Rosapenna Golf Links, County Donegal, Ireland. A watercolor painting in 3D before your eyes.

Wow Richard, your pick is going to be hard to beat! Many thanks! Described as "staggering in it's beauty, endearing in its Naturalness."

website: www.rosapennagolflinks.ie

Artful, I had the pleasure of having a hit around Royal Melbourne considered to be Dr Alister MacKenzie’s masterpiece and constantly ranked among the top 10 golf courses in the world, also home of the 1998 Presidents Cup.
Volumes have been written on the qualities of the West course but put simply it’s a combination of the greatest land, greatest design and greatest construction ever seen in this country which makes it so special. As local designer Michael Clayton says ‘it is one of only two man-made things in Australia of world-wide significance.’

The site remains one of the finest ever found in world golf, full of dramatic undulation, its fertile sandy soil and natural rugged appearance was a gift from the golfing gods. The timeless strategy of Dr Alister MacKenzie design is as profound as it is simplistic and based around wide fairways that are playable to the average man yet demand the best players drive the ball into the corners to get close to the flags. When the greens are at their fearsome best this is not an easy thing to do.

The greens are simply brilliant and for decades have consistently provided the finest putting surfaces in Australia. Large and beautifully contoured they are built to accommodate approaches from a number of angles with each progressively more difficult the further the tee shot strays from the perfect line.

Individually there are at least ten outstanding holes, including six undeniably world class like the all-carry par three 5th with its awesome bunkering and slippery raised green pressed against a magnificent scrub covered dune. When MacKenzie first saw this inspired setting he enthusiastically declared that they should be able to make one of the best golf holes in existence.
The 6th hole is also remarkable and has become a textbook par four, highlighting all that is challenging and fair about the designer’s commandments of golf architecture. Its grand sweeping fairway, tantalising corner bunkers and superb green setting are as playable to the first timer as they are thrilling to the professional. For many, this is golf’s best par four.

There are plenty of other standouts including the driveable 10th hole, with its teasing target perched beyond the largest and deepest sand hazard in the country, and the breathtaking greenside bunkering at the 17th. The final hole is also famous with a thrilling tee shot played across a steep sandy ridge to a blind dipping fairway.

Gene Sarazen said it best many years ago when he famously quipped ‘it burns me up that with the billions of dollars spent on course construction in the past fifty years, all the architects together haven’t been able to build another Royal Melbourne’.

It is certainly hard to imagine that the game of golf gets any better than Royal Melbourne West. From purist to mug punter and professional alike it remains the absolute embodiment of golfing perfection, if indeed such a thing exists.

http://www.royalmelbourne.com.au

If your ever down Melbourne way it is well worth checking out 4 golf courses ranked in the World Top 100 Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Commonwealth and Victoria in the Melbourne sand belt region all within 15 minutes of each other.

Thanks Andrew... what a review! I just watched "The Wandering Golfer" on the Fine Living network this week and they were highlighting golf in Melbourne! I'm sold! I was fortunate enough to take a trip to New Zealand many years ago (before I played golf), but haven't been to Australia yet.

Try the golf course in Brookings Oregon - one of the most beautiful and unique courses in Oregon.

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