Iconic Australian Golf Holes - Hall of Fame

Two years ago Australian Golf Digest stumbled upon an Iconic Golf Holes - Hall of Fame concept, and produced an article on the 18 best and most iconic holes in Australia. Needless to say it created plenty of controversy, with conversation and debate focusing as much on those holes that missed out as those that made the list. The same is probably true of any sporting Hall of Fame.

The fact that we were only able to induct one hole per course meant there were numerous candidates and countless great holes left unrecognised. The time to celebrate those on the next tier has come, with our Top 100 panel once again setting out to determine what are the best golf holes in this country.

Each of our judges was asked to nominate the par threes, fours and fives they felt were most worthy of inclusion within the Hall of Fame. Once again only one hole per course could be nominated. Naturally the likes of Royal Melbourne, New South Wales, Kingston Heath and Barnbougle Dunes dominated, along with the ultra-exclusive Ellerston course, which led nominations with votes received for 6 of its holes. Next best were The National (Moonah Course) and Royal Melbourne (West Course), each with nominations for five holes.

As with any golfing list, the criteria used by our panel to select these holes is unlikely to please everyone and no doubt readers will be upset that their own personal favourites have missed out. We make no apologies for the fact that courses ranked highly on our Top 100 list have again featured prominently, and simply suggest that great courses are made up of great holes, and that there is a big difference between good holes and great ones. We hope you enjoy the list.

 

Australian Golf Digest Hall of Fame – 2013 Inductees

PAR 3s

6^th hole, New South Wales Golf Club, 177 metres.

Pipped by the outrageously spectacular 5^th hole last time, the 6^th at New South Wales garnered the most votes of any hole this year and rightly joins its infamous sibling in the Hall of Fame. Added by Eric Apperly sometime after Dr. Alister MacKenzie left Australia, the hole plays directly across the ocean to a green angled toward the water. There are few more breathtaking par threes anywhere in the world, and no self-respecting catalogue of great Aussie holes is complete without it.

7^th hole, Barnbougle Dunes, 112 metres.

When stretched to its absolute limit the 7^th at Barnbougle Dunes measures a touch over 110 metres, yet it’s a hole where all golfers will celebrate a par. The challenge here is all about the green, which is set on a gentle spur and falls away sharply on all sides. Left and long are definitely not options, while short or right are only marginally better.

5^th hole, Royal Melbourne (West Course), 161 metres

Brilliantly conceived and impeccably shaped, 5 West at Royal Melbourne is close to the perfect par three. Its steeply pitched green sits beyond a valley and between a series of glorious Sandbelt bunkers. The reward for keeping your ball under the hole is enormous, but it takes both skill and courage to flirt with the green’s false front. This was the only hole at Royal Melbourne built under the direct guidance of Dr MacKenzie, who understandably left the club comfortable that Mick Morcom (its Head Greenkeeper) was capable of bringing his plans to life.

17^th hole, The Dunes Golf Links, 179 metres.

Endorsements don’t come much stronger, than 5-time Open Champion Tom Watson’s declaration in the mid-1990s that the 17^th at The Dunes was ‘an exquisite golf hole’. With its tees benched into the side of a dune, and its green set on a soft plateau protected by beautifully crafted bunkers, it isn’t hard to see the attraction.

 

PAR 4s

14^th hole, Barnbougle Lost Farm, 263 metres

According to the judging panel the 14^th at Lost Farm is the best available par four in Australia, and an essential addition to our Hall of Fame. Golfers love great short par fours, and this one has it all - a generous fairway but crazy, cool elevated green that gets progressively more difficult to hit, and hold, from the safer left-hand side. Throw in an ocean view to die for and it’s easy to see how this hole has become an Aussie icon.

2^nd hole, St Andrews Beach, 279 metres 

While the 2^nd at St Andrews Beach lacks the obvious ‘sex appeal’ of the 4^th at Barnbougle, in the right wind it’s as tempting as Tom Doak’s other Hall of Fame short four. Dictating strategy here is the waste area down the left-hand side and cleverly positioned bunkers through the fairway. There is plenty of space for those content with par, but those hoping for an easy birdie have to attack the sand and try feed their balls toward the green.

1^st hole, Victor Harbor Golf Club, 402 metres.

Once described by Gary Player as ‘the best opening hole in Australian golf’ the 1^st at Victor Harbor is the very definition of an iconic golf hole. From an elevated tee beside the clubhouse, your opening drive plunges dramatically along a tight, tree-lined fairway. It’s the views of the Southern Ocean and its offshore islands, however, that make the hole so memorable.

11^th hole, Royal Adelaide Golf Club, 353 metres.

Adelaide’s celebrated ‘Crater Hole’ features one of the most exciting approach shots in Australian golf, played across a scrubby waste toward a green set at the base of a large sand crater. Although these dunes are no longer as pure and pristine as they once were, this remains a formidable test of your skill and nerve.

