Presidents Cup host Royal Melbourne shines spotlight on world-class destination

You might say a golfer’s education is incomplete without seeing Royal Melbourne and the other courses of Australia’s Sandbelt. What’s special about these courses is they manage to achieve the best aspects of both British and American golf without the downsides of either. This requires a combination of sandy soil on rolling terrain, the kind of land that provides good drainage and promotes the grasses that make courses bouncy while keeping a parkland feel. Royal Melbourne, design-wise, may be to Australia what Augusta National is to America. Alister MacKenzie was the co-designer of both. Royal Melbourne hosts its third Presidents Cup this month.

You might say a golfer’s education is incomplete without seeing Royal Melbourne and the other courses of Australia’s Sandbelt. What’s special about these courses is they manage to achieve the best aspects of both British and American golf without the downsides of either. This requires a combination of sandy soil on rolling terrain, the kind of land that provides good drainage and promotes the grasses that make courses bouncy while keeping a parkland feel. Royal Melbourne, design-wise, may be to Australia what Augusta National is to America. Alister MacKenzie was the co-designer of both. Royal Melbourne hosts its third Presidents Cup this month.