Royal Melbourne Golf Club

At Royal Melbourne there's two championship 18 hole courses. Alex Russell designed the East Course in 1931, and it plays to 6566 yards, par 71. The West course was designed in 1926 by Dr Alister Mackenzie, at 6589 yards, par 72. A combination of the two courses, The Composite Course is used only in International Competitions. It originated in 1959 when Royal Melbourne held the Canada Cup (now the World Cup), and comprises 12 holes from the West Course and 6 holes from the East Course. The West course is regarded as one of the best golf courses in the world, a lot of its aura comes from the original design features still maintained today. The fairways here are wide and forgiving...some of 70 yards, and the greens quite large by today's standards. There is also no water on the course so you're free to play your without fear of penalty from hazards The breadth of the fairways may lull the player into freedom off the tee, but the real key here is placement from the second shot or approach to the green complexes. This is generally where, if you've hit the perfect drive, you're faced with good options for improving your score...if you can execute. The greens are one of the course's main defenses with slick and firm surfaces, well contoured and with good undulations. There's a nice roll to the terrain here creating some odd lies, and gently sloping fairways and greens. The course possesses some of the better risk/reward strategies, along with challenging and different elements on each hole It's truly a fun course to play, one you must repeat to really enjoy, and a wonderful assortment of short, medium, and long holes. There's great vistas throughout, the course's maintenance is fantastic, and is a total pleasure to play one of the world's greatest.