Geoff Ogilvy maintains that the sandbelt acts as a classroom of sorts, in educating those lucky enough to traipse the hallowed fairways that still reverberate to an Alistair MacKenzie inspired melody with harmonisations from Alex Russell, the Morcoms & Crockford and backing vocals from messers Clayton, Grant, Forsyth, Mogford & Crafter, Cocking, Ogilvy & others (apologies if i’ve omitted anyone).
Simply put the sandbelt changed the way I think about golf - less of the penal please and more of this strategic stuff - it is truly a more interesting proposition than anything else I have encountered to this point in my golfing existence.
Unfortunately for me a visit to Royal Melbourne will have to wait for the next trip to the city on Port Philip Bay. Having listened to too much Mike Clayton (can you ever have too much of that?) over the course of the past 2 years my appetite is whetted to an even greater extent. Roll on 2023 hopefully for a return to golfing nirvana.
The remaining few days in Victoria were spent in the luxurious surroundings of Brighton, keeping an eye out for cricketer Shane Warne (never did spot him), and luxuriating in the Dr. Mac inspired puzzles that successive supers, design consultants, diligently faithful club boards and wider memberships have lovingly revised and tweaked over the years. Some musings on KH, Metro and Vic can be found below.
Kingston Heath Golf Club
“The most fun you can have with your clothes on.”
I’ve not yet visited Augusta, however the spiritual experience that I encountered at Kingston Heath gave me the sort of feeling that I would expect if Magnolia Lane is ever negotiated in a playing capacity. For the record, I didn’t play very well (the worst effort in 20 days to be precise), however, this did not detract from the enjoyment and the feeling that I was walking in the footsteps of greatness in a very special place.
The property is small, but beautifully proportioned. It feels much larger than it actually is, likely due to the many open vistas that allow you to see other fairways (and indeed visit them occasionally). Be warned: Gum trees, Ti trees and waste areas await those who stray too far from the intended or optimal lines.
The challenge of Kingston Heath is laid out in front of you, insofar as you can see what you must do. Equally, you can also see what you must not do. This juxtaposition between right and wrong constantly plays on your mind, which is a delight and curse in equal measure. The consequences of the unintended!
Approach to the 18th @KH, should have been on the other side to open the angle to that flag tbh
The course and its ranking speak for themselves...Kingston Heath is a “pure” golfing experience that will live long in my memory. It is one of the very best courses I have had the pleasure of playing and I look forward, with anticipation, to visiting again in the near future.
International guests receive a copy of the following drone footage, which captures the essence of the course perfectly.
The Metropolitan Golf Club
“I managed to keep it together until the ninth...then I missed that short putt and thought I was going to collapse.”
The Metropolitan Golf Club is often spoken in hushed tones as “the best-conditioned” golf course in Australia. I can only concur with those who have passed through this little corner of Oakleigh South before me. The course conditioning was truly exceptional on my recent visit. I have a vivid memory of one of the greens staff using his blowers to judiciously remove stray gum tree leaves from a fairway bunker expanse. Enough said.
The bunkering is mind blowing...all that you would expect of a Sandbelt classic and more. The best line off the tee will often require the golfer to skirt a cavernous expanse that has been lovingly crafted into the fairway. Only then will you be presented with the optimal line to well-protected greens.
AT, Orms and a very pasty paddy
Even now the par threes at Metro are still etched in my memory as abiding memories. They all appear quite receptive to a well hit shot...and are. However, stray marginally off-line and the sand is going to get you.
A bloody lipout at the captivating 13th, AT makes birdie
The course has hosted many a major tournament with golfing luminaries such as Sarazen, Thomson, Nagle, Faxon, Westwood, Davies and Stricker etched into the club’s rich tournament history. In 2018, the club hosted the World Cup of Golf, where Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry of Belgium prevailed.
At the time of my visit in January 2020 the club were in the midst of a course enhancement plan, which began in 2017 and was around 40% complete. This development was guided by the retained course architects Paul Mogford and Neil Crafter. Their main goal was, and will be, the further enhancement of the golf course and matching up both nines, which were completed some 50-plus years apart due to the Victorian governments compulsory purchase of 9 of the original 18 holes .
