Photos by Gary Lisbon
Royal Canberra
Royal Canberra was a charming course made so by its undulations, the trees, the view of neighbouring Lake Burley Griffin and a number of handsome holes but by 2014 the club had realised that they needed to start thinking about making some alterations.
One of the key drivers was agronomic. The greens drained poorly with both the sub-surface drainage and the surface drainage being quite ineffective. The latter resulted in water commonly pooling on the greens after big storms. The tees were small and prone to wear and the bunkers both drained poorly and with particularly unattractive clay faces.
Some suggested it was “Australia’s Augusta” but it bore little resemblance to Mackenzie’s Georgian Masterpiece aside from some hills and a few holes bordered by pine trees.
The course opened to a new ranking of #20 in the country after the OCCM redesign, establishing itself amongst the best in the country. OCM continue to consult to the club and are assisting with refinements in order to continue to improve the facility.
Project
Royal Canberra Golf Club
Location
Yarralumla, ACT, Australia
Rankings
#25 in Australia (2020 Golf Australia Magazine)
Details
18-hole course redesign
2014 to 2015 Course construction
Ongoing consultation
