LV: Royal Melbourne (East)
When Alister MacKenzie’s ship departed the shores of Australia, he had famously only seen a single hole completed – the wonderful one-shot fifth on the West Course at Royal Melbourne. Young member Alex Russell was left to supervise the construction of the West under the guise of head greenkeeper Mick Morcom, expertly completed in 1931. In fact, Russell’s work was so well received that the club commissioned him the next year to lay out the East Course.
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What is immediately clear is just how influenced Russell was by the time he spent with Mackenzie – the aesthetic, design principals and style of golf flow effortlessly between the West and East courses. The sharp-edged bunkering, large eccentric green complexes, swathes of short grass and consistency of strategic intent bleed seamlessly between the two layouts as their holes intermingle throughout the property. This effortless coherence between the pair is a key factor in the flow of the Composite layout which utilises six of the East’s holes on the main paddock.
The East shares many qualities with its neighbour
There can be no disputing the fact that the seven holes routed across the main paddock (1-4, 16-18) are at least the equal of their West Course peers as they flow across some of the property’s broadest slopes. They deliver the diverse terrain, gorgeous green sites and variety of shots matched only by the best courses on the planet.
Where the East Course is less blessed lies in the more sedate and less sandy terrain it navigates on the two outside paddocks - their natural attributes for rousing golf limited. In a showing of Russell’s architectural nous, through riveting green complexes and stirring hazards, he has gripped the golfer’s attention and on a handful of occasions procured truly world class holes across grounds which have no business doing so.
The East Course features plenty of interesting golf in the flats
One of Russell’s greatest achievements in designing the East is that there is a genuine conversation to be had around which of the two layouts boast the most compelling putting surfaces. At times the East’s greens swirl with internal contours – even more so than its famous sibling’s, while others tip and tilt – their gravity the greatest defence against the out of position player. In lieu of the consistent fairway movement of the West, the East’s crumpled greens inject stimulating conundrums into the approaches.
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As golfer’s move back and forth between the paddocks the appreciation of Russell’s excellence only grows - his sleight of hand, restraint and maximisation of the site entirely admirable.
Russell squeezed all of the life out of the East's property
The First
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​Defined by a grand central hazard dividing the shared fairway with eight West, the East’s opener is simple in theory, stretching to just 300 metres. The pin position dictates the strategy, though any ball which leaks right faces a perilous pitch over a fronting hazard to a narrow section of the green. A perfect handshake opener with just enough bite to its strategy.​
One of Royal Melbourne's most striking hazards
The Second
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Perhaps the sternest two-shotter on the property, the second dives down to a valley below the tee and sweeps grandly to the right. With the green perched atop a sandhill, the steep approach with a long club commands precision with most golfers faced with threading one between the sea of scrubby hazards on the right and the bunker at the front left.
The sand right of two is best left alone
The Third
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Though the fairway bounding downhill to the left poses a thrilling tee shot, the excellence of the third is headlined by its wavy greensite. With deep contours and ridges carving out a number of tiers, subtle changes in pin position can completely alter the hole. Surely one of the Sandbelt’s most captivating surfaces.
Looking across the fourth to the third green
The Tenth
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​Fairway bunkers are certainly less prevalent on the East Course as compared to the West, however the par-five tenth plants a cluster right in its heart – an exhilarating tee shot. Flashy cross bunkers and greenside hazards force a decision of consequence with the second.
A blitz of cross bunkers at the tenth
The Thirteenth
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A second discussion of genuine merit centres on which layout boasts the finer set of one-shot holes. In the writer’s opinion, the East’s collection wins it by a nose. The shortest of the bunch arrives peacefully at the thirteenth, amongst an amphitheatre of trees and native scrub – a sea of sand separating tee from green. Bunkers pinch the front of the green and its subtle run-offs have a knack of leaving a terrifying short-sided chip.
A tricky little flick awaits at the thirteenth
The Fifteenth
A wonderful short four where layers of bunkers eat into portions of the fairway, junking up a layup, while those greenside deliver proper consequence for the over-aggressive. Like all great driveable fours, a two and a six are entirely possible for many as they stand on the tee.
There is little future from the fifteenth's right hazard
The Sixteenth
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While the fifth on the West is without a doubt Royal Melbourne’s most iconic par three, sixteen East is the most interesting. Artistic bunkers corrode the surface, taking out chunks which almost divide it in two. With a tee box to the left and the right, a change in pin or tee location creates an entirely different hole and no matter where it is, holding the surface requires a proper strike.
Perhaps the world's most flexible one-shot hole
The Seventeenth
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Most famous for the string of bunkers which bisect the fairway just short of the surface, the seventeenth legs right from the tee. Like the tenth, the thirteenth achieves the rare feat of forcing players to make a considered decision with their second shot by creating proper consequence. A wonderfully handsome hole which embodies the best of Royal Melbourne.​
The view back down 17
The Eighteenth​
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Interestingly, of Royal Melbourne’s two courses the East Course closes in the most grandstanding manner. A broad, flat dogleg left paves the way to a large double-tiered surface flanked by swathes of bunkers – a final reminder of the Sandbelt’s famous defences. Putting out at the foot of the clubhouse closes out a loop full of intrigue.
A grandstand finish!
Though some courses undoubtedly benefit from their more famous neighbours, the East Course at Royal Melbourne feels unfairly overlooked. The holes on the main paddock reach rarified air and a handful of those on the outside plots find excellence from Alex Russell’s slightly firmer hand in the design of hazards and greens. Russell’s intricate green complexes are spectacular, and the spectacular collection of one-shot holes outpunches those next door – by default making them one of the finest sets on the planet.
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Despite its natural shortcomings and numerous road-crossings, Royal Melbourne East holds its own as one of the world’s best. Were it 5 minutes down the road one must wonder how differently it may be perceived.