Royal Adelaide Golf Club, Seaton, Australia - A Photo Tour - Hole 18 Up!

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 8: Par 4, 356 Metres

Though less intimidating, the tee shot at the 8th is similar to the tee shot at the 4th demanding a mostly blind shot through a chute of trees.  The blindness is the result of a long runway tee combined with a steep drop to the fairway, and it is mostly eliminated when playing from the Member's or Forward tees.




Whether the right side of the green is protected by bunkering as depicted by MacKenzie, or mounding as it sits today, the hole has always favored an approach from the left.  Yet again, and unfortunately, the fairway bunkering is oddly placed.  Rather than placing the bunkers to protect the ideal line, they are placed in a position that will push golfers towards the ideal line.  Perhaps the bunkers should be moved to the other side of the fairway, or even better, removed completely, thus tempting the unthinking golfer into playing on the directly line and leaving a treacherous approach to a green that will require an aerial approach and which falls off long.

[Dieter Jones]

The first time I played the course in the early 2000's, the 7th hole was being reconstructed. I'm sure someone here could tell me if it was altered much at that point. It was only a few years after the infamous 1998 Australian open and the " interesting" design changes made in preparation for that event.

[James Bennett]

Dieter

was the green being rebuilt?  Resurfaced?
or were the tees being amended?  There was a tee between 6 green and 8th tee, used for 1998, now NLE.

James B

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 9: Par 5, 493 Metres

The 9th doglegs slightly to the right and a pair of bunkers 210m and 230m from the tee protect the short line.  The bunker on the left, a Thompson addition, was added 275m from the tee to reintroduce the challenge for longer hitters who were driving well past the bunkers on the right.




Bunkers flank the fairway left and right from 100m short of the green.  Golfers willing to lay back short of the 100m mark are offered additional fairway width, but the longer approach will be challenging.  The green is shallow at only 22m in depth (15m deep on the right), and made shallower by a false-front and ridge that runs across the green.

[Scott Warren]

Enjoying the pics and discussion, thanks Mark et al.

How about those mounds behind the 9th green?

Fugly!

Tom, when do they come out?!

[Mark Saltzman]

Enjoying the pics and discussion, thanks Mark et al.

How about those mounds behind the 9th green?

Fugly!

Tom, when do they come out?!

Yessir, very ugly! But at least they serve the practical purpose of protecting the 10th tee. Can't say there's a practical purpose to the mounds right of 5 though!

[BCowan]

I'll take the mounds over trees, we love using trees to protect the next tee on holes in the US.  The mounds don't stop wind and sunlight at least...

thanks for the photos Mark..

[Dieter Jones]

Dieter

was the green being rebuilt?  Resurfaced?
or were the tees being amended?  There was a tee between 6 green and 8th tee, used for 1998, now NLE.

James B

I don't know James. It was my first visit and I remember the green site behind all the bunkers being returfed. I will ask my father in law who was a member at the time if he recalls what was done.

[James Bennett]

dieter

All greens were rebuilt except 15 and 18 before the Eisenhower cup in 2010. Not necessarily reshaped but rebuilt. Took a few years. It might have been that.

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 10: Par 4, 335 Meters

A remnant from the Seaton Links, the 10th hole is a mid-length par-4 that plays along the club's western boundary.  MacKenzie's plan would have seen the hole dogleg to the left to a green in the location of the famous Crater Hole.  Even in the 1920s the Crater Hole was well-known and one could suspect that the membership would not accept a change that would result in its modification.  As it sits today, the drive is played blind over the crest of a hill.  A tee shot of only 190m is required to find the downslope on the right side, but on the safer line to the left, a shot of well over 200m is required.  On days when the hole plays into the wind, few golfers will have a clear look at the hole as failure to crest the hill leaves a completely blind approach.




A treacherous green at the 10th.  The first 10m or so tilt back to the tee before a small (and I mean tiny!) plateau is formed with a maximum total depth of 7m.  Past the plateau the green tilts hard away from the tee.  The fall offs short and long mean the possibility of 'ping pong' is high.

[James Bennett]

The 10th green is a fun green to play, although I rarely succeed with it.  It can also be described as incredibly frustrating.  The middle tier plays a little wider if you are coming from the right, although it is probably more accurate to say the middle tier plays even more shallow if coming in from the left.

 There was a period in the 1990's or late 80's where TWP had the front of the green approach converted to green, making a very long 'links-like' green.  It was always a let down when the pin was placed where the fringe/approach has traditionally been.  I was glad to see the green returned to its current shape, even if the challenge is severe.

 I am very, very happy to take 4 on this hole, despite its high stroke index (is it 15?).  For that matter, I suspect that 10 and 11 must be the most difficult consecutive mid-length par 4's with stroke indexes of 13 and 15 that I have played.  Playing those two holes in par is a great achievement for the weekend golfer, especially if they don't hit the ball over 220 metres.  The crest of the hill is perfectly placed for such players - able to be carried down wind and requiring two good shots into the wind.  Note that a 9 iron second downwind to this green is very challenging - play conservatively and you are 30 feet short, play aggressively and you are 40 feet long.

James B

[Mark Saltzman]

For those that find the 800 pixel width frustrating, the front-9 is now up on One Golfer's Travels... http://onegolferstravels.blogspot.ca/2014/03/royal-adelaide-golf-club-seaton.html

[DMoriarty]

Thanks for the link Mark, and for taking the time to put all these reviews together.  It is much easier for me to look at all the holes together, and then to go back and read the comments later. 

