Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
One of the quirks of the course, always recognized in the top 100 of the world, is that it has a 19th hole. I know every course has one, but this a real golf hole – no drinks served. Ingeniously, it serves as an alternate short hole and changes the sequence of the course for tournament play, the front nine running 1, 19, then 12 to 18. The course is situated in the sand belt of Melbourne which has a distinct effect on the impressive bunkers. The sand traps are distinctive and plentiful and they are in the way of every easy line you would choose. With relatively flat greens and fairways on the course, the bunkering changes approach shots to uncomfortable angles to the concrete-hard green. Given the number of bunkers in play, a shot will inevitably end up in one somewhere on the course; the golfer will find shallow sand, high lips and a fast green sloping away from the trap. Few easy escapes exist and most scorecards will be scarred at some point. Nonetheless, this course rewards good shots and punishes the bad ones in relation to the error. The short par four 15th (or 3rd for the members) is a general favourite. At 270 meters, everybody considers the chance of taking a crack with a driver. The bunkers, of course, are just waiting for that.
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