Written by Neil White in December 30
Did the wow factor of arriving at Royal Melbourne the day before and playing its East course diminish the thrill of playing on the West?
Not in the slightest. At number six, this is the highest-ranked World Top 100 track we have played on our travels so far and it absolutely lived up to its stellar reputation.
It is a true masterpiece, crafted by the legendary Alister Mackenzie – the designer of Augusta National and Cypress Point. Every hole is an adventure, and we were lucky to play it on a windless, sun-drenched day.
So, after honing our skills on the lightning-fast greens in front of the clubhouse and applying fly spray to our hats and shirts (it didn’t seem to deter our pesky attackers), we eagerly made our way to the 1st tee.
“What is all the fuss about?” I pondered as I struck my drive into the expansive fairway, cracked an approach to 15 feet, and narrowly missed a birdie.
Could I really shoot my lowest-ever round on the highest-rated course I had ever played? This rash idea took further hold after I blasted off on the relatively short par 5 2nd, clipped my second shot down the middle, and was left with what seemed like a straightforward knock into the green.
I have played on enough Mackenzie courses to put potential clubhouse boasts to one side, but I clearly needed to be put in my place.
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So, my ball slipped into the ginormous bunker in front of a green that fell sharply from back to front. My recovery and putt were decent enough but could not prevent me from recording a six and sensing the master designer looking down on me and smiling.
Royal Melbourne has no water hazards, but the club is situated in the heart of the sand belt, and Mackenzie cleverly utilised its natural elements to defend the West.
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The bunkers are plentiful and large but fair. They are designed with such artistry that the ball settles away from the edges, giving the player a fighting chance to escape. Meanwhile, the greens are quintessential Mackenzie – undulating, speedy, but wonderfully consistent. If the player can sync with the pace, they have a chance of an impressive score.
For me, the variety of holes provides the course’s joy. They demand precision rather than brute strength and require the use of every club in the bag.
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The short par-fours are enchanting – including the 3rd, a dogleg 350-yard par 4 with a swale in front of the green to catch out those who, like me, try to run their approaches towards the pin.
I can attest that the rough appears deceptively benign until the player is ensnared within it. This became painfully clear on the par 5 4th after a blind tee shot that should go over big, tiered bunkers on the left. Those who bail out centre-right are likely to find fescue that is much more tangly than it appears.
It grabbed my clubhead twice, prompting duffs and resulting in my first dreaded blob of the day. If Mackenzie were watching, he would have been laughing by now.
The sight of the 5th made us gasp. This is one of the best short holes in the world, from a risen tee above land that drops and then ascends to a green surrounded by fiendish sand traps.
I hit a delicious five-iron to ensure I found the target. However, the ball was past the flag, and consequently, I was faced with a steep, dramatically curving nudge for my birdie.
Never was a three-putt more inevitable.
The dramatic par 4 6th ramps the pressure even further, demanding a daring tee shot to clear four bunkers on the corner. I produced my best drive of the day, reaching the middle of the fairway only to face an uphill second into a perched, right-to-left green.
If this were not challenging enough, the flag was in its championship position, just beyond a horribly deep bunker. Thus, I bailed right, and my ball drifted into another trap.
On this day, my sand play needed to be as good as ever, and I surprised myself with a recovery to 12 feet.
I was then faced with a putt that was so slippery it could have easily rolled off the green into oblivion. I tapped it with trepidation, happy with the ensuing bogey.
The 7th seems like an innocuous par 3, but our host told how a furious Seve Ballesteros once recorded a nine after finding the bushes to its rear and right.
Ballesteros was among many superstars who triumphed at Royal Melbourne, and to walk in his footsteps and those of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and many others felt like a privilege.
The 8th was a bit of a respite – a short par-four with a wide fairway between bunker complexes that Mrs W, our host, and I all played well enough to have ten-footers for par.
Obviously, the green was more cunning than we appreciated, and we all missed.
My shot of the day was on the 9th – a 400+-yard par 4 leading to a green that snakes right to left between menacing bunkers.
My three-wood approach glided over the contours but inevitably, I was left with a mind-bending downhill putt that I struggled to control.
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The quality of the front nine is matched by the second, which begins with a sumptuous upward, 300-yard par 4 that looks like a piece of cake from the tee.
However, lurking on the left is fescue and one of the course’s most enormous bunkers for those who are overly ambitious, along with a surprising swale in front of the green to catch out the more cautious.
Royal Melbourne prides itself on the West being the best in Australia, and I have read that its management was jolted to make it even better when it was usurped in the rankings by nearby Kingston Heath a few years ago.
Consequently, the fairway turf was meticulously improved and is now some of the tightest, most consistent lies one can find anywhere.
I digress.
I make no apology for describing every hole because they are all outstanding, and despite a couple of blips, I felt was doing them justice.
The 11th presents one of the most intimidating tee shots over rough and towards bushes. It then turns towards a green enveloped by bunkers.
It is followed by a par 5 with a similar feel but more expertly laid traps that could snaffle balls from the tee and overly aggressive second shots.
This has a narrower fairway than most holes, but as I evidenced, careful course management can produce results. Well, nearly. I missed my birdie by an inch.
Across the road is the 13th, a stunning par 3 with bunkers guarding the green’s front, left, and right. To avoid them, Mrs. W struck long and, from nasty rough, she pitched to about 30 feet and rolled in her par. Compared to her glory on the East, she had not fared so well on the West, so we decided to compete on the remaining five holes for our imaginary Royal Melbourne Cup – totalling our Stableford points over the two rounds.
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Not that we needed any more excitement, but it made for an exhilarating finale. She led by four going into the 14th – a 370-yard par 4 with nine bunkers around the green. Surprisingly, she lost the ball from her drive down the rough and failed to score.
I seized the opportunity to play the best hole of my day, following a central drive with an approach to about 15 feet. Three Stableford points to nil. The 15th is a par 5 for men and a par-four for women – a hole that demands great care to avoid rough down the right off the tree and a band of nasty stuff about 120 yards in front of the target.
I laid up in front of the latter only to find a bunker with my third shot. Mrs. W played a very efficient five for two points, only to see me execute the best save of my life. 2-2 and she is one point to the good.
The 16th is a near 200-yard par 3. It is tinged with intimidation, with bushes down the right and the narrowest of green entrances between bunkers.
My three-wood found a trap pin-high to the right, while she was in the rough but had two shots on this hole. Somehow, she propelled her ball from the undergrowth while my bunker shot nudged towards the pin, only to clip the lip of the next-door trap and spin back into it.
My next shot flew the green into another bunker. Comedy capers ensued, and she won 2-0. Three points up and two to play, the demands of the fabulous par 4 17th scrambled her mind.
This demands a carry over rough before turning through a slither of fairway towards a green that falls from left to right.
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Mrs. W blobbed, and I saw a chance of hitting the green in two but came up just short and saw the fairway undulation sling the ball to the right.
Realising the green’s complexity, I settled on a bogey and two points. Thus, after two rounds on arguably the greatest 36-hole complex in the world, Mrs. W led me by one Stableford point.
The final hole – a par 4 for men and a par 5 for women – is majestic, demanding a drive over tiered bunkers before veering towards a green protected by a fiendish trap.
Mrs W played it perfectly, completed her par, and secured a two-point overall win with a tap-in. It was a fitting finale to some of the most unforgettable golf of our travels.
Royal Melbourne’s West had lived up to the superlatives, as had this fantastic club.
About Neil White:
Neil White is a panellist for NCG Top 100s course rankings. Listen to Neil’s podcast The Golf Pilgrim here.
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