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View Full Version : Royal Sydney - Who has played it?



Jono
26th January 2007, 05:30 PM
And for those of you that have played it, how do you rate it?

Speirsy11
26th January 2007, 07:47 PM
I love it. I've played it about 20 times and have enjoyed it each time. The par 4's are strong, especially for an amateur, with #4 being one of the hardest holes in Australia. The back nine is a great test, and holes 3-6 are great too. If anything the par 5's are a little weak, 2 and 7 are very reachable, even from the tips and 13 and 16 are reachable with good drives........

#17 I rate as one of the 5 most difficult par 3's I've ever played........

The greens are a great challenge, lots of swales without being rediculous and the bunkering is magnificent..........Plus you can compare how you go to where the big boys hit it at the Aussie Open ;)

Royal Sydney is likely my 3rd favorite course in Sydney behind NSW and The Aussie...........Worth the $57.50 if you can get an invite......

Grunt
26th January 2007, 07:50 PM
Will go down as one of the courses that Grunt never gets to play:(

Jono
26th January 2007, 08:11 PM
The greens are a great challenge, lots of swales without being rediculous and the bunkering is magnificent

Agreed. I love the green contours ... Something that I'm not used to, so it is challenging, but it's not too extreme like say Pacific Harbour.

What do you think of the short par 4 ... I think it was the 8th? Nothing hole from the tee (you can probably reach it with a 3 wood), but when you get near the green, you realise how tough it is. I went through the green, ended up in the hollow behind the green, and made an easy 6.

Andrew
26th January 2007, 09:18 PM
I played it 2 weeks ago & was fortunate enough to spend a couple of hours over lunch chatting with the superintendent. I was interested in the fact that they used all local soil (gain from a building site near by, being developed by John Hewson) sieved to a consistent size. It makes the new work play like it has been there for years.

As Golfer 69 could attest to, John (the superintendent) is a nice guy who knows what he is doing, hence the course is in lovely condition.

Interesting point: I played with a husband & wife from Royal Wellington & she was saying that it’s an enjoyable course from a woman’s perspective, because you can mostly, weave your way around the bunkers.

As I said on the Golf Club Atlas forum, I like some of the new ideas, like the shared bunkers at 3/15 & 6/9.

I was going to do a pictorial review for here, but the review section is still not working.

Andrew
26th January 2007, 10:01 PM
John Odell is a top bloke and highly respected in his field, and I can't fathom the pressure he is under to produce a magnificent playing surface for his members and the odd world class tournament. The condition of the entire course last week was the best I had ever encountered. I'm sure the fact that the womens open next week was a factor but it remains very high all year round.


I'm sure he is under pressure, but he doesn't show it.

His views on 'the advising architect to the Open' are interesting as well.

Rich, I really think the course is better than before the work & you guys should be proud of what you have achieved.

Moe Norman
26th January 2007, 10:32 PM
I played it a few times prior to the changes and enjoyed it, if Andrew thinks the changes are good ones I'll take his word for it as I seem to have similar tastes.

As dicky said, the problem with the course is that it has long been overrated. Now its beginning to err on the side of being underrated!

Truthfully it probably squeezes in amongst the best 20-30 courses in the country and I'd happily have a regular Saturday tee time there.

pt73
27th January 2007, 01:11 PM
Have played there lots both before and after the changes as my best mate is a member, last time was the Friday before Xmas 06 and the volunteers from the Open were playing so they set the course up with the last round pin positions. I still can't fathom how Senden got it so close on 17 & 18.

It's a super course that IMO tests every facet of your game.


PT

Jono
27th January 2007, 03:21 PM
PT, I'm jealous ... :lol:

How do you play the 8th? It's reachable but looking at the green (and surrounds), it's probably best to lay up short and have a full wedge in?

pt73
27th January 2007, 05:06 PM
It's a super little hole and from my experience one concept shunned by some course architects, the good short hole with lots of risk/reward.

Last time I hit driver and finsihed pin high left which made it easy as I could just chip down the green but in the past I have layed up and tried to get a wedge to land/stop on the green. From memory only ever made 1 birdie there.

My mate hits driver every time so I guess there's some method in his strategy/madness but if you go over the green like you did, best of luck. Been there done that too.

PT

pt73
27th January 2007, 05:52 PM
And the wind, when I played there before Xmas the greens were still rock hard.

Webster
27th January 2007, 06:10 PM
Senden got a lucky bounce.

pt73
27th January 2007, 06:18 PM
True on 17 but his shot on 18 was pure class.

AndyP
18th February 2007, 09:28 PM
I was going to do a pictorial review for here, but the review section is still not working.
Any chance we could still get this, Andrew?

Andrew
18th February 2007, 09:55 PM
Any chance we could still get this, Andrew?

Yes. I only noticed yesterday that it was working again.

I've just got to put pictures & text together in a beautiful concoction of meticulous syntax & anecdotal imagery.

I'm busy over the next week, but will try to post it soon.

marcel
18th February 2007, 10:00 PM
I've just got to put pictures & text together in a beautiful concoction of meticulous syntax & anecdotal imagery.



No, really.........just like your others will be fine.

Andrew
18th February 2007, 10:20 PM
No, really.........just like your others will be fine.

That's the 2nd time in the last 7 days a post of yours has made me laugh out loud.....

.....Which just makes my wife think I'm losing it.

Moe Norman
19th February 2007, 07:43 AM
yes,

I've discovered that laughing at the computer is a good recipe for having a wife think you're nuts.

AndyP
28th February 2007, 01:25 PM
Andrew has now supplied his review of Royal Sydney in the Reviews area. Thanks.

http://www.ozgolf.net/modules.php?name=Reviews&file=viewcategory&cid=2

BrisVegas has also moved his Barny Dunes review in there, in case you haven't read it before.