Sandy Links
Far too often, the measure of a course’s quality is defined by where it lands among rankings or the notoriety of the events it hosts, but the reality of golf course architecture is that it should be assessed only against the architect’s intent. For OCM (Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, and Ashley Mead), the brief for their renovation of Sandringham Golf Club was never to build a course of championship pedigree, nor to craft a top 100 headliner – both impossible feats given the restraints at hand. Refreshingly, they were charged only with shaping an authentic, enjoyable and publicly accessible Sandbelt experience for golfers of all abilities. What is clear, judging by the virtual jousting required to access a $60AUD spot on the tee sheet, is that OCM’s reinvigoration of ‘Sandy Links’ has been a resounding success.
OCM's reinvigorated bunkering at Sandy Links
Rubbing shoulders with Sandbelt sovereignty located across a quiet street from Royal Melbourne, the original Sandringham Golf Club had its own famous fingerprints. Vern Morcom (the son of longstanding Royal Melbourne Head Greenkeeper Mick who famously constructed the Good Doctor’s plans for the West course), completed the first nine holes in 1946 and expanded the routing to 18 holes in 1955. As time went on Sandringham’s lack of custodianship wore heavily on Morcom’s layout, playing corridors narrowed, bunkers tired, greens shrunk and encroaching trees overwhelmed his strategic intent. Morcom’s Sandringham was all but lost, the course left behind a miserly shadow of its obvious Sandbelt potential. 2019 became the defining crossroads for Sandringham when OCM were commissioned to overhaul the layout, designing a charming sub-5,000 metre, par 65 course loaded with strategy and in keeping with its famous neighbours.
Firm, sloping green complexes
Given its proximity, it should come as little surprise that Sandy Links is blessed with many of the same, scaled-down natural advantages as its famous neighbour - firm and fast turf, handsome rolling terrain and the Sandbelt’s trademark sandy bracken– a parcel of land ideally suited for compelling golf. OCM’s re-design fully embraces the natural variety of rises, falls, humps and hollows of the land, squeezing every drop of intrigue from the site with a distinct Sandbelt appearance.
Double green shared by the 5th and 10th
The parcel’s most obvious constraint was the tight section of land, which OCM countered by shortening the layout – landing on eleven par fours and seven one-shotters. For the uninitiated staring at the card, they could be forgiven for casting aspersions over the layout’s yardage and lack of variety, however nothing falls further from the truth. Diet only in length, Sandy Links features the same thrills, puzzles, and conundrums as the famous Sandbelt layouts, on a smaller scale. Much of this authenticity falls at the feet of the final 50 yards of each hole, where stunning green complexes and sharp fescue surrounds deliver bounces and touchy approaches found only in this part of the world. The ball bounds, receptive to the running shot and the golfer finds themselves stymied by the number of options – often short-sided by a bunker with the firm green tilting away.
Across the Sandbelt the most memorable shots are those hit into greens, and there is nothing diet about Sandy Links’ approaches, they stand every bit as compelling as their neighbours’.
Subtle run-offs are a key element to the Sandy Links greens
The Sandbelt’s most revered and entertaining holes gravitate toward short par-fours and one-shot holes, which out of necessity, OCM have delivered in spades. The two shot holes dance across the land with thrilling variety, their playing corridors ample, opening up angles and restoring classic strategy. In true Sandbelt fashion, the best angle into the green always lies nearest a fairway hazard, while razor sharp bunkers erode the outside of putting surfaces and contest the bailed-out tee shot. A formula simple in theory only.
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Whilst one-shot holes are often utilised by designers as connecting holes, a par 65 on a tight site does not afford this luxury. Crafting seven captivating and distinct one-shot holes in a three-hour loop is no easy feat, though OCM identified and shaped an eclectic set of green sites and clad them in a variety of attractive hazards to do an unfathomably good job. Their vision and creativity in differentiating seven dynamic par threes is the straw that stirs Sandy Links’ drink, upholding the routing’s punchy rhythm and keeping the golfer engaged and enthralled despite par’s lack of variability.
The bunkerless one-shot 7th
What OCM have achieved at Sandy Links stands as an ideal mascot for how the game moves forward. In a golfing world of excess and maximisation, over the course of less than 5,000 metres this par-65 routing delivers entertainment, intrigue and sheer quality with a snappy efficiency which is frankly eye-opening. Genuine deals are hard to come by in golf, but with the rest of the Sandbelt’s accessibility slowly diminishes with inflating green fees, Sandy Links offers the real deal product for less than $70AUD.
