EYNESBURY
AUSTRALIA’S NEWEST PUBLIC ACCESS COURSE HAS BEEN STRATEGICALLY DESIGNED TO ATTRACT GOLFERS, NOT PUNISH THEM. WORDS: BRENDAN JAMES

There has been a trend in recent years for developers and golf course designers to create new layouts that are more penal than strategic, according to world-renowned course designer Graham Marsh.

By making courses too “too difficult” it turns people away from the game, he added.

“There are as many people giving the game away as starting up the game in the United States,” Marsh said. “There were probably more golf courses closed in the US last year than were actually opened. The reason for this is we are pitching golf at a level that is just too difficult. They’re not the kind of golf course the average guy can go out on because it is totally penal.”

Marsh’s latest Australian creation, Eynesbury, is far from being penal. It is undoubtedly challenging for golfers of all standards but as a public access course it is designed to also be enjoyed by all.

“We are getting away from penal design,” Marsh said. “I am much more in favour of strategic design, where a guy has options, where he has got room, where has got a sporting chance to get around the golf course, have an experience and come off the golf course without being absolutely distraught and destroyed for the day. That is what the average guy wants to do and that is what this
game offers for the general public.

“Sadly design has led away from that which has also led to people saying, ‘I don’t have enough time to put myself through this much misery.’ And I think we need to take a very serious look at it.”

This is certainly one of the features of his Eynesbury course – the centrepiece of a massive residential development about 40km west of Melbourne’s CBD – despite the fact it measures a hefty 6,577 metres from the championship tees.

This length will certainly test the low handicap player. But it is important to note that each hole boasts four teeing grounds to present a less daunting version of the layout to players of all abilities. The blue markers (Homestead course, 6,329m) white (Woolshed course, 6,096m) and red (Woodhouse course, 5,650m)
offer shorter alternatives. The layout also features wide fairways and big greens that offer a vast range of pin position options.

“With Eynesbury, there was enough land to be able to vary some of the tee positions and also to offer some excellent safety margins from the real estate in terms of width of fairways,” Marsh said.

“For example the par-3 8th hole, there might be 50 metres or more between the left-hand tee and the right-hand tee, so you can really produce a golf strategy within a golf hole, a changing strategy within a single golf hole and that was all part of the design.

Marsh singled out the long par-4 18th, with its heritage-listed clubhouse in the background, as one of the most memorable holes at Eynesbury.

“It was our aim to produce a golf course that everybody could play, everybody could enjoy and we built enough flexibility into it to be able to cater for all parties and I think that this is what Eynesbury offers even in its early stages.”

When you first lay eyes on the course it is hard to imagine Marsh had any problems finding a good routing for the 18 holes given the amount of land set aside for the development.

But that was not the case.

“When you look at the site first up there is plenty of land but there are whole bunch of other factors that come into it, which in the industry we would call constraints,” Marsh said. “And if you were to go through them, one of them would have been the homestead because logically that is where the clubhouse had to be.

“Everything had to be routed around the clubhouse and the next thing of course was the heritage-listed buildings, which exist around the clubhouse.

“There was also the residential component that was necessary for the golf course, and the predicted method of sales of those residential golf lots, so that had an effect on the routing.”

Marsh said Eynesbury is certainly different to any of the other courses he has designed in Australia, which includes Terrey Hills in Sydney, Secret Harbour and The Vines in Western Australia as well as one of Melbourne’s other public access courses, Growling Frog.

“I have never tried to build a golf course that is based on anything other than what the land dictates to us and the specific needs of the owner or developer of the property,” he said. “If you take those two as your guiding factors and combine that with what you consider the arena in which golf should be played and who is going to play the golf course, I think you can always come up with a unique design, I don’t think there is anything on this golf course that I could relate to any of the other golf courses we have done in Australia either
in the past or currently.

A strategic plan from the tee is required to avoid trouble and better par on the par-4 2nd hole.

“Eynesbury is a completely different and unique design which stands on its own.”

Marsh, who has designed more than 30 courses worldwide, said he is not one for signature holes but feels every golfer who plays Eynesbury will certainly remember the long par-4 18th hole.

“When you are doing a golf course there are some golf holes which stand out more than others, either because of the natural surrounds they are in or because some of the spectacular visuals they offer,” Marsh said.

“The 18th hole – with the homestead in the background and all the beautiful old eucalypts around the clubhouse – might in time become the feature or the signature hole of the golf course.

“But by the same token I also believe there are many holes of quality or even better quality than the 18th hole that are just as exciting and as rewarding for the golfers to play.”

I agree.

I particularly like the short par-4s with the back-to-back 12th and 13th holes being memorable. On most days at Eynesbury, the wind either comes from a northerly or southerly direction, which is significant when
playing these two par-4s as they run parallel to each other, with the 12th heading south and the 13th north. So, for example, when the wind is favouring from the north, the 348-metre 12th becomes nothing more than an aggressive drive and short pitch, while the 312-metre 13th, with a creek cutting across the fairway near the green, becomes a tougher offering with its postage stamp green being harder to hit from further back
down the fairway.

I really liked Eynesbury. On most holes there were at least two avenues from tee to green, which made you come up with a plan for each hole as you stood on the tee. This made the experience far more memorable than playing a course where you felt you had to bludgeon every drive to be in with a chance of making par.

The short par-4 17th provides plenty of drama on and around the green with deep bunkers and steep tiers ready to defend par.

FACT FILE
LENGTH: 6,577 metres (black tees), 6,329 (blue), 6,096 (white), 5,650 (red).
PAR: 72, 73 (red tees). ACR: N/A.
DESIGNER: Graham Marsh.
CORPORATE DAYS?: Yes.
MEMBERSHIP?: No. Public access course only.
GREEN FEE: $45. Carts $30. Eynesbury has a public access pass which can provide discounts for regular players.
ADDRESS: Eynesbury Rd, Eynesbury, Victoria.
PHONE: 1300 396 372
WEB: www.eynesbury.com.au
GETTING THERE: Take the Western Hwy from Melbourne,
and turn left in Hopkins Rd, west of Deer Park, before turning right into Greigs Rd. Follow the signs to
Eynesbury Rd turn off.

For more on Eynesbury please purchase a copy of Golf Australia November issue or visit www.eynesbury.com.au

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