RM dethroned by a public course

[Chilled]

Well well, RM will be seething at this, kicked off No 1 spot, and whats more, by a public golf course. How dare those public courses think they are better than the fine and prestigious private club RM. How can a public course be better than a course with "Royal" in it's name? Unpossible!! Those filthy dirty public course people, this is a bloody outrage I tell ya!

I kid with a high degree of sarcasm, I think some of our public courses don't get the recognition they deserve and probably more should be entering the top 20 where some private courses probably shouldn't be. Well done to Cape Wickham.

Cape Wickham on King Island knocks off Royal Melbourne as Australia’s No.1 course

https://www.news.com.au/sport/golf/c...655a27d48b5fa2

A public course less than 10 years old has dethroned Royal Melbourne as the top golf course in Australia for just the second time in 40 years.

Cape Wickham, on Tasmania’s King Island, has taken the coveted No.1 crown and joins Kingston Heath as the only two courses to topple Royal Melbourne in the four decades of Australian Golf Digest’s list.

The Grange in Adelaide, the site of this week’s LIV event, came in 42nd, with five Victorian courses making up half the top 10.

Considered the ultimate course rankings list, the biennial results come after a detailed analysis that measures the nation’s best courses against a key set of criteria.

For this year’s list, the number of judges was doubled as well as the number of courses reviewed.

Despite maintaining its position as one of the most elite courses not just in Australia but the world, Royal Melbourne’s west layout was dumped to No.2 behind Cape Wickham.

“This result will shock plenty, but it should be understood that iconic Royal Melbourne (West) has not lost ground – it’s as good as ever – it’s just that it’s been outpointed on our measurement criteria by the stunning Cape Wickham,” Australian Golf Digest Top 100 editor Steve Keipert said.

“And it’s also worth noting that we rate Royal Melbourne on its two established layouts East and West. The composite layout that most of us see for the big sporting events is a cherrypicked blend of both courses and not a real day-to-day golf course. As a result, the composite version doesn’t get reviewed; otherwise it would likely be untouchable, so there’s a lot to consider.”

While five Victorian courses made the top 10, including both of Royal Melbourne’s East and West courses, Tasmania boasted three – Barnbougle Dunes and Barnbougle Lost Farm holding their places with Cape Wickham among the best.

[Ron Burgundy]

CW is pretty nice, but golf digest are smoking crack if they really think it’s better than RMW. This can only be a manufactured outcome to generate clicks for a dying publication.

[WBennett]

Loving the controversial takes from overseas. NLU had CW behind Ocean Dunes

CW gave me my favourite ever day on a golf course. At its best its bonkers good.

[Ron Burgundy]

TBH I’m just waiting for Hoges to see this thread.

[AndyP]

TBH I’m just waiting for Hoges to see this thread.

He'll be furious that it's not Ocean Dunes at #1.

[Yossarian]

Cape Wickham has Bradbury'd it.

[petethepilot]

I agree with Ron B. Australian Golf Digest raters are known as ‘the Burger Kings’!
Pay for advertising, have a good burger and you get a good rating.
I just had 3 days at RM including playing the composite and it is #1 in the country. Daylight second!

[petethepilot]

Considered the ultimate course rankings list, the biennial results come after a detailed analysis that measures the nation’s best courses against a key set of criteria.

For this year’s list, the number of judges was doubled as well as the number of

Complete rubbish.
They are judging their own rankings list as being the most accurate.
Doubled the number of numpties judging!

[3Puttpete]

At worst, CW knocks off Kingston Heath at number 2

[petethepilot]

RMW is way better than KH….and I am biased towards the latter.

[3Puttpete]

RMW is way better than KH….and I am biased towards the latter.

I understand these things are subjective and KH was excellent but I didn’t see the wow I expected.

[SundayHack]

I understand these things are subjective and KH was excellent but I didn’t see the wow I expected.

Courty would have seen the wow playing with us. Wow is subjective as well.

[petethepilot]

I posted this on another site. It encapsulates my thoughts on RMW verses CW. Btw, I used to be a AGD rater but chose to stop contributing!

Some random RM thoughts.

I have just finished participating in the RM Invitational. 31 clubs from throughout the world got invo’s including little RH (thank you Ben J….or maybe the membership is looking at the impending 7mb opening). Played with wonderful golfers from Royal Cinque Ports, Royal Portrush, Royal Adelaide, RM and a guy who was a member of KH, Oakmont, Royal Dornoch, Tara Iti, Cathedral Lodge ….and the USGA! We got to play RME, RMW and the original Composite course over the 3 days.

