Course Opened: 1925
Personal Ranking: 5
In Brief: Never yet have I advised upon a course where, owing to the excellence of design and construction work, the problems have been so simple.’ Dr Alister MacKenzie on Kingston Heath
Designed by Dan Soutar and built by Royal Melbourne greenkeeper Mick Morcum, Kingston Heath was Australia's longest course recorded when opened in 1925. Famed golf course architect, Dr Alister MacKenzie, expressed concern about it's length. The Club's first Captain, Dutton Green, convinced the Committee to not make any changes, stating "if proven wrong it will be easier to shorten than lengthen the course." MacKenzie later designed what is now regarded as one of the greatest bunkering sytem in world golf and converted the 15th hole from a blind par four to an uphill par three (pictured below).
Although on a small parcel of land by today's standard, you would never know it when golfing at Kingston Heath. The gently undulating topography provides a relatively easy and enjoyable walk - one of the great things about golf.
"With the exception of dense tea-tree and heavy undergrowth that was badly burnt out following a major wild fire in 1944, the natural process of the course’s evolution has gone relatively smoothly. Some overplanting problems have been corrected and the vast areas of low growing Heath grasses, which give the course its unique character, are now thriving after a recent restoration. Aside from brilliant bunkering, wonderful greens and incredible construction, the Heath’s charm lies in the use of these native grasses and the manner in which the holes and hazards seamlessly integrate into the surrounding vegetation."
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