The National - Gunnamatta
Tom Doak first visited The National on his maiden voyage Down Under in 1988 – a year post Robert Trent Jones Jr’s completion of the Old Course. At the time, the Cape Schanck based club had successfully become the first equity-based membership in Australia and five years on had fully allocated their 750 available memberships. It wasn’t until 1996 that Doak was re-acquainted with the club, when The National acquired a sprawling piece of rolling linksland which adjoined the site. Doak and local architect Mike Clayton unsuccessfully applied for the opportunity to design one of the two additional courses, with the club handing the first to Greg Norman (The Moonah Course), and the second to Thomson, Woolveridge & Perrett (The Ocean Course).
A glorious sight for golf looking down the 18th
Over time, it became clear that the Ocean Course was clearly the least beloved of the three layouts and in 2016 the membership voted resoundingly in favour of a renovation. After his famously excellent work at Barnbougle Dunes and St Andrews Beach just down the road, Doak and his associates at Renaissance Golf Design became an obvious choice for the job - eventually breaking ground in 2018. The edict from the club was clear; a course which complements the two existing layouts, offers playability in the wind and is entertaining to play - you won’t find many golfers who would argue against Doak having nailed the brief in his delivery of the Gunnamatta Course.
Draped over typical rolling, sandy terrain of Cups Country, the Gunnamatta’s ripples and broad rolls are close relation to the linksland, with the added drama of deep elevation changes. These are ideal grounds for captivating golf and the scattering of unique landforms play wonderfully into the hands of Doak’s penchant for lay of the land, natural architecture.
Ripples, rolls and tumbling terrain
From the tee, the Gunnamatta is striking, with fairways as generous as any in the game – though this is not always apparent for the uninitiated. Much of the width and space is masked by bold contours and layered hazards which cleverly condense the target’s visuals, leaving golfers dumbfounded by the space on offer upon reaching their ball. This width serves two masters – delivering some room to play in the ever-present wind and crafting a deeper layer of strategy to the layout. It is however, some of the most complex width golfers will experience, where Doak has forged narrow targets within wide landing areas which tie into the green complexes and grant thinking golfers the most favourable angle of attack. It makes for golf which is delightfully free of prescription - a creative canvas for golfers to plot their own route.
The Gunnamatta does not lack room to play with
Doak’s work is best known for his thoughtful routings and appetite to build original, and at times provocative, green complexes. At the Gunnamatta his team staked out a rousing set of surfaces which are the heartbeat of the layout. Magnificently diverse, many exploit the thrilling natural bowls of the landscape, whilst others sit handsomely on the land with a smorgasbord of internal tilt and contour. There are iconic individual greens; most notably the narrow bathtub on twelve and the boomerang eighth, though it is their diversity and flexibility as a collection which makes them such a day in, day out joy.
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Around the greens, the architect’s restraint is to be admired - a handful of bunkerless surfaces mixed amongst those with a single domineering hazard allows the gravity of the land’s contours to drive much of the teeing strategy. Tight aprons of firm fescue grant plenty of options and make running balls around the contours one of the layout’s great treats – there are numerous greens which golfers could spend hours chipping around, such is the delight of their slopes and surrounds.
Sweet shelves and rolling slopes are common features of the putting surfaces
There is an exemplary flow to the Gunnamatta’s routing, where a plethora of half-par holes swing in both directions. Long two-shot examinations are offset by holes of opportunity and fascinating drive and pitch par fours chased by hearty tests of execution – this choppy rhythm combined with perpetual changes in direction finds golfers off balance and entirely engaged. Its wonderful par 4-3-5 closing trio forms one of Australian golf’s most endearing final 45 minutes.
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The Gunnamatta is a course beautifully simple in its nature and ethos, yet its delivery is endlessly complex. It is a layout flooded with intricacies and nuance, features which would only unravel over the course of dozens of rounds. Members’ strategies will continue to evolve loop after loop as they adjust their target lines and approach shapes, unpicking its layers a lifetime pursuit. Admirably though, with its compelling routing, wonderful variety and spellbinding set of green complexes, Doak’s work brings equal joy to the first timer.
A striking combination of land movement and hazards at the second
The First
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​In the world of golf, there are few more appetising first tees to linger on than that of the Gunnamatta. Beautifully elevated, with views across the native bush and the breathtaking ocean beyond, the generous fairway offers plenty of room to swing away. A reachable par-five, the slightly picked up green and its accompanying run-offs deliver just enough of an early test to start the round.
One of Australia's best launching pads at the first tee
The Second
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Victorian golf goes hand in hand with excellent short fours, and the Gunnamatta’s second is every bit as good as its more storied cousins on the Sandbelt. Driveable for many, its consequences are palpable from the tee box – a centreline hazard and slopes which kick the ball towards the boundary fence hugging the left side. Around the green, the bowled up green surrounds deal up a plethora of options depending on the pin placement – the type of surface which golfers could joyfully chip around all day. It’s a thrilling start to the round and an opportunity to start the scorecard with a hiss and a roar.​
An exhilarating opportunity at the second
The Third
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​At the Gunnamatta, Doak has delivered one of the game’s most flexible layouts, where changes in the pin position can drastically alter the strategy – never more so than at the third. Whilst the angled tee shot across sandy waste is a thrill, the slender double-tiered green set at a severe angle to the fairway dictates the ideal line of attack. A left pin is best approached from the right and vice-versa – those who follow the formula open up the length of the green and find a catcher’s mitt back stop to assist them.
A tricky angle from the right side to a right pin
The Eighth
Tom Doak is renowned for his flair in designing original green complexes, and the boomerang surface which closes out the eighth is one of his most unique. Wrapping round a single bunker, the genius lies in the backslope which tilts towards the back left of the green, acting as a backstop and funneling balls to the tucked pin location. Accommodating a range of club selections and ball flights, the contours are most receptive to the low runner which scoots around the slope – a shot available to both the low and high handicapper, a feature of Doak’s work.
A wonderful tucked pin at the back of the boomerang
The Twelfth
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With iconic greens in mind, the slender bathtub at the twelfth gives the eighth’s boomerang a compelling run for its money. The bold and brawny two-shotter plays sight unseen down a ski slope fairway. Though bowled up in nature, its svelteness tightens the margin for error, with balls feeding off the wrong shoulder of the bowl left with a terrifying pitch across the green. For a surface surrounded by helping slopes, it’s remarkably easy to make a mess. The twelfth green is one crafted to reward creativity, imagination and perhaps a pinch of rub of the green golf – just the way it’s meant to be played.
A one of one green complex at 12
The Sixteenth
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After a long run of inland golf amongst the rollicking sandhills of the Mornington Peninsula, the one-shot 16th launches golfers seaward. Dominated by the hazards perched to the left of the green and the run-offs short right, there is little margin for error. One of the round’s most beautiful and exacting swings.​
A gorgeous look at the 16th green
The Seventeenth​​
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Though drivable for most, the majority would have much more success laying back at the par-four 17th. The severity of the surrounding slopes and trouble it careens tee shots into can quickly turn an opportunity into a ball in your pocket – the type of volatility delivered by the most admirable short fours.
A tempting penultimate tee ball