Vacation Golf: Melbourne, Australia
In December, I took a trip to Australia and New Zealand with a group of students and coworkers, and experienced some of the best golf destinations in the world. To be with a group that enjoyed golf as much as I do, and to have the chance to visit a former team member in New Zealand, made it even more memorable.
As much golf as I used to play while I was competing, I’ve never played fourteen rounds of golf in fourteen days, so that presented quite a physical challenge. I carried my golf bag for all rounds except for two, and some rounds were 36-hole days. But how could I miss out on any rounds when every course on the list was a postcard in the making?
I documented the trip to commemorate some of the best moments in my golf history and to endorse the wonderful facilities that I feel are still under the radar, or wildly underrated. I have a feeling they won’t be under wraps for long.
Arrival Day: December 28th, Melbourne, Australia.
We departed Los Angeles on December 26th and arrived in Melbourne the morning of December 28th. A day was lost due to travel and the time difference between the U.S. and Australia. Our group sailed through immigration, and we met our bus driver on time. Our bus had plenty of seats, but the luggage compartment was in the form of a rolling trolley. Somehow, nineteen sets of clubs and suitcases managed to fit into this little dude!
We made a quick grocery run and visited an Aldi that was located inside a local mall. In addition to the grocery store, the mall had all kinds of restaurants and a movie theater, so it reminded me of the mega-malls in Thailand.
After wolfing down our lunch and dropping bags at the hotel, we spent the rest of the day playing the first course on our list, St Andrews Beach. As someone who has yet to experience links golf in Europe, this Tom Doak design is how I imagine a links course would be. It was also the first time in my life I saw kangaroos, so it was even more special to have the experience take place on a golf course.
I paired up with another coach, and we took down two team members in best ball matchplay, so it was an extra fun start from a competitive golf standpoint too!
December 29th, Royal Melbourne
After a good night’s rest, we ventured to Royal Melbourne to catch a 10 a.m. tee time. Royal Melbourne’s courses are routinely ranked in the top 100 golf courses in the world list, so I knew we were in for a treat. We played 18 holes on Royal Melbourne’s East Course, and 9 holes on the West Course. One of the nines on the West was undergoing routine turf maintenance, which was unfortunate timing for our group as the West is considered the more challenging layout between the two. This Alister Mackenzie course, which was the site of several Presidents Cups, didn’t disappoint; it was in immaculate shape and boasted some of the firmest greens I’ve ever experienced. Our group was each joined by member hosts who were all so gracious and welcoming. My group’s member host was a funny and good natured businessman, and he provided me with colorful on-course commentary and a glimpse into Australian culture and communication styles. I was told Australians tend to be more direct with their words compared to Americans, and they don’t worry as much about being politically correct. My group’s smooth-swinging member host shot under par from the men’s tees, and apparently doesn’t play golf very much at all. It must be nice to be a great golfer without much practice!
December 30th, Moonlit Sanctuary & Yarra Yarra Golf Club
It’s cultural immersion time! The first stop was the Moonlit Sanctuary, a wildlife park that is dedicated to saving Australia’s endangered species. There were plenty of fowl and reptiles to see, but the marsupials were my favorites. Our tour guide, Michelle, did an awesome job explaining the differences between a wallaby and a kangaroo, but I still had a hard time telling the difference. As far as I can tell, the one on the left below is a wallaby, and the one on the far right is a ‘Roo (short for kangaroo in Australia). The wombat (middle) was also very cute, but somehow got its head stuck in a bucket, so I didn’t catch its face. Fun fact per our tour guide: mother kangaroos can produce two different kinds of milk, which she uses to feed her young that are in different developmental stages. Bonus fun fact: Koalas are nocturnal and can sleep as much as twenty hours per day. Koalas eat up to a kilo of eucalyptus leaves per day, so they don’t need to drink much water since the leaves are full of H2O.
After the visit to the animal park, we made two more stops on the way to golf. The first stop was a visit to the Bathing Boxes at Brighton Beach, where we enjoyed views of the historical beachside huts and took in some waves.
The second stop was the Queen Victoria Market, where we grabbed a quick bite and sampled delicious drinks and desserts.
On our drive to these destinations, Michelle pointed out some neat buildings and street art. Can you see the image in the building on the right below? While you can make it out in a photograph, when you look at the building with your naked eye, it’s harder to make out what it is.
This is my favorite street art photo from the trip, taken on my first real camera. I love how the binoculars are looking back at me.
It’s finally golf time! We teed off at roughly 4 p.m and still managed to get in 18 holes before darkness fell. Designed by Alex Russell, Yarra Yarra Golf Club is truly a hidden gem and one of my favorite courses from the trip. The course has the most interesting set of par 3’s I’ve ever played. It was a really fun track overall — a good mix of undulations, well-placed bunkers, runways up to greens, and a few funky roll-offs. If the course was local to me, I could easily play it 7 days a week!
December 31st, Kingston Heath - The Furrows & Heath course
We enjoyed a warm-up session on The Furrows, a new short course that draws inspiration from the main Heath course. The distances of the holes ranged from 50 to 140 meters (yes, I should mention that most courses seem to use meters in Australia, so not so good for English majors such as myself who does calculations in yards!) I love the farm vibes that the pitch fork tee markers and sand barrels on tee boxes give off.
The main course at Kingston Heath, another Alister MacKenzie design, was a favorite for many in our group. The course was in perfect conditions, and it was another unexpected layout with doglegs and trees coming into play on several shots. I played another best ball match, partnering with a member of the men’s team while a senior on the women’s team partnered with another coach. The match came down to the wire and got a little heated at the end as our competitive spirits came alive. My partner carried me for most of the day, but we were still 1 down with 1 to play. I managed to hit the final approach shot within 12 feet of the hole. My birdie putt grabbed a piece of the hole but didn’t quite drop. The neighboring team narrowly missed their 18-footer for birdie. My partner had a birdie putt from about 9 feet to tie the match. I saw a rise in his determination as he went through his full routine. The putt was positively struck, and it rolled right into the heart of the cup! We fist pumped our way off the green but remembered to shake hands and give hugs. It was a fun ending to a full day of golf.
In the evening, we headed downtown and spent New Year’s Eve on the Yarra River. We just missed the fireworks, but a team session at McDonald’s and the ice cream trucks made up for it.
January 1st, Peckish Cafe + Victoria Golf Club
I took a little stroll in the morning to a local cafe that got great reviews for coffee. Our tour guide had mentioned that Australians like their coffee nice and strong, and that’s what I tasted at Peckish Cafe. I’m no coffee expert, but I enjoy learning about and tasting different kinds of beans during my travels. I took an interest in coffee during the COVID days, and received coffee education through James Hoffmann’s Youtube channel. Going by what James has mentioned about brewing ratios, I wondered if the stronger coffee taste comes from shops using greater beans-to-water ratios compared to the U.S. The coffee at Peckish was extremely delicious, but it definitely tastes pretty concentrated, and one was plenty for me to get the day started.
Victoria Golf Club, an Alister MacKenzie design, presented us with an entertaining layout with a few twists and turns with its rolling topography. The course was in tip-top shape; the fairways were pristine, and the greens were rolling close to a 13. What also made it memorable were the different types of trees lining the sides of the fairways.
After golf, we enjoyed the most delicious burgers at the clubhouse. The drink pictured below is called Lemon, Lime, and Bitters, a popular drink in Australia. The bird below is an Australian magpie that came to visit us on the patio, or, more like it came to visit our delicious food.
After saying goodbye to our hosts at Victoria, we headed to the airport. It was time to relocate to the next destination!