[Kyle Henderson]

Links to other pictorials of my Australian exploits:
Barnbougle Dunes
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,47613.0.html
Barnbougle Lost Farm
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,47929.0.html
Royal Melbourne - West
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48238.0.html
St. Andrew Beach- Gunnamatta
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48455.0.html
New South Wales
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48698.0.html
Woodlands
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48900.0.html
Portsea
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49351.0.html
The National golf Club - The Ocean Course
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49598.0.html

“Fresh” from a 20+ hour journey, on an empty stomach and with little sleep after some connection delays from Sydney, I promptly fumbled my tiny rental car along the left-hand lane of foreign highways through the heart of Melbourne on my way to The Victoria Golf Club. My experience there was sublime – I couldn’t imagine a better introduction to the Australian golf scene. Victoria GC enjoys one of the better clubhouses in the Melbourne Sandbelt, and I highly recommend a night’s stay on the top floor for those able to make such arrangements.



The club also boasts a fine golf course, with many of the salient features that define the great tracks of the neighborhood. The brand of golf offered was very much to my liking, and the membership embraced me to a degree far beyond anything I deserved. I hope you will enjoy my anecdotes as I recount my experiences, and I hope many of you will share some of your own.

Historical tidbits: Founded in 1903, the club moved to its present location in 1927. Oscar Damman and Bill Meader are credited with designing the course with assistance from The Good Doctor. The club rose to prominence in 1954 when members Doug Bachli and Peter Thompson won the British Amatuer and Open Championships, respectively. More recently, Geoff Ogilvy brought home the U.S. Open Championship trophy in 2006.

Overall Impression: The layouts at Royal Melbourne (particularly the West Course) and Kingston Heath are praised most highly in this region of the world, and rightly so -- RMW features the best design on the best land (just across the road from Victoria!!!) , and KH makes the best possible use of its smaller, flatter property just a few miles away. The “second-tier” Sandbelt courses are thus relegated to their supporting status not because of any stark deficits in quality, but rather because of the fierce competition found so nearby. In fact, I reckon Commonwealth, Metropolitan, Victoria, Woodlands and Yarra Yarra would all deserve “top 30 status” if they were magically transplanted to California. Correspondingly, there is no clear consensus as to which is the best of the lot. Each has its proponents and detractors, among those I’ve polled. I loved them all, but I think Victoria would be my first choice of the lot in applying for membership.

After a hasty visit in the pro shop, and with just enough daylight left to lap the course at a comfortable pace, I set off as a single. A foursome ahead kindly waved me though after reaching the first green.

The opening hole is just 233 meters long. Ogilvy describes it by saying, ”A unique start with a reachable par 4. A birdie chance for most, but easy to fall victim to the bunkers. Short and left is never bad.”


With a light tail wind, I promptly  hit a 5 wood over the green near the property fence, flopped a high pitch to 12 feet and lipped out the birdie putt as my stomach growled mightily.

[Mark Saltzman]

Kyle,

What a gorgeous looking first hole.  I can only imagine the number of players who, so eager to make an eagle on the first hole of the day, swung just a little bit too fast and found that perfectly placed cross bunker short-left of the green.  Please show me the hole they then walked to with their head down and a 5 on their scorecard.

[Mike_Clayton]

We rebuild this hole a few years ago and tried to emphasise the importance of thinking about where you best wanted to play the second shot from.Obviously the green is ideal but if you miss in the wrong place it makes making 3 difficult.

We also wanted to emphasise the importance of hitting a specifically shaped shot from the tee - in this case a high fade is ideal.

Whilst it looks a little different it is based on the same principles of the original opening hole at Commonwealth.

[Tyler Kearns]

We rebuild this hole a few years ago and tried to emphasise the importance of thinking about where you best wanted to play the second shot from.Obviously the green is ideal but if you miss in the wrong place it makes making 3 difficult.

We also wanted to emphasise the importance of hitting a specifically shaped shot from the tee - in this case a high fade is ideal.

Whilst it looks a little different it is based on the same principles of the original opening hole at Commonwealth.

Mike,

A much improved hole since our round there, it looks great. How much work has been done to the course in the last few years? I spotted a large irrigation pond on No. 17 which now plays prominently on the hole, any other significant changes?

TK

[Mike_Clayton]

Tyler,

I can't exactly remember where the course was when we played - and Kyle's pictures coming will help.
We took out a lot of invading scrub to the right of 2 and 3 and redid the bunkers. 8 changed quite a lot.The trees came out on the right to widen the fairway and restore the view of the green from the tee. We built a new bunker quite a way past the old one.
All the tea-tree was removed from over the right hand fairway bunker at 13 and that was a big improvement.
14 was rebunkered and is much better.
And the club added the lake to the right of 17 which is, fortunately, beginning to be hidden by some tea-tree.

