Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West Course)

Much has been written on the qualities of the West Course but put simply it’s a combination of great design and construction. It is full of dramatic undulation, fertile sandy soil and a natural rugged appearance.

West Course highlights include bold bunkering while the rough areas around the tees and bunkers are a mix of native grasses which naturally frame each hole, providing great definition and contrast. The greens are brilliant and for decades have consistently provided the finest putting surfaces in Australia. They are large and beautifully contoured they are built to accommodate approaches from a number of angles with each progressively more difficult the further the tee shot strays from the perfect line.

Alister Mackenzie’s 1926 routing fits snuggly into the contours of the rolling sandbelt land. His greens are miniature versions of the surrounding topography. His crisp bunkering, with vertical edges a foot or more tall, chew into fairways and putting surfaces. Most holes dogleg, so distance means nothing and angle into the pin is everything.