ROYAL MELBOURNE

The West Course at Royal Melbourne is the one truly great course in Australia. It is a course to rival the best in the world and it owes its position to three important factors. The land over which its wonderful holes are played is perfectly undulating and the sandy nature of the ground must have been a dream for those charged with the construction of greens and bunkers. The clubs initial routing was altered by the great Scottish architect, Alister Mackenzie in 1926 and it, unquestionably, exploited the full potential of the land. It was Mackenzie who came up with the blind drive up over the hill at the par five fourth that was not, in itself, ideal but it opened up the chance to incorporate the best second shot on the course, down the hill to the green and he followed it with the world class par three, fifth and the brilliant sixth hole.