[David Kelly]

When I played Victoria they had a nice little stay and play package with dinner, breakfast, overnight accommodations and a 18 holes of golf.  Unfortunately I couldn't avail myself of the dinner or breakfast because I didn't have a jacket but the golf was fine.

Even though many golfers can drive the first green (or drive close to it) I think that having a very short hole works as the first hole of the round.  In terms of waiting I would much rather have a longer wait on the first tee than during the middle of the round.

[Joel_Stewart]

We also wanted to emphasise the importance of hitting a specifically shaped shot from the tee - in this case a high fade is ideal.

Do you mean a high draw?   Seems to me if you faded it you risk going into the bunker and your 2nd shot would be over the bunker.  If you hit a draw the green is completely open?

[Mike_Clayton]

Joel,
No - high fade. The green is orientated from left to right. A draw runs across the green and into the left bunker.
A low fade will do as well - landing short and bouncing up onto the green. A low draw is no good at all.
If you over-cut a tee shot it will find the bunker.
We also deliberately made the green difficult to hit so no one could make the 2002 Australian Open mistake of playing the hole from a different tee as a par three.

[Kyle Henderson]

Mike,

I knew that some work was done to #1 over the years. Was the previous iteration of a similar length? Was the green altered much? Is it easier to make changes to the putting surfaces on such a sandy site?

[Kyle Henderson]

#2: 392 meters. Par 4.

Ogilvy says, “A nice mid length par 4. Longer hitters may want to take on the right bunkers from the tee, but the prudent play will always be to the left. It will be quite straightforward from there.”

I was disappointed to see my slightly pulled drive roll into the sizable left fairway bunker, but even more upset to lose the ball in the dark rainwater that had collected there. According to the members I spoke with, a clay subsoil sits just a few feet beneath the superficial  sands, and their extremely  wet summer had served to saturate this space. Thankfully, most of the course still played quite firmly.

Unable to take a dry stance, I dropped out of the bunker before toeing an iron to the front/right corner of the green. After nearly coming to rest, the ball slowly fed into a swale further right, forcing me to nip a pitch off of tight turf (over a bunker) that failed to check up for me. Another lip-out from 10 feet left me with the taste of a Victoria Bitter bogey.

[Mike_Clayton]

Kyle,

There have been a few versions of the 1st hole. The original was altered by Peter Thomson in 1980 and was in play for the 1981 Australian Open..He raised the green and put in some quite significant contour that was softened a few years later. it was a more difficult hole that the one it replaced. There was no realistic chance (there was a gap about 3 paces wide between the front bunkers) of running the ball on and the required shot was high and straight.
The current green looks and plays nothing like the Thomson green.
My memory of the original hole was that the green was lower, flatter and much easier to hit. in this age you could almost have justified calling it a par three. it was a good hole though and if it had remained I doubt we would have changed it.
The tee has not been changed and it has always been about 235 meters. Ideally it would be 20-30 meters longer but there is no way to gain even five meters.

[Kyle Henderson]

The tee has not been changed and it has always been about 235 meters. Ideally it would be 20-30 meters longer but there is no way to gain even five meters.

There is a way, but it would involve massive earthworks and a cage to protect the first tee from play on the 18th (to move the tees back) or removal of the tees for the 2nd (to move the green farther away), so it's best left undone.

I like the 1st at it's present length in it's own right, but I've yet to decide if I like its place in the rotation as the opening hole.

[Kyle Henderson]

The front/right swale that nabbed me at the 2nd green...

[Mike_Clayton]

Kyle,

That swale used to be a part of the greenside bunker.
So many of the bunkers were filled in and/or rounded off after the Second War. Many have been restored but not this one.
Putting it back would create some 3rd tee access issues but I would guess we will get to it eventually.

[Kyle Henderson]

#3: 401 meters. Par 4.
Ogilvy says, “This hole is a bit like the second’s bigger brother with bunkers on the right giving the drive a similar look. A much tougher hole though and will take two great shots to make par or better. Avoid the fairway bunkers if you can, and short right is the miss up at the green.”

The 3rd tee shot skirts between the 2nd green (left) and the property line (right).


As mentioned by Mr. Ogilvy above, the fairway bunker defines the requirements of a good tee shot. Anything hit over or past its left flank will be sittin’ pretty, but too far left leaves a long approach from the wrong angle.


In typical Sandbelt style, this greenside bunker is carved directly from the left margin of the putting surface.