RM really turned it on. Great welcome, service, food, organisation and weather (except the odd melbourne autumn shower wednesday). The course was ‘SET UP’ in a challenging way. Sunday pins, very firm fast greens. I was the only player who didn’t putt off RME#11 green (because I was last and so scared I barely moved the ball). One guy had 2 attempts to get on the green from the left with a putter, got it on and then promptly putted it off, further away than from where he started. RMW#6 had the Ernie Els pin position in play. Almost impossible!

How this isn’t universally recognised as the greatest course in Australia is absolutely beyond me. I am not sure if it is ignorance or jealousy or misguided (in my opinion) values as to what makes golf courses good verses great? Everything about the complex is grand. Huge rolling contours, enormous greens that pitch and roll like a sea in a storm, vast fairways, bunkers that resemble a big white/grey beach and finally vast swathes of close cut grass. All of Mackenzie’s tenets are in play. Wide fairways that give the dub a chance whilst requiring nerve and accuracy to access the prime positions near vast threatening hazards! Poor or careless driving won’t get immediately punished but will defer the player’s punishment till later in the hole (unless he swallows his pride and plays conservatively to a shorter position from the green but at a better angle). Plenty of opportunities for the heroic shot. Massive fun! The greens require a knowledge and touch beyond the casual visitor. I class my self as a good putter but half the time my approach putts would finish 10’ plus from the hole.

It still has a couple of small hiccups. The 3 grass policy is improving but still slightly inconsistent in ground game roll. The speed of the greens for us was obviously excessive! How a group can play quickly around here is beyond me. Surely these green speeds were never contemplated by Dr Mac or Alex Russell. Happy for the firmness but I would be a nervous wreck as a member after a few short weeks.
The vista’s opened up in recent years (RME#2 to RMW#6 in particular) are breathtaking! I think KH is an amazing course…and a wonderful club but this place is a level above!

Cape Wickham #1 is just ridiculous!

[petethepilot]

Well well, RM will be seething at this, kicked off No 1 spot, and whats more, by a public golf course. How dare those public courses think they are better than the fine and prestigious private club RM. How can a public course be better than a course with "Royal" in it's name? Unpossible!! Those filthy dirty public course people, this is a bloody outrage I tell ya!

I kid with a high degree of sarcasm, I think some of our public courses don't get the recognition they deserve and probably more should be entering the top 20 where some private courses probably shouldn't be. Well done to Cape Wickham.

Cape Wickham on King Island knocks off Royal Melbourne as Australia’s No.1 course

https://www.news.com.au/sport/golf/c...655a27d48b5fa2

Chilled, The Old Course in St Andrews is a public course. You can picnic on it on any Sunday (except when the Open is in town). It is universally classed as in the top ten in the world. The same judges/raters that have RMW in the top 10. Doesn’t matter if u are a private club or a town/public course! Btw, these raters don’t have a similar opinion of CW to the boys from AGD.

[LeftyHoges]

All hail Australian Golf Digest, our all-knowing wonderful overlords.

Congrats on your well-deserved #1 ranking CW, about time a course from outside the top 10 in the world jumped up and grabbed our number 1 spot, a win for the little guys!!!

[Johnny Canuck]

I understand these things are subjective and KH was excellent but I didn’t see the wow I expected.

I can understand the wow comment as it doesn’t have crazy elevation changes or things of that nature

From a playability standpoint, it is the best course that I’ve played. I’d love another 10 goes at it to really learn the best way to play some of those holes and some of the nuances of the track.

[Sydney Hacker]

Disclaimer #1 – I am on the AGD Panel
Disclaimer #2 – I had RMW #1 in my rankings, of the courses I rated I also didn’t have CW at #2…

Some of the big differences in the ratings from both Aussie mags can be attributed to different ranking criteria. However, comments/views that has Ocean Dunes higher than CW are in my eyes ridiculous (that’s the thing where some criteria is subjective you know opinions, arseholes and everyone having one…).

I do find some of the comments funny in respect to the list and the panel funny, there has also been conversation about how the Golf Australia panel could possibly have seen some of the courses that were included in their panel given their much smaller numbers. The reference to CW not being in the world top 100 garnered a lot of discussion/criticism at the time to that particular list and was largely put down to it’s location, the wind, and not a lot of people on that list getting the chance to see it.

I will however agree that there are some on the AGD panel who have some pretty left field views… I swapped a couple of messages with Pete about one example, but I won’t go into too much detail about that in a public forum. There is also the chance that people use the panel to be access whores to better courses and that is a valid comment also, one I may well be guilty of, but I don’t factor that in when doing my ratings.

My last comment would be, we are also rating a course on how we find it on the day we play/see it. CW when I played it had a 1 club breeze, was in great condition and was some of the most fun golf I have played in years. RMW had the luxury (or at least I had the luxury of) of being played a number of times in the 2-year cycle, which only enhances it in my eyes.

Quick addition, I misread the quote about CW not being in the world top 10 for world top 100 which is the conversation I was referring too.