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Whilst Sandy Links never had the footprint to yield the Sandbelt’s best course, they have made a remarkable case for being its most important. As locals architecturally-minded and otherwise continue to vote with their feet, it’s clear OCM have resoundingly nailed their brief.
The Second
Perhaps a candidate for one of the great holes with the least appealing backdrops, the glorious one-shot second plays straight toward a domineering industrial building. Its whirlpool of green contours and gorgeous hazards flanking both edges make for an ideal introduction to the characteristics of Sandy’s abundance of quality par threes.
The par three second
The Fifth
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Following a pair two shotters which sweep rightward, the fifth more than levels the angle with a fairway which hoops sharply to the left through a gap in the Ti Tree. From the tee golfers must decide between carving a longer club around the corner and risk running out of fairway, or laying up with a mid-iron. The former may find themselves with a wedge in hand to an open green, whilst the latter leaves a longer approach and a cluster of bunkers to contend with. Akin to Kingston Heath’s double green shared by the 8th and 16th, Sandy’s 5th shares a gorgeously contoured surface with the 10th.
Looking back down the fifth fairway
The Sixth​
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Whilst there may well be more famously revered short fours in the neighbourhood, Sandy’s driveable sixth makes a compelling case to join them at the table. Moving right from the tee, a snaking sand waste bunker loiters up the right edge for the length of the hole, catching the over-exuberant. In an ideal showing of strategic intent, the golfer brave enough to challenge the edge of the waste is rewarded with a clean angle of approach, whilst those who shy away are left to contend with the bunker short left and the green tipping away. Like all great short fours, the sixth separates the great from the good.
The grand hazard running up the right of the sixth
The Twelfth
Though not overwhelming in length at 135 metres, the downhill twelfth is a bruiser. Handsomely clad with a horde of bunkers up its left and a dramatic runoff at its back, the steep cant of the green from back left to front right defines the hole. With the intelligent miss short right, any golfer who finds one of the left bunkers risks a game of ping-pong, while those long of the green have a near zero chance of stopping it on the surface. Though it may not appear it from the tee, the 12th is the most exacting strike of the round. A Sandbelt par three of the highest echelon.
Nothing comes easy at the 12th
The Thirteenth
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Water is a rarity on the Sandbelt, with Commonwealth’s 16th hole as it wraps gracefully around the reservoir the gold standard, though the 13th at Commonwealth makes thoughtful use. Encroaching on the right edge of the hole as the fairway climbs to a stunning natural green site, the golfer brave enough to take it close to the water is granted the preferred angle as an intimidating assembly of hazards climbs up the left. The 13th combines the best of the Sandbelt – thoughtful strategy, bold and attractive hazards and decent helping of elevation change.
Even from the middle, the approach into 13 is no bargain
The Fourteenth
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One of Sandringham’s most admirable traits is its willingness to tip its cap to other layouts with common features – most famously the double green modelled off Kingston Heath’s 8th and 16th, as well as the 7th green pulling from the drive and pitch 3rd at Royal Melbourne West. With a hefty Redan kick slope at the front right corner of the 14th green, OCM went straight to the game’s most famous template. Most thrilling with a back left pin, the approach asks for a running draw off the front right slope which feeds it all the way back as the hazard front left eats into the front left of the green and cuts off the angle. A perfect example of OCM finding ways to command a wide range of shots from the low man, whilst retaining the playability for all.​
A glorious rendition of the Redan
The Eighteenth
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The whole way round, Sandy Links feels extremely balanced – holes move both ways, command a variety of shots and chances to score are offset by stern questions. Like some of the UK’S most memorable final holes, at 280 metres, Sandy’s last hurrah is a gentle handshake to close out the round. Those going for the green will need to take on the bunker up the left, whilst those laying up short will leave a comfy pitch. Like most greens, the 18th surface tips steeply away from the greenside bunker, making it something of a death trap. Akin to the North Berwick’s, Prestwick’s and Old Course’s of the world which close in similar fashion, Sandy Links’ closing hole is perfectly befitting of its charmingly enjoyable ethos.
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