Kingston Heath Golf Club

There is no debate on which Australian city has the best golf courses – it is Melbourne, Victoria. Blessed with a natural sandbelt, talented architects of the golden era created masterpieces that have withstood the test of time.

Nowhere more so than at Kingston Heath Golf Club founded in 1909, which rivals its famous next-door neighbor for the No.1 Course in Australia ranking over the West Course at Royal Melbourne.

Often credited to Dr. Alistair Mackenzie, the brilliant design is actually Dan Soutar’s from 1925. Mackenzie was brought over in 1926 when he was doing work for Royal Melbourne to advise mainly on bunkering.

He did a magnificent consultancy as the bunkers at Kingston Heath are considered to be among the best in the world to this day. He also turned the short par 4 15^th into a long par 3 with a deep cavernous bunker to be avoided at all costs.

Kingston Heath enjoys the reputation of being the ultimate in strategic golf, largely due to the closing five holes that require pinpoint accuracy. Starting at the 14^th a challenging par 5, then the equally clever par 3, 15^th  with its cavernous bunker ready to swallow errant shots.

The 16^th is a potential card-wrecking dogleg par 4, followed by the blind tee shot at the 17^th and the closing long and punishing par 4 18^th.

“You must think your way around (Kingston Heath) you don’t just get up and whack it,” said Soren Kjeldsen the 2016 World Cup winner.

The course has hosted the Australian Open seven times to date with winners that include Greg Norman and Gary Player. Tiger Woods won the 2009 Australian Masters here. It has been announced as the host venue for the 2028 President’s Cup.

In 2021 the Club added ‘The Furrows,’ a short course by the firm of (Geoff) Ogilvy Cocking Mead (OCM). The 9-hole design, with holes ranging from 50m-140m, was inspired by using classic courses and Kingston Heath approach shots.

In addition to the two courses (East & West) at Royal Melbourne, its neighbors include Metropolitan, Victoria, Commonwealth, and Yarra Yarra – all highly regarded classics.