1998 Presidents Cup Routing Sequence
| Hole | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
out |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
in |
|
| Yards | 354 |
470 |
176 |
428 |
332 |
440 |
383 |
201 |
558 |
3342 |
480 |
148 |
305 |
455 |
476 |
439 |
433 |
429 |
432 |
3597 |
6939 |
| Hndcp | 17 |
15 |
9 |
5 |
11 |
3 |
12 |
4 |
14 |
18 |
13 |
16 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
8 |
7 |
|||
| Par | 4 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
36 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
36 |
72 |
Traditional Championship Routing Sequence
| Hole | 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
out |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
in |
|
| Yards | 424 |
480 |
333 |
440 |
176 |
428 |
148 |
305 |
440 |
3174 |
460 |
455 |
433 |
354 |
470 |
383 |
210 |
575 |
432 |
3772 |
6946 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 71 |
|
Corresponding President's Cup holes |
|||||||||||||||||||||
17 |
10 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
18 |
||||
Royal Melbourne: One of the great courses of Australia and the world, this composite Championship layout consists of mostly the West course, which was designed by the great Dr. Alister Mackenzie and the East Course designed by Mackenzie's partner, Alex Russell (hole #'s 5,6,7,8,9 and 18). Note that the President's Cup layout has the 2nd hole as a par 5, whereas the Championship course has the corresponding hole, the 14th, as a very difficult par 4. It is this writer's opinion that the Links Championship Edition version should have been the Traditional routing and par rather than the President's Cup routing. As it exists in that version the Front side plays way too easy and doesn't do justice to the true difficulty of this great test. Despite the change though, the course remains interesting to play and the Back side plays considerably more difficult finishing with 7 straight par 4's, with the last 6 being very long and difficult. The par-3, 11th has been changed from Mackenzie's original design. The original hole's green was more elevated and blind to the tee. In 1934 the head greens keeper, Claude Crockford reconstructed the hole and gave the green it's distinctive and deceptive slope from back to front. The 305 yard 12th is a classic short 2-shotter where big hitters are tempted to drive the green; a miss though, can bring on disaster. The character of this magnificent course is exemplified by Mackenzie's artful bunkering, in and around which, grasses are allowed to grow giving the land a natural and wild look. It also makes being in the sand the penalty it was intended to be.
For questions or comments please send e-mail to David.
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