[Mark Saltzman]

Interesting piece about RA's 3rd hole by Neil Crafter: http://www.golfstrategies.com.au/graphics/articles/FHBD_textp4-5_28_4_04.pdf

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 11: Par 4, 356 Metres

Often we see architects creating a hub of tees and greens around a high point, but at Royal Adelaide the 10th green, 11th tee, 12th green and 13th tee form a hub in a low point on the property.  

Along with the 3rd, the 11th hole - The Crater Hole - is the most well-known at Royal Adelaide.  The landing area is blind from the tee and a carry of 140m of a bunker set into the dune is a must if the golfer hopes to find the fairway.




Impossible to see from the tee, the fairway tilts from right-to-left, emphasizing the importance of carrying the large fairway bunker.  A pair of fairway bunkers flank the fairway 210m from the Championship tee. With only 20m of fairway between them and a fairway that runs out beyond them, it must be the norm for golfers to hit less than driver from the tee.  The removal of both fairway bunkers would return the incentive to hit driver.




I was disappointed that I could not find a picture of the Crater Hole from early in the 20th century, or even one from pre-2010 which showed a forested green site, but from what I've seen the approach as it sits today is little changed from it's early days -- a wonderful sandy amphitheatre.

[RJ_Daley]

How soon or at what distance does that fairway run out into the rough divide?

[Mark Saltzman]

How soon or at what distance does that fairway run out into the rough divide?

RJ, past the bunkers the fairway runs downhill toward the divide. About 30m from the crest of the hill to the end of the fairway.

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 12: Par 3, 204 Metres

Probably the most difficult green in regulation at Royal Adelaide, the 204m 12th hole plays downhill and into the wind to a Pinehust-esque turtleback green.  For such a long approach, the green is curiously small, but given the lack of overt hazards surrounding the green, the concept works well here.  If anything, an expansion of the fairway short of the green would help, if nothing else, to decrease search time for (very) poorly struck tee shots.




As seen from short-right, the green opening is only 11m wide (!!) and shots landing in the right half of that opening will more than likely funnel off the green to the right.




As seen from behind, the green offers a maximum width of 20m and falls long and left as well.  The members I played with said less than 20% of tee shots will find this green.  Indeed.

[Mark Saltzman]

For those that find the 800 pixel width frustrating, the front-9 is now up on One Golfer's Travels

Holes 1-12 now up at One Golfer's Travels... http://onegolferstravels.blogspot.ca/2014/03/royal-adelaide-golf-club-seaton.html

[Tyler Kearns]

Hole 11: Par 4, 356 Metres

I was disappointed that I could not find a picture of the Crater Hole from early in the 20th century, or even one from pre-2010 which showed a forested green site, but from what I've seen the approach as it sits today is little changed from it's early days -- a wonderful sandy amphitheatre.

Mark,

Here is a picture I took of the crater hole in February 2006;



The setting of the green site is wonderful, but the green lacks interest in terms of contours.



TK

[Mark Saltzman]

A couple more cool pictures...

First, a photo from 1926 showing Dr. MacK in what would become the third green site.  Wondering how he came up with the idea of building that ridge left of the green? It was already there (and he used it to perfection)!






Second, this picture of the 11th from 1995 shows just how forested the dunes surrounding the green had become:

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 13: Par 4, 395 Metres

Returning back to the lower hub, the championship tee on 13 plays across the line of play from the tee on 11.  The hole will play very differently whether playing the Championship tee or the Member's tee.  From the back set, many golfers will struggle to find a view of the green as a wooded dune on the left juts into the line of play.  They are forced to either play right, leaving a much longer approach, or play left, leaving a blind and shorter approach with a poor angle into the green.

The entire hole falls left to right off of the dune -- both in the reverse camber fairway and the primary tilt of the green.  Curiously, the golfer able to play to the high side of the fairway is not rewarded. 




Like the fairway, the green falls left to right.  Approaching from the left makes the already narrow target extremely difficult and the shot to a back or left pin impossible.

[Terry Thornton]

The left wooded dune is a great feature, being the other side of the dune on the left of #3.
At present as Mark mentions the golfer is not iencouraged to engage with it.

A realignment of the green to favour an approach from the left side, some bunker work and perhaps a small amount of 'de-wooding' on the edge of the dune would see this feature be more prominent in the paly of the hole.

This is approximatley what Clayton's Masterplan suggests, awaiting with interest to see Renaissance's approach will be

[RJ_Daley]

An entertaining historical comparison on that 3rd greensite.  To me, it looks like the plan called for melting the dune down a bit from the right and push the sand into where the greenpad sits now, while leaving the ridge and dunelines to form the hazard and strategy.  I wonder if TD sees it that way?

[Mark Saltzman]

Hole 14: Par 4, 442 Metres

Another very different hole based on the tee played as the Championship tee sits across the railroad tracks and some 70m behind the Members tee.  A bunker on the right side of the hole, as can be seen from the tee, makes good strategic sense and protects the shortest line on this long par-4.  There is ample room to play to the left side of the hole, though the parking lot awaits for the very wayward miss and the prospect of hitting your tee shot into a member's windshield may steer golfer's toward the aggressive line!




Likely in an attempt to add difficulty to an already great and challenging hole, a series of bunkers have been added beyond the initial bunker on the right.  The 190m carry over the bunker from the Members tee was once enticing but with the additional bunkers must rarely be taken on.




Playing an approach from the fairway is very important as the land from 100m short of the green dips sharply into broken ground that is a sand and grass mix.  This dip, combined with some overhanging trees on the left, mean that a poor tee shot will more than likely mean a lay-up second shot.  Even with a wedge, finding this small green with a false-front and run-offs left and long is a challenge.  Like the 12th, this green is a departure from the norm that says long approach = large green.