Lonsdale Links
In scanning the landscape of golf across both Australia and New Zealand, it seems prudent that the next wave of golf course development be in upcycling and improving existing layouts. Across the two countries there is an abundance of mediocre golf laid across grounds of interesting contour, concealed by over-treeing, flat greens and lackluster hazards, screaming for an injection of life and passionate custodianship.
In 2020 Lonsdale Links went under the knife for a complete transformation at the hands of Australian design firm OCM. In a comprehensive reimagination of the layout, OCM set about forging a fresh routing across the property and construction of an imaginative, daring set of green complexes. The resulting layout is entirely unique in Australia, flooded with moments of entertainment and sheer joy – a wonderful model for what can be achieved across the continent with imagination and a safe set of hands.
Point Lonsdale makes a wonderful setting for golf (1st Green)
At Lonsdale Point OCM were granted compelling grounds for golf amongst a sensational setting along the shores of Lake Victoria. Abundant in natural features, the routing weaves seamlessly through sandhills, salt marshes and wetlands, its sandy soils ideal for links golf - bounding, rumpled grounds at the heart of the layout’s intrigue and complexity.
Hazards are striking and ample
Of all the decisions OCM made in revitalising the course at Point Lonsdale, the most adventurous was to explore the implementation of C.B Macdonald’s famed template holes. In some corners of the golf architecture world there is a perceived unoriginality and laziness that often accompanies template hole golf, but OCM’s work was more taking inspiration from their features and principles than direct copies. In all, the routing delivers creative riffs on nine different templates, each applied and scaled to sections of the property which they sit most comfortably.
The majority of OCM’s iterations are wildly divergent from their inspiration, such as the driveable ‘Road Hole’, the ‘Thumbprint’ one-shotter which puts a mid-iron in the golfer’s hand and ‘Punchbowl’ wedged at the end of a par-five beyond a pair of fronting dunes. The loud, bold features the templates present are central to the stirring entertainment of a loop at Lonsdale Links, ensuring no round slips by quietly.
The sharp curves of OCM's Biarritz green at 2
OCM’s most obvious limitation at Point Lonsdale was the relatively tight parcel of land. In landing upon a 5,600-metre par 70 layout, the architects flipped the shortcoming into perhaps Lonsdale Links’ most thrilling trait – a scintillating collection of short fours. In all, eight two-shotters stretch less than 350-metres, each presenting entirely different questions tee to green. Free from prescription, they allow golfers to take on as much as they like from the tee depending on their appetite for risk, though the consequences which surround the over-exuberant miss so often make laying up to a comfortable wedge the most prudent play.
The fourth green flush against Lake Victoria
At the core of Lonsdale Links’ intrigue are some of Australia’s most fascinating green complexes. Squared edges loaded with characterful shapes and slopes, the loud and flamboyant curves of the most famous template greens – Biarritz, Redan, Thumbprint and Punchbowl, are accompanied by a handful of artistic originals which bubble and flow, no less mesmerizing. The variety and multiple sections of the surfaces present a flexible day to day test, as flags are shifted, the entire dynamic and strategy of the hole moves with it.
These surfaces and their surrounds insert a demand for precision into the layout, where attacking flags is often a tantalizing proposition loaded with consequences a yard either side. Whilst the source of challenge and oftentimes frustration, Lonsdale Links’ greatest joys arise from a creative approach which rides a contour towards the flag.
OCM's riff on a Double-Plateau at 4
Lonsdale Links’ punchy concentration of exciting and thought-provoking golf shots is a glaring indictment of the countless layouts which grind on inconspicuously. OCM have done a breathtaking job of tying together the qualities of links golf and imaginative riffs on the game’s famed template holes – a striking divergence from its coastal counterparts in Australia. Few holes pass by unremarkably, a shining illustration of what can be achieved with imagination and a bit of courage to colour outside the lines of convention.
For the visiting golfer, few Australian pursuits offer a more educational or entertaining use of a spare three hours than a loop of Lonsdale Links.
