The best long two-shotters test a player’s ability to execute a pair of classy long shots. At the same time, they show off interesting strategies most often built around a green benefiting a shot played from a particular part of the fairway.
KINGSTON HEATH GC
421-metre, 17th hole
There is little room to the right off the tee, but this is the best side from which to approach the green. The putting surface is high in the front and runs away with a slight tilt from back to front.
METROPOLITAN GC
430-metre, 1st hole
The hole turns a little from right-to-left around two deep fairway bunkers on the left side of the driving area. Another huge bunker guards the right edge of the green and when the flag is tucked close to this bunker a drive to the left side of the fairway is rewarded with a clear line of sight to the flag.
METROPOLITAN GC
418-metre, 10th hole
A dogleg to the left that perfectly suits a right-to-left shaped drive to a fairway that is seemingly wider in recent years after some scrub and trees were cleared out from the right side of the hole. The two-tiered green is quite large and the close-cut greenside bunkers can catch even slight mis-hits.
PENINSULA KINGSWOOD CGC – NORTH COURSE
445-metre, 10th hole
A testing brute where a fairway bunker lies in wait for the drive misfired to the right. The green is set slightly above the fairway and it demands a well-played long second to find the target. The deepest bunker on the course cuts into the left edge of the green and large but shallower bunker stretches along the right side of the green.
PENINSULA KINGSWOOD CGC – SOUTH COURSE
378-metre, 1st hole
The OCCM redesign altered the stream here and created a strategic golfing gem. From the tips, play short of the water into the wide fairway, where the ideal position is dependent on the position of the flag. If the flag is right, near the stream, the best line is from the left.
PORT FAIRY GL
408-metre, 14th hole
One of the highlights of any round at Port Fairy is playing the 14th hole. The fairway rises gradually in front of you to present a blind tee shot with the only real guide being the huge scrub covered sand dune to the right of the fairway, which is best avoided as its out-of-bounds. From the crest of the hill the view down to the bunkerless green, with the Southern Ocean backdrop, is simply beautiful.
ROYAL MELBOURNE GC – EAST COURSE
402-metre, 2nd hole
For a course that is renowned for its width, the 2nd is a narrow driving hole, where the right half of the dogleg is obscured from view as you stand on the tee, The uphill second shot is a steep one to a long and narrow two-tiered green. There are no fairway bunkers to contend with, but there are seven bunkers within earshot of the putting surface.
ROYAL MELBOURNE GC – EAST COURSE
395-metre, 18th hole
Not a brutally long hole but in some wind conditions, even big hitters will need a long approach. The green is surrounded by sand with some rough in front. A visually stunning green and surrounds: huge sweeping bunkers with clumps of tall native grasses ready to swallow balls forever. To even out the challenge, Alister MacKenzie gave us a huge green to aim at.
ROYAL MELBOURNE GC – WEST COURSE
391-metre, 6th hole
A great example of Alister MacKenzie’s doctrine of affording players of all levels an opportunity to enjoy golf. The better player may flirt with the fairway bunkers on the right that guard the shorter and easier angle of approach to the green, while average players can aim left of centre and make their way to the green in a leisurely – and stress-free – manner. The green is a puzzle that, like most puzzles, is best worked out with patience and caution, lest you lose your way altogether. One of the great holes in world golf.
ROYAL MELBOURNE GC – WEST COURSE
401-metre, 17th hole
The perfect dogleg left with the bunker guarding the inside corner of the dogleg and the green set on a diagonal guarded by a deep bunker on the right. The strategy is simple; but it is perfectly implemented on a perfect piece of land. This is the hole Ernie Els bogied in his first round 60 in the 2004 Heineken Classic.
ROYAL MELBOURNE GC – WEST COURSE
396-metre, 18th hole
What a strong closer. The tee shot is a blind one but the best driving line on this dogleg right is marked by the bunker carved out of the crest of the hill.
Longer hitters can fire over the sand; those hugging the line of rough down the right inevitably finish closer to green than those driving safely down the left. The fairway cambers hard from right-to-left, almost guaranteeing a lie above your feet (for right-handers) for the second shot.
SANCTUARY LAKES GC
414-metre, 18th hole
Unusually for a Greg Norman-Bob Harrison design, the closing hole is devoid of fairway bunkers and the only concern is a lake left. This allows you to have a rip at your drive and get as far down the fairway as possible, to set up your approach into the undulating island green.
ST ANDREWS BEACH
405-metre, 3rd hole
If you’re a shorter hitter, a drive to the left of the fairway will provide a view to the green. Longer hitters have the luxury of taking on the corner of the dogleg right. Whatever line you take, the approach shot is a beauty with a narrow chute framed by native tea tree and fescue grasses opening up to a semi-punchbowl green with generous run-off areas.
ST ANDREWS BEACH
404-metre, 18th hole
A fantastic closer from the creative mind of Tom Doak. The right of the fairway, beyond the large bunker scheme, will offer more roll on the drive and put a short iron in hand, while the left side presents an approach that works best with the contours of the green.
SORRENTO GC
414-metre, 8th hole
This right-to-left hole is all about the drive and answering the questions asked by the three staggered fairway bunkers on the inside of the dogleg. Drive as close as possible to them to leave the shortest shot into a receptive green.
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