Tim Liddy recently went to Australia with a golf study tour of Alister MacKenzie courses by the ASGCA, SAGCA and EIGCA . They studied New South Wales, Royal Sydney, Metropolitan, Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. Tim has a good friend (Andy Coogan, who grew up across the street from Carnoustie Golf Course in Scotland -another story) that lives in Melbourne and is a member of Victoria Golf Club, so he took the opportunity to study Victoria and talk to its Director of Grounds Ian Todd.

Above is some of their conversation.

Thanks to Tim for shooting and editing this interview. When I was at Victoria in 2003, I had the pleasure of playing the course with Mike Clayton who has been in charge of restoring and renovating the course. It was one of the most pleasurable rounds of the decade and his thoughts on golf course design made a strong impression on me at the time. The work he has done there is remarkable, and Victoria is not to be missed.

With Australia’s central bank being the first globally to muster some audacity and raise interest rates since the credit crisis began, perhaps the Antipodeans can also be the leaders in recapitalizing some of the world’s wonderful golf terrain. In Australia, that is first and foremost greater Melbourne, where the quality of the Sand Belt collection is easily expandable. This modern example of the region is the Ranfurlie course at Amstel Golf Club, an honest and thoughtful layout with representative firm turf and lipless, greenside hazards from Mike Clayton and his design team. The modest property doesn’t have a ton of elevation change, but the blessed sand and many charismatic trees have been used to full advantage, making for a beautiful setting and ideal member course. If all cities could be so lucky as to boast a course such as Ranfurlie or a dozen others as fantastically fun alternatives to all-world tracks like Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne…ah, me. Don’t miss out on ’surely the finest ‘flaming’ links in the Southern Hemisphere’ at Barnbougle if you get this close, a majestic effort on which Mr. Clayton’s team collaborated with Renaissance.

THE TWELFTH AT ST. ANDREWS BEACH

Editor’s Note: This article is the first offering by Mike McCartin, a good friend and fellow UGA alum. For more on Mike’s background see the ABOUT US page. – W.S.

Golf architecture that emphasizes placement – using a tee shot to achieving the best angle into a green from a certain sport or area in the fairway – is nothing new

St. Andrews Beach, the Tom Doak design on the Mornington Peninsula in Australia, however, takes this basic design element further than I’ve seen before.  On several holes, there is one small spot of varying size where the golfer achieves not only the best angle, but a view of the green surface.  From any other location in the fairway, the approach is, to some degree, blind.

On each of these holes, it is difficult to get to that certain spot – a very exacting shot of some length, pinpoint accuracy, and luck, is needed.  And for most people that shot is too difficult to pull off on anything close to a regular basis (if ever).

That description might sound like the course is overly hard, but in each of the above cases, the fairways are extremely wide, giving golfers plenty of playable width in what can be a very windy environment.  And even if the golfer doesn’t achieve the spot with the view of the green, the closer they get to that spot, the better angle they have to the green, if not necessarily a better view.

THE TRICKY GREEN ON NO. 8 MAKES PLACING THE TEE SHOT A MUST (LARRY LAMBRECHT)

The eighth hole at St. Andrews Beach is an excellent example of this type.  A raised ledge in the right half of the fairway, nearly 300 yards from the tee and no larger than half a tennis court, provides a clear look and perfect angle into a green that is tucked behind a large dune that obscures the view from all other areas of the fairway.  This garden spot is readily apparent after a few times playing the hole, but very difficult to attain with a drive.  This arrangement is appealing because the ledge provides a spot to aim for, even if normally it is beyond the ability of most golfers to achieve it.  And on rare days where conditions conspire to make it possible, or via an exceptional or lucky shot, it’s reasonable that some members of the course might actually find their ball in that garden spot.

Because it is a private course, it is acceptable for St. Andrews Beach to have some results that are only achievable via extraordinary conditions or a particularly superlative shot.  It’s a shame the course is currently closed, because it is increasingly rare to find new designs that provide engaging, difficult, and frustrating elements like the garden spot on the 8th hole that complement golfers’ attraction to an unperfectable game.