Sandbelt Splendour

There's no doubt that Melbourne's sandbelt region is home to at least a dozen world-class courses. HK Golfer's Australian correspondent Paul Myers checks out a select few

WHERE TO PLAY

ROYAL MELBOURNE (West Course) *****

For years, the Composite Course – comprising twelve holes of Alister MacKenzie's West Course and six holes of the East – was considered Australia's finest. Indeed, Golf Digest named it the sixth best course outside the United States. But although the President's Cup will be played over this combination, the powers that be have determined that the two courses be rated separately, with the favoured West now lying closely behind Kingston Heath and Sydney's New South Wales Club in the national rankings. Regardless, this takes nothing away from the individual quality and aura of the two tracks. Neither is long, measuring just over 6,000 metres (6550 yards) each, but their subtlety, especially in the bunkering and the green complexes, make them a test for even the very best. Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Fred Couples are among the club's biggest fans. Probably the most famous of the thirty-six holes at Royal Melbourne is the sixth on the West, a longish, sharply doglegging par-four featuring an elevated green that slopes steeply from back to front.

ARCHITECT: Dr Alister MacKenzie (1931)
YARDAGE/PAR: 6,589/72
CONTACT: royalmelbourne.com.au; (61) 3 9598 6755

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