Like short holes? You’ll be hard
pressed to find a better collection than those found at Kingston Heath, ranked first this year on Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses list. Eucalyptus and tea trees tower over fairways, and ut- terly natural-looking bunkers are to be avoided at all costs on the 85-year-old layout. The 155-yard 15th, with some of the most vivid bunkering you will ever see, is a dazzler, but the three closing holes are equally good. The well-manicured Metropolitan Golf Club (where Aussie golf legend and five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson won his first Australian Open in 1950) and the ad- jacent Huntingdale (home to the Australian Masters from 1979 to 2008) are well worth playing. So is Yarra Yarra, with large mature trees providing a good resemblance to the country clubs found in the Northeast of the U.S. It’s also where pros like Stuart Appleby and Robert Al-
lenby learned the game. Victoria, which is right across the
street from Royal Melbourne (from its 12th hole you can see the 17th and 18th holes on the latter’s East Course), also has 15 rooms on site for visitors. The opening hole, a 254-yard par 4, has served as the beginning for many of the country’s amateur events, as well as three Australian Opens. Down on the Mornington Peninsula
you’ll see holiday homes of wealthy Melbourne residents, wineries (pinot noir fans take note), and perfect terrain for golf. Popular layouts there include The National Golf Club (of three course options, play the Moonah and Old layouts) and Moonah Links (try the Legends and Open courses). Tom Doak left his mark at St. Andrews Beach in 2004 with an extremely linksy track, while older venues like Portsea, Sorrento, The Dunes, Flinders and Peninsula Country Golf Club offer even more choices. Back in Melbourne’s city center, you
can get oriented (unless you are afraid of heights) from the Skydeck on the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower, the world’s tallest residential building. From there
38 / NCGA.ORG / FALL 2010
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1 Kingston Heath 2 Federation Square 3 Grand Prix 4 Melbourne Cricket Ground
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