Just as the grand scale of Royal Melbourne is comparable to
Pine
Valley, Kingston Heath is
very similar to Merion East as their respective continents’ finest examples of
architecture on a small acreage. Confined to just 125 acres on a fairly flat
piece of ground, Kingston Heath nevertheless is clearly Melbourne’s second-best
course, and one of the top 30 or 40 in the world.
The routing plan is so intricate that you suspect you’ll have
to play a hole twice somewhere to get out of a tight corner, yet the plantings
of ti-trees and dense shrubs prevent any sudden attack of agoraphobia and double
as an excellent background for the intricate bunkering that really sets this
course apart. Only the stupendous short 15th is a MacKenzie green, but others
were modified by the longtime curator, Graeme Grant, adding much character in
the process.
Rating: 9 (August 2003)