[Kevin Pallier]

In fact, I reckon Commonwealth, Metropolitan, Victoria, Woodlands and Yarra Yarra would all deserve “top 30 status” if they were magically transplanted to California. Correspondingly, there is no clear consensus as to which is the best of the lot. Each has its proponents and detractors, among those I’ve polled. I loved them all, but I think Victoria would be my first choice of the lot in applying for membership.

Kyle

Top30 ? How about Top20 - I reckon your're underselling them 

[Kyle Henderson]

Kevin,

I'm giving a conservative estimate, given that I've played less than 1/3 of  California's ~600 (if I recall correctly) golf courses.

[Kyle Henderson]

#4: 164 meters. Par 3.
Ogilvy says, “A nice medium length par 3 with a very narrow green at the front that widens as it goes to the back. If the pin is close to the front it is prudent to hit a little past to the wider part of the green. A lot of good starts have come unraveled in the bunkers to the side of the green.”

My first taste of a Sandbelt 1-shotter was not a disappointment. After carefully considering the headwind, elevated green and yardage conversion (add 9-10%), I hit down a little too steeply. This sent my shot straight up into the breeze. My ball came to rest even with the greens’ front portion, but thankfully not in a bunker. Another chip up and another lip-out had me shaking my head but smiling on to the 5th.

From the tee, the green’s elevation and protective bunkers disguise its extreme depth of 40+ meters.


This view offers a better sense of scale and a peek at the front/left bail-out.


I can imagine many players playing from one bunker to another across the green’s narrow waist. Over the back is not much better, as it leaves a tricky pitch off of a tight lie to a green that runs away.

[Michael Goldstein]

Cool hole.  The front of this green is extremely narrow (think 15 KH) and it's almost always best to play long.  It's often played downwind which also aids to the treachery of the front pin location.

IMO Victoria is a top 100 golf course. 

[Mike_Clayton]

Mike

The restoration of the bunkering around the green here was the first job we did at Victoria. That narrow front part of the green had evolved into an apron making the front bunker about 15 feet short of the front of the green - something that made no sense to me.
In tournaments now they move the tee forward and play to that front pin - it plays around 135 yards and its a dangerous shot. Normally thre are quite a few twos and a few fives as well.

[Matthew Mollica]

As it happens, there's a Victoria Golf Club review thread in progress currently, on an Australian based golf forum

The link is - http://www.thegolfforum.com/index.php?showtopic=5026&st=0


This is the review of the fourth hole from that thread. It adds a little extra to Kyle's work here.

/\/\/\
#4
Par 3, 164m

Turning to the south, another great par 3 of the sandbelt awaits at the fourth.  This hole features a wonderful green, and really thoughtful bunkering.

From the air


From the tee


and a little closer to the green


The narrow portion of putting surface at the front, pinched by bunkering right and a depression left, places a real premium on accuracy.


Bunkering at the back right of the green lies slightly removed from the putting surface, while the hazard on the left defines the left edge of the green. The shot from the back right bunker is demanding, in that it is played uphill, must travel a bit to get to the green, but must invariably stop quickly. This sort of proposition allows a good player to show their skills, and can seperate good players from ordinary ones without having to resort to length as a demand. Smart golfers also know to avoid the right bunker should their sand skills not be up to scratch.



It's little features like this that are sometimes overlooked in course assessment. They're thoughtful elements of design, and seperate the 'average' from 'really good' holes.

/\/\/\

[Bruce Wellmon]

Kyle, Thanks for the pics.
        My golf coach, Brett Latcham, used to work, I believe, and play at Victoria. He says it is an awesome course. 

[Kyle Henderson]

MM,

Nice work on the concurrent thread! I might have to poach your aerial shots, with your approval of course.

Let me know if your need supplemental photos.

[Kyle Henderson]

#5: 398 meters. Par 4.

Ogilvy says, “A fairly self-explanatory hole from the tee -- go left of the fairway bunker, then attack from there. Not one of the harder holes at Victoria, but it can be tricky around the green, especially if missed left."

I played this hole exactly wrong. After hitting a drive just short of the fairway bunker (thank you headwind!), I pulled my approach well left of the green. Fortunately, I managed a delicate up and down from the shaved slope over there.


...and an added photo, for Kevin, of the left 5th tee that melds with the back of the 4th green.

[Kevin Pallier]

Kevin,

I'm giving a conservative estimate, given that I've played less than 1/3 of  California's ~600 (if I recall correctly) golf courses.

Kyle

I think it's more of a quality argument rather than a quantity one.

One thing that stood out for me at Vic vs. a lot of other courses is how they've cut the grass from green to the next tee. There's no separation on a lot of holes and one just melds to the next.

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