If it is in fact possible to find fault in Melbourne’s world-class Sandbelt courses, it’s that the common perception is they’re something of a closed shop. The truth, however, is these elite courses are more accessible than many golfers realise. OK, so turning up unannounced at a time that suits you is hardly going to endear you to the club’s management, but by going through the appropriate channels, tee-times at the likes of Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Victoria, Metropolitan, Yarra Yarra, Commonwealth, Huntingdale, Peninsula Kingswood and the like are straightforward enough to secure.
Which is a very handy seeing as, once there, you’re going to want to fill your plate with all that’s on offer.
“It could be argued that Melbourne is the greatest golf destination on the planet,” says Ewan Porter, the former tour player turned TV broadcaster. “There’s not too many cities around the world where, within 20 kilometres of the CBD, you’ve got eight globally renowned golf courses.”
“There’s not too many cities around the world where, within 20 kilometres of the CBD, you’ve got eight globally renowned golf courses.” – Ewan Porter
Add to that the opinion of one of the Sandbelt’s favourite sons, who knows a thing or two about elite golf destinations.
“The sand in the Sandbelt is incredibly unique,” says 2006 US Open champion and longtime Victoria Golf Club member Geoff Ogilvy. “Pretty much nowhere else in the world has sand that behaves like our sand. You can get it incredibly firm but yet grow great grass. There’s low-lying heathland vegetation and great big trees, and that always creates a great environment to be around.
“We’re influenced by guys like Alister MacKenzie. At the very birth of Melbourne golf, we had the right person come through and the influence spread among the Sandbelt and it just created this collection of golf courses that is unique to Melbourne and are some of the best courses in the world.”
“At the very birth of Melbourne golf, we had the right person come through and the influence spread among the Sandbelt” – Geoff Ogilvy
The Full Gamut
“Melbourne, and the immediate surrounds that is the Sandbelt, is pure golf,” Porter enthuses. “From the challenge that is Australia’s best in Royal Melbourne to the esteemed history of Yarra Yarra – and now add to this the rising star of Australian golf, Peninsula Kingswood – and throw in wine, coffee culture and world-class culinary options, Melbourne truly is a golfing great.”
It’s true that the likes of Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Yarra Yarra and others often steal the limelight, but there are more options in the Sandbelt. Many more.
Like many of its Sandbelt brethren, Commonwealth Golf Club emerged at a similar time and via a similar path. Where it differs from its elite Melbourne counterparts is the instrumental roles the club’s professional, Sam Bennett, and its longtime secretary/manager, Sloan Morpeth, played in the Commonwealth course’s evolution. Bennett laid out the holes, while club captain Charles Lane – a student of master course architect Harry Colt – played a hands-on role when it came to the course’s bunkers and greens. Morpeth, meanwhile, oversaw it all. He would act as course architect himself decades later when the 10th and 11th holes were redesigned ahead of the club’s lone men’s Australian Open, in 1967.
Commonwealth shares many attributes with the more vaunted Sandbelt courses, just displayed in perhaps a subtler manner. Astute placement from the tee is a recurring theme, as many greens tilt gently to favour approach shots from a particular portion of the fairway. The site lacks undulations of the same magnitude as the nearby Sandbelt courses, yet keen eyes can see its similarities.
An integral but occasionally maligned member of the elite tracks, Huntingdale is arguably the Sandbelt course Australian golfers identify with most readily due to its long-time role as host of the Australian Masters tournament. A major redesign in the late 1990s split opinions, as one of the more relentlessly challenging tournament venues took on a new guise to the one penned by Englishman Charles H. Alison.
In truth, though, Huntingdale lost little if any of its swagger after the tweaks made by Jack Newton, Graeme Grant and John Spencer. The course requires careful treeline management, as most do, but the ‘bones’ of the robust layout remain. Where the course perhaps loses ground to its Sandbelt sisters is the up-and-back nature of several parts of the layout. However, the landscape, bunkering and strategy required are vintage Sandbelt traits.
Looking to head out of town? Venture south to the Mornington Peninsula and there’s one venue in particular that continues the smorgasbord-style offering with a 36-hole feast.
A golf course devised with a ‘Home of Australian Golf’ and the Australian Open in mind, Peter Thomson’s Open course at Moonah Links is a supremely difficult test of execution. Immensely long, vulnerable to the winds whipping off nearby Bass Strait and cratered by innumerate pot bunkers, the Open course is about as tough as the game becomes. Two Australian Opens last decade illustrated its ferocity, especially the 2005 edition when Robert Allenby bookmarked his victory with rounds of 63 and 77.