15^th hole, The Links Kennedy Bay, 382 metres.

An under-rated hole on an under-rated links, the 15^th at Kennedy Bay can really only be played conservatively or aggressively. There is no middle ground here. Off the tee you either lay back safe and left or attack the pot bunkers and try to play down the narrow right-hand side. The rewards are enormous, for the green rests in a dell at the end of a shallow valley and is much easier to approach from the right. This is a hole that wouldn’t be out of place on the Open Rota.

16^th hole, Ellerston Golf Course, 417 metres.

As Ellerston is our most exclusive golf course, including any of their holes on a list like this was sure to generate controversy. Our view, though, is that all courses, and therefore all holes, ought be considered by our judges and those fortunate enough to play here continue to rave about Bob Harrison’s 16^th hole. It’s a true one-off, playing along a creek and turning sharply toward a green encircled by the running water. The all-or-nothing approach shot up the length of the creek is incredibly demanding, but fun.

16^th hole, Commonwealth Golf Club, 364 metres.

An undeniably brilliant piece of golf architecture, the 16^th at Commonwealth is one of those rare holes that reward both strategic play as well as high skill. Those who can draw their tee shot close to the lake, and then play a soft fade into the green have an enormous advantage, as they should. Technology has made the drive slightly easier, but the angled green remains a Melbourne masterpiece.

16^th hole, Royal Canberra, 410 metres.

It’s an awful expression, but if ever a golf course had a signature hole it would be Royal Canberra and their 16^th. This is the very essence of golf at Westbourne Woods, with the undulating fairway, the towering Pines and the slick, elevated green all combining to create a variety of golfing challenges. Few forget their first par here.

18^th hole, Royal Sydney, 374 metres.

Royal Sydney has hosted 13 Australian Opens, and the last ten or eleven have ended on an 18^thgreen set in the shadows of this country’s most magnificent clubhouse. Turning hard left through trees, the hole is memorable for both the backdrop and the relief of avoiding trouble and safely reaching the putting surface. That putting surface was made fiendishly difficult by Ross Watson during his 2003 redesign of the course.

10^th hole, Sanctuary Cove (Pines Course), 428 metres.

The first competitive hole Robert Allenby played as a professional golfer was arguably Australia’s toughest, the 10^th at Sanctuary Cove Pines. He made triple bogey. Since then countless others have followed in Allenby’s footsteps, undone by either the Pines that run down the left of the hole or the water along the right. Two strong, arrow-straight shots are the only way to reach this green in regulation. It may not be a great hole, but it’s one that golfers rarely forget.

 

PAR 5s

14^th hole, The Lakes Golf Club, 502 metres

The key to playing the 14^th at The Lakes used to be driving close to the water on the left to leave yourself a shorter approach shot. Now it’s positioning the drive and potentially the second shot, but also studying the enormous green complex, the pin position of the day and determining whether it was better to pitch for birdie or try to two-putt from an adjoining postcode. Some hate this green, but it has endless fascination and single-handedly turned a flawed par five into a great one.

4^th hole, Joondalup Resort (Quarry Course), 475 metres

An overwhelming favourite among our judges, Quarry 4 at Joondalup is dominated by an abrupt quarry wall that separates fairway levels and forms part of an enormous waste bunker. Recovery shots from down in the sand are next to impossible but the rewards for successfully attacking the upper shelf are enormous, which makes this such a strategically pleasing hole.

14^th hole, Kingston Heath Golf Club, 516 metres

Made famous by the late Roger Mackay’s albatross during the 1987 Victorian Open, the 14^th at Kingston Heath has everything a tempting par five needs; a generous driving zone, a spectacularly bunkered back half and an angled green that accepts only the most precise approach and can confound even the longest-standing member. The fact this hole was nominated by our panel ahead of the brilliant 3^rd is an indication of its quality.

7^th hole, The National Golf Club (Moonah Course), 511 metres

The Bob Harrison, Greg Norman design duo created a number of cracking par fives across Australia, none better than Moonah 7 at The National. Golfers hoping for an easy birdie here need to flirt with deep bunkers off the tee and then run their ball along a narrowing valley toward a beautiful green pushed back into a natural dell. Strong crosswinds are what give this hole its teeth, and make your first two shots interesting.

 

Darius Oliver, Architecture Editor

 

Hall of Fame - 2011 Inductees

PAR 3s

Kingston Heath 15

National (Old) 7

Yarra Yarra 11

Narooma 3

Barwon Heads 13

 

PAR 4s

Royal Adelaide 3

Barnbougle Dunes 4

Woodlands 4

National (Moonah) 11

Newcastle 5

The Cut 12

Coolum Resort 18

Royal Melbourne (East) 18

Royal Melbourne (West) 6

 

PAR 5s

New South Wales 5

Palm Meadows 18

Tasmania 3

The Lakes 11

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