Plans were also afoot to relay the existing 25-year-old bent greens. Metropolitan have left no stone unturned in relation to the selection of the optimal bent recipe for their greens. The club were involved in a sports turf trial that has saw eight different bent grass types sown on three different sand base depths in the club’s turf nursery. The preferred bent grass type, with sand sub-base, were to be laid on the practice and chipping greens, to test in play, before a final decision was made in relation to the best choice for the site. If that wasn’t enough, the membership are also to get a new state-of-the-art teaching pavilion to further augment the available facilities.
At this juncture, special mention must go out to my mate “AT” (the source of the previously-mentioned Whatsapp message) AT had some 2020 Summer break, in a golfing context, improving his playing handicap from 7.1 to 2.9.
We take his story up at Metro, towards the end of that “streak.” Minus-1 gross through 9 (starting on the 10th). The atmospheric smoke got him (this will be the only reference to that stuff). He was ‘hors de combat’ for three or four holes until the worst of it passed.
Fast-forward to Hole 9 (our 18th) at this iconic venue, a world-class hole undoubtedly, for a truly “Seve”-like moment and one that will last forever in my memory (and stick in my craw, just a little bit, as I will be reminded about it for years to come).
AT misses the fairway well left on this left-to-right dogleg (admittedly, not optimal). His ball is lying on the sandy wasteland that is so synonymous with the Melbourne Sandbelt (by the way, he’s also surrounded by gum trees).
He is now faced with a 220-yard shot, which needs to go through a dinner plate-sized hole in the gum tree canopy, as an aside he also needs to hook the shot some 55 yards in an effort to challenge a green with a substantial false front. The tariff involved here was extraordinary! Bucko pulls out his gapr driving iron. Gauging trajectory and flight, he rips it through the hole, hooks it left up onto the green and holes the putt for a tweeter. Miraculous, worldly stuff. Take a bow, son!
The Metropolitan Golf Club is an absolute must for the hospitality, the course and those miraculous bunkers.
Victoria Golf Club
“Would you like to play as a five ball?”
Victoria GC would be the last stop on this Sandbelt trip. The home to three colossuses of Australian golf, namely Doug Bachli, Peter Thomson and Geoff Ogilvy.
Paul Wright, the golf manager, was the consummate host on the morning in question, welcoming us and even apologising to me for that fact that my national flag was not flying (a member had died the previous day and the flag was at half mast). He didn’t want me to hear that someone else had received the honour of their national flag and I hadn’t. Fair play, Paul!
It’s always a bit concerning when you are greeted on the first tee, the 10th, by the sign above: (photo credit Wallace Long).
Apparently the pro shop came extremely close to pressing the hooter during the morning’s play. To be fair, given what came later in the day, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
From 1995, Mike Clayton was involved in expertly tweaking Victoria to recapture the spirit of the original masterpiece. Using aerial photographs as his guide, the vast majority of bunkers were rebuilt to reflect the essence of the initial design. Kudos to you Mr. Clayton. A very fine job indeed!
11th hole @ Victoria GC
In 2018, the club once again decided to push the boundaries in collaboration with the design firm OCCM. Over the course of a seven month period, with the course closing completely for two months and subsequently on temporary greens for a further five, the original push-up greens were replaced with a new type of creeping bent grass called Pure Distinction. I am absolutely sure that this was an inconvenience for the membership, however, I am pleased to report that the new greens have now grown in, the course is back open for play meaning that the Victoria membership now has access to the best greens that I have ever played anywhere, period. I cannot offer a bigger or better compliment.
Victoria presents more elevation change than at any of the other Sandbelt courses that I have encountered so far, and the central dune structure allows a number of holes to cascade around it. Watch out for the precipitous drop at the back of the par-three 16th!
Victoria Golf Club is an absolute must-play. Take a look at this video for something that will undoubtedly whet your appetite.
Many thanks for reading, please share, retweet or subscribe if you enjoyed the read. The next instalment takes a look at a former potato farmers paradise on the northern coast of Tasmania.