11 of Our Favourite Par 3’s in Australia

By Quantum, March 22

1. Royal Melbourne (West) – 5th Hole12 of 13

Royal Melbourne GC (West) 5th – Melbourne, Victoria.

Much has been written about the famous 5th hole on the West Course at Royal Melbourne but who better to sum it up then Australian golfing legend Peter Thomson:

“The view from the tee is inspiring, but even for the best of players the scoring possibilities lie between one and six. The green, of admirable proportion and shape, has a decided tilt from back to front and given the usual glassy speed of all Royal Melbourne greens, putting from far off can be very testing indeed, particularly downhill.

Three and even four putts are common for the careless or over exuberant. To miss the target with the tee shot is to compound the woes. Altogether the hole is an outstanding piece of architecture.”

– Taken from the book “Peter Thomson’s Classic Golf Holes of Australia.

If that isn’t enough then how about this blessing from the the much celebrated designer of Royal Melbourne, Dr Alister Mackenzie – “I think, (the hole is) the best example of artificial work I have ever seen on any golf course, and will certainly be better than any short hole south of the Equator.”

Aside from Royal Melbourne he also designed Augusta National and Cypress Point in the USA. Dr. Mackenzie had seen a good hole or two in his time so we’re not going to argue with him…

Image credit to The Global Golfer Blogspot.