The National’s Moonah course has held sway at the Cape Schanck club ever since it opened just before the beginning of the new millennium, but there is a genuine contender to ascend the family throne.
This is architect Seth Raynor’s original Redan, meaning the narrow green, flanked by bunkers short and behind, is angled from the tee with the back half of the putting surface running away from the player.
Our biennial ranking of the premier courses in the country is once again a celebration of the very best in Australian golf, just as it should be. Yet inside the local golf-club scene exists an intriguing realm of mistakes and maladies that Australian course architects know only too well.
A new-look course with Tom Doak’s fingerprints all over it is just one of the many reasons you need to tick the world-class Mornington Peninsula off your travel list.
With threats of closure continuing to haunt Australian courses on public land, we examine what privately owned clubs are doing to ensure their own long-term survival.
The Doak Touch. Opinionated? Yes. Gifted? Absolutely. Successful? You bet. Tom Doak’s fingerprints are extending ever further across Australia, as his design flair comes to a course near you. Interviewed by Steve Keipert
Australian Golf Digest
