Course Review: Royal Melbourne Golf Club - Victoria, Australia

Royal Melbourne Golf Club – Victoria, Australia

Next week golfers from around the world will travel to Australia for the World Cup of Golf, which takes place at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Victoria. This prestigious club is one of Australia's finest, offering a challenging but memorable experience to visiting players – here are some useful facts about Royal Melbourne and a brief tour of the West Course.

Royal Melbourne is considered to be one of Australia's most prestigious golf clubs, and is ranked 8th internationally according to the Top100 Golf Courses in the World Review. The time-weathered but pristine West Course, where the World Cup takes place, was designed by the Scotsman Alister MacKenzie and first opened in 1931.

The course follows a traditional parkland layout, with wide fairways and immaculate greens surrounded by tall local trees. The rough lives up to its name on several holes, with dense grasses that make recovery shots especially tricky.

This contrast between accommodating fairways and difficult lies in out-of-bounds areas means that players should focus on accuracy off the tee to stand a chance at low scores on the West Course. Golfers should pay special attention to the following holes:

• The opening hole is a 324-meter par 4, offering a gentle start to the round. A carefully planned tee shot should lay the foundation for a par or even a birdie, provided that the bunkers which flank the left side of the green can be avoided.

• The par-4 eighth hole is lengthy at 435 meters, requiring several long shots to reach the green, but players should resist the urge to let rip with their drivers – the fairway narrows in the middle and a set of bunkers on the right awaits wayward shots.

• The fifteenth hole is a 520-meter par 5 which favours a more aggressive playing style. However, the green is guarded by a series of bunkers which run diagonally across the fairway – the second shot can determine the outcome of this hole, which tests both the long and short games.

Royal Melbourne accepts low-handicap visitors from other clubs, subject to availability and certain conditions – a letter of recommendation from the player's home club may also be required. For more information, golfers may visit the club's website.