

Forgive me for intruding on your tour Kyle, but there are another couple of images to augment your sterling work.

Left side of the 2nd green, showing the Metropolitan characteristic of the bunkers gnawing away at the putting surface:



The third hole is cool.  The correct line is a little tighter from the tee than it appears:


And a few of the green contours can be seen from behind, along with the steep falloff that makes going after rear pins a real test of nerve and control.


Whilst a good hole, it is slightly disappointing that neither the 3rd nor 4th holes make use of the jagged ravine that runs between both. 

[Kyle Henderson]

Thank you for supplementing the tour, Mark. That fall-off behind the 3rd green is not unique in the sand belt. Long is often very wrong in that district. Perhaps that is why so many great players come from Victoria, as one must have a great iron game AND be able to recover well after the occasional marginal strike.

[Mike_Clayton]

Kyle,

I've been a member here since 1975 - so know the course well!
I think it you polled the members 90% would call the 2nd their favourite par 3. It is a pretty hole and that earns this hole, and the 5th, high marks with the membership
We moved the tee back a few years ago to make for a more demanding tee shot. I always thought the green was too big for an 8 or 9 iron but it asks for a lot more with a 5 or a 6.
I prefer 19 though and think it is probably the best par three on the course.
The mounds short and right of the 3rd green used to be bunkers - and it would be good to put them back one day.
Your pictures of the 4th and the 9th will already be outdated. They took down the massive trees to the right of the 2nd shot at 4 as well as the ones on the corner of 9 early this month.

The 13th is in play and 19 goes in and out on a regular basis. It is currently in play because they are resurfacing the green at the 4th.

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle,

I've been a member here since 1975 - so know the course well!
I think it you polled the members 90% would call the 2nd their favourite par 3. It is a pretty hole and that earns this hole, and the 5th, high marks with the membership
We moved the tee back a few years ago to make for a more demanding tee shot. I always thought the green was too big for an 8 or 9 iron but it asks for a lot more with a 5 or a 6.
I prefer 19 though and think it is probably the best par three on the course.
The mounds short and right of the 3rd green used to be bunkers - and it would be good to put them back one day.
Your pictures of the 4th and the 9th will already be outdated. They took down the massive trees to the right of the 2nd shot at 4 as well as the ones on the corner of 9 early this month.

The 13th is in play and 19 goes in and out on a regular basis. It is currently in play because they are resurfacing the green at the 4th.

Thank you for those insights. I'm surprised by the popularity of the 2nd. It's not a bad hole by any means, but I found it quite forgettable -- sort of a generic sand belt short hole. The 19th was much more my speed.

[Kyle Henderson]

#4:


The 4th is a short par 5 by modern standards. An ideal tee shot will skirt the right fairway bunkers …


…to set up a long approach that chases on past the left/front greenside bunker for an eagle putt.

Sir Clayton notes that the starboard trees pictured here are now gone.

[Kyle Henderson]

#5:


Tucked into the corner of the property, the 5th is a medium-sized par 4 with many fine qualities.


Aside from the bunkers, low-hitters must also contend with the influence of sizable fairway contours.


Strong players will easily drive past the bunkers on either side of the fairway, but may need to consider the cross bunker set a bit short of the green with a tail wind.


Even from a short distance, a golfer must hit a quality iron to avoid bilateral greenside bunkers and the perils of rolling over the green.

[Mark_F]

Nice pics of the fifth, Kyle, which is the best hole on the course, with a great green.  Slopes deceptively but tellingly from right to left, with the imposing bunker on the left offering an easier recovery than the smaller right hand side one.

[Brian Stewart]

Excellent pictures.  I look forward to the rest.  I've been fascinated by Metropolitan since first seeing it on Golf Channel several years ago.  For some reason I just loved how the bunkering looked and found it to be very interesting.  I can't wait to play it.

[Kyle Henderson]

#19
Stretching to as long as 180 yards, though few play it from so far back, the 19th hole is short on neither challenge nor visual intimidation from the tee.  And because of the gap between the 5th green and 6th tee, it seems like an integral part of the course – much more than a connector hole or a substitute when another is taken out of play. I reckon it was my favorite short hole of the round.


This view from the front/right displays the 19th hole’s commonalities with its older siblings: bunkers flush against the putting surface, ample green contours and an aft swale, all of which will test even the best of short games. The native scrub seen on the far (left) side of the green will quickly swallow one’s hopes for a simple par.

[Mike_Clayton]

The history here was that there was always a hole here - the 6th - with the current 6th hole playing as the 7th.
When the government compulsorily acquired most of the back nine in the late 50s Dick Wilson routed practically a whole new back nine. At the same time the club feared the narrow road left of the 5th hole that separates Metropolitan from Huntingdale would be widened.
Wilson's advice was that when that happened they could move the 5th to the right.
Thus they took out the old 6th in preparation but the road was never touched.
Had Wilson not elected to remove this hole my guess is that he would not have built the par three 11th.
A few years ago the club decided it needed a 19th hole as this one was added.
For me, it is the most interesting short hole on the course - or not.

[David_Elvins]

Mike,

What is the ideal length for the 19th, in your opinion?

Are people driving the 9th green now the trees are gone?


Kyle,

You are a machine.  Great stuff.  Metro is an interesting course.  I think it is suffering a bit of backlash after being ranked a bit too high (top 5 in australia, top 100 in the world) in the wake of the matchplay event they held there.  But taken on its own, it has alot of really nice holes, in particular on the front nine and some really cool features - such as the bunkers cut into the greens.

[Mike_Clayton]

Dave,

For good players the very back tee, one that is rarely used, at 180 yards makes for a really interesting shot with a five iron - maybe a 4 into the north wind.
It is a really good hole for everybody from the 160-165 tee. Originally the concept was for a 130 yard uphill hole but it isn't quite as good from that front tee.
The second shot a 9 is really good because that green really rewards a running shot especially up to the back pin and the contouring makes that fun to play.
I like that shot with a middle iron - so the hole needs to be 460 yards to maintain that feature for the scratch man. You can work out from that where I think the ideal position of the tee is. I often play it from the women's tee on 11 and I think it is a much better shot from there.
It's a middle iron now because the tee shot forces everyone back into that middle iron place - but now with the trees gone I am not sure how it wilL play - and if I keep typing i will miss my tee time this morning when I will play it for the first time. (It's 7,25 and I am off at 8.06!!)

[Scott Warren]

Mike,

Re: the idea of 11 being removed, with the tee area being used for 9 and the green area being used to lengthen 12 -- then slotting 19 into the permanent routing to replace 11.

19 is a better hole than 11 and both 9 and 12 could be improved that way.

Is that any chance of happening, in your opinion?

[Mike_Clayton]

Scott,
I am not sure - but I played 9 for the first time today with the trees gone and it is surprisingly easy to get it up over the remaining tree.
I hit 5 tee shots and all were at least 20 yards closer to the green that I had ever been.
I think your solution/suggestion is a good one though - a very good one!

[Grant Saunders]

Mike

With the 19th being recently constructed, how difficult was it to achieve that distinctive Metropolitan green edge right to the bunker on newly cultivated soils?

Was there a period of consolidation allowed for and then the edges cut when stabilisation had been achieved?

[Scott Warren]

Of course Mike the idea re: removing 11 isn't mine, I just wasn't sure if the person who suggested it to me, given who they are, wanted it publicised that they think that should be done.

Not that he's ever backward in coming forward!

[Mike_Clayton]

Grant,

The bunkers and the green were shaped as one at the same time. It is fantastic sand to work with and that makes it much easier to achieve that distinctive look.