Sandbelt spectacular: Kingston Heath

This week, some of the world’s best golfers head to Melbourne, Australia for the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf. There, they will compete at one of the world’s finest courses, Kingston Heath Golf Club. Special thanks to friend of The Fried Egg John Cornish for the sharing his outstanding photos of the course.

This spectacular Australian sandbelt golf course opened in 1925 and the architect of record is Dan Souter. Souter received some help from arguably the greatest architect, Alister MacKenzie, during his trip to Australia in 1926. MacKenzie’s influence is very clear at Kingston Heath through the iconic bunkering. The design, shaping and contours are very similar to the types of bunkers at other MacKenzie masterpieces such as Pasatiempo and the Valley Club of Montecito.

Kingston Heath is no stranger to championship golf. In the club’s rich history it has hosted the Australian Open and Australian Match Play Championship seven times each. The course won’t overpower players with length but rather test their strategy and shot-making abilities. With the course playing firm and fast, Kingston Heath should provide a great test of golf and show the world why there needs to be major championships hosted outside of the United States and the United Kingdom.

Matthew Dickinson is a member at Kingston Heath and gave his perspective about the course and what to expect for the World Cup of Golf. “My fellow members are telling me they’ve never seen Kingston Heath in better shape.”

Matthew continues, “Kingston Heath is similar to Merion in that the plot of land it’s on is actually tiny (relative to the grand golf courses of the world). Therefore, it’s not a long course but it doesn’t feel easy at any point. Players never leave the course thinking it was short. Perhaps my biggest love for the course is that after hundreds of rounds, I still don’t have a defined strategy for each hole. Each hole and shot provide you with endless shot options and difficult decisions to make. For example, holes 2 & 3 on the course (3 and 4 for the WC) are short par-4 holes where your tee shot can be anything from a driver to a 7 iron depending on the risks you want to take. Genius.

Plus, it’s a great championship host – from 14 in it’s a tough test with holes 16-18 ranked in the hardest 6 holes on the property, which will test your mettle heading home. Many a great medal round has been ruined on the 16th tee by not committing to the blind tee shot!

Kingston Heath is a thinking man’s golf course. And it’s all about the golf – the new extension of the club strategy sets out this very mantra. It’s just all about the golf.”

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