A striking look down the Punchbowl 11th
The First
So often, opening holes are relatively sedate affairs, pushing golfers away from the clubhouse towards more compelling grounds for golf – not so at Point Lonsdale. With gorgeous sprawling views of Lake Victoria, the opening tee shot rises uphill over tumbling terrain, its fairway divided by a lone tree. Tee shots up the left funnel off a sandhill towards the green, whilst those up the middle are left with a blinded pitch over a cross hazard which eats into a dune. The squared off putting surface features a thumbprint front left and a steep run-off which catches balls leaking right. Surely one of Australia’s most compelling openers.
'Alps' - a wonderful start to the round
The Second
Golfers often associate hazards with sand and water, however the one-shot second delivers its most punishing hazard through the heart of its putting surface. A striking riff on the famous Biarritz template, a deep depression divides the green into two plateaus, the pin position completely shifting the shot at hand. A flag perched on the back plateau welcomes a low running shot through the gully, while a front location is best held with something high and soft. A wonderful complex where a two and a four are often separated by an extra roll.
A front flag offers a little respite from the Biarritz second
The Fourth
Of the generous helping of par-fours under 350-metres, none are more striking or thrilling than Buckley’s Chance, as it tiptoes between a salt marsh and the shores of Lake Victoria. At only 270-metres, there is every opportunity for many to have a crack, but the risks and reprimand are wonderfully abundant. The rectangular green benched against the lake is most welcoming to those who approach from as close to the water as possible, opening up the length of the surface, whilst those who shy away from the hazard leave a terrifying lakeward pitch to a shallow target.
A look back down the tantalizing fourth
The Eleventh
Point Lonsdale’s most memorable golf is bold, free-spirited and flooded with loud features – the individuality of the eleventh leads the way in this regard. Playing partially blinded up and over a ridgeline, the fairway dives right with sandy wasteland crowding the inside corner. It’s the second shot however which lingers in the mind, as the fairway cascades downhill toward a rectangular punchbowl surface amongst an amphitheatre of dunes – a tight gap between two fronting sandhills paving the way for a running approach from the correct angle. Charming and mind-bending in equal measure, this willingness to colour a little outside the lines is what makes Lonsdale so alluring. Delightfully singular, there is not a hole like the eleventh anywhere on the planet, and for that, OCM must be commended.
A unique take on Macdonald's 'Punchbowl'
The Twelfth
Lonsdale Links’ collection of green complexes is one of the finest in Australia, flooded with compelling features and intricacies. At the one-shot twelfth golfers find themselves bearing down on a broad, pushed up surface, encircled by sharp run-offs and a heaving thumbprint stamped in its heart. A pin cut within the thumbprint offers a green light to attack, whilst approaching either plateau has golfers considering their best miss first. Surrounded by rolling short grass, a smorgasbord of captivating recovery shots are presented.
Recoveries around the 12th green - scary and full of fun
The Fourteenth
The famous front-right to back left slope of the Redan runs in reverse at the par-three fourteenth - another glorious multi-sectioned green. Partially unsighted from the tee by a flashed-up waste area, a raised shelf occupies the left side, with a whirlpool of slopes funnelling down to the lower right section. Like many approaches throughout the loop, there is great joy and satisfaction which accompanies a ball which feeds off the slopes and down to the hole.
The flowing reverse redan at 14
The Fifteenth
Point Lonsdale is a site rich in a variety of natural features; notably salt marshes which encroach on a number of playing corridors. A unique take on a cape hole across more gentle land, the fifteenth wraps around a sandy salt marsh, to a distinct square green wrapped in short grass. In traditional fashion, the tee shot which challenges the edge of the hazard is left with a much shorter approach.
Classical strategy at Lonsdale's 'Cape' hole
The Sixteenth
The original Road Hole - The Old Course’s seventeenth, is a famously bruising affair. Lonsdale Links’ driveable rendition is one of opportunity rather than threat, stretching to less than 300-yards. Its square-edged green flush against an out of bounds fence riding its left side, combines with the deep pot which eats into the right half to define the strategy and consequence. Those who challenge the fence from the tee face a much more comfortable second than those who bail right and face a nervy pitch over the bunker towards the boundary fence. A gorgeous hole of thrilling optionality and score variance.
The squared off surface of the 'Road Hole'