Among the attributes Thomson got right was variety in the tee options. The back tees make the course brutal, but the forward set or two still showcase the course’s best elements and the strategy required to players of lesser ability. However, the essence of the Open course lies in its bunkering. Depending on the conditions, many pots won’t be a factor on some days but almost certainly every full shot a golfer faces at Moonah Links will need to dodge bunkers – and potentially dozens of them.
Good things often come in pairs in golf, and the opening of the Legends course at Moonah Links added to that legacy. Three years younger than its sister Open course, the Legends is far less severe while remaining a stout examination. Also designed by Thomson Perrett (although Ross Perrett was the primary designer), the Legends works as a perfect companion layout in that it is markedly different to the Open course but in a complementary fashion. It visits more enclosed valleys within the terrain before unfolding in open spaces more indicative of the Cups region of the Mornington Peninsula. The bunkering is a highlight of Perrett’s work on the Legends. Not pot-style in nature like next door, the sand instead takes on a more rugged, wild and eye-catching look – with smart strategy to their placement, which is one way the two courses do overlap. Within less than 200 hectares of space sit two exceptional but different golf courses.
Presidential Seal
So you’re coming to the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne this December? Great! Smartest decision you’ll make all year. Of course, you need to weave in a little golf of your own. Depending on how much time you’re planning to spend in and around Melbourne, we’ve co-ordinated four different itineraries that put you on the golf course and at the Presidents Cup. You can thank us later.
Four days
- Arrive morning of Tuesday, December 10.
- Play two Melbourne courses on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th.
- Attend the Presidents Cup on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th.
- Depart evening of Friday, December 13.
Five days
- Arrive morning of Monday, December 9.
- Play two Melbourne courses on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th.
- Venture to the Mornington Peninsula for a day trip and golf on Wednesday 11th.
- Return to Melbourne to attend the Presidents Cup on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th.
- Depart evening of Friday, December 13.
Six days
- Arrive morning of Saturday, December 14.
- Attend the Presidents Cup on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th.
- Inspired by the world-class golf you’ve just witnessed, head for the Mornington Peninsula for two days of golf on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th.
- On Wednesday 18th, take the car ferry across Port Phillip Bay to the Bellarine Peninsula for two more days’ golf.
- Depart evening of Thursday, December 19.
Seven days
- Arrive morning of Friday, December 13.
- Play a Melbourne Sandbelt course on Friday 13th.
- Attend the Presidents Cup on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th.
- Venture to the Mornington Peninsula for two days of golf on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th.
- On Wednesday 18th, take the car ferry across Port Phillip Bay to the Bellarine Peninsula for two more days’ golf.
- Depart evening of Thursday, December 19.
Eat here…
Cumulus Inc.
Cumulus Inc. Eating House and Bar opened in 2008 in Melbourne’s famous art and fashion precinct, Flinders Lane. Celebrating the historic turn-of-the-century rag trade building in which it is located, the space is a busy social hub offering Andrew McConnell’s acclaimed food. The space is light and classic. Cumulus Inc. is open throughout the day, seven days a week, whether it be for a coffee, snack, drink or meal. Breakfast until 11.30am is done simply; house-made crumpets with whipped ricotta and rooftop honey, or perhaps the Shakshouka – baked eggs with roasted peppers and shanklish. Lunch and dinner include dishes intended to share – charcuterie, oysters shucked to order, locally caught seafood, heirloom vegetables or a whole roast lamb shoulder.
Visit: cumulusinc.com.au
Stay here…
Crown Metropol
With specially commissioned works of art, bespoke fittings and designer furniture throughout, Crown Metropol’s 658 rooms and suites are the most stylish and striking in Melbourne. While located on the 28th floor, 28 Skybar Lounge is the city’s highest and most exclusive address. Enjoy a drink and be captivated by the luminous cityscape from the exclusive club lounge that never fails to impress.
Crown Metropol doesn’t like to brag, but it’s kind of well known for its pool. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s situated on the 27th floor with panoramic views of the city. And whether you classify the gym as work or play, the hotel’s gym has epic views, cute trainers and a refreshment centre stocked with chilled water and towels to tempt you to work up a sweat.
Visit: crownhotels.com.au/crown-metropol-melbourne/en
Qt Melbourne
Perfectly groomed and immaculately accessorised QT Melbourne shimmers within the high-end fashion district of Australia’s most creatively charged city. It’s an artisan playground in which lovers of the high life come to satisfy a thirst for all things eccentric and innovative, and where the expectations of modern travellers are redefined through the thread of sophisticated stimulation woven into a stay in Melbourne’s new muse.
Visit: qthotelsandresorts.com/melbourne
For more information on a Golfing Great head to Visit Victoria.
