Top-100 Spotlight: St Andrews Beach

His designs, recognised for their strategic depth, natural aesthetics, and environmental sensitivity, have created a lasting legacy in the game.

Doak’s architectural philosophy is rooted in a profound respect for the sport’s history and the landscapes he works with. He draws inspiration from golden age designers such as Alister MacKenzie and C.B. MacDonald while embodying an innovative approach that resonates with modern golfers.

An ardent advocate of ‘minimalist’ design, Doak firmly believes in less being more. His courses embody the concept of naturalism, aiming to sit lightly on the land, capitalising on existing topographical features, rather than resorting to excessive earthmoving.

Cape Kidnappers on New Zealand’s North Island and Tasmania’s Barnbougle Dunes are prime examples, where he masterfully integrated his designs into the dramatic landscape.

Another key tenet of Doak’s philosophy is strategic playability. His courses frequently offer multiple routes to the hole, engaging players of all levels with a rich variety of shot options. Strategic bunkering, intelligent green placements, and innovative use of natural hazards compel golfers to think carefully about each shot. And that’s what you will find at St Andrews Beach in the heart of rich golfing country on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

It was here that Doak devised a layout with risk-reward options that tests the player’s decision-making and rewards thoughtful play. It is a layout that is very playable and fun for golfers of all standards, which is a common thread of all Doak designs.

For the better player, the key is in the playing lines from the tees and the angles those lines subsequently leave into the greens. Some holes are wide open and exposed; others funnel between dunes or between stands of untouched vegetation. The bunkering is wild and rugged, while the green complexes gather or repel a bouncing approach shot depending on the line of attack.

“The land at St Andrews Beach was so good for designing a golf course that it became difficult to decide which holes we couldn’t build,” Doak told Golf Australia magazine in an interview years after the course opening in 2005.

“In some cases, we just had to find the right spot to put a green, locate the nearest high point near that green to put the next tee and the following hole would present itself.

“I can’t help but feel that Alister MacKenzie would be mad that he never got the chance to design a course on land this good.”

The par-3 4th hole is the first in an impressive collection of cool one-shotters. PHOTO: Brendan James.

Doak is renowned as a minimalist designer so it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the transformation of St Andrews Beach, from a series of degraded paddocks into a highly ranked golf course, was apparently an easy one.

“While we recognise that not every site lends itself to a minimalist approach, our favourite projects are those, like St Andrews Beach, where we can find natural holes just lying on the ground, requiring minimal disturbance to build,” Doak said.

“Of all the projects we have built so far, St Andrews Beach required the least artificial work; other than softening greens contours and digging bunkers, only thr

ee holes required any earthmoving at all.”

Doak’s old-school design philosophy where you simply tweak Mother Nature’s handiwork has given rise to some outstanding holes at St Andrews Beach, and an overall course that has not been built to meet any “modern standard”. It is a par-70 and stretches to a relatively short, by today’s lengths, of just 6,074 metres.

 For Doak, if the land accommodates a 270-metre par-4, that’s what goes on the scorecard. He won’t bulldoze a sand dune to add another 100 metres.

“When I was visiting all the courses that ended up in my book (The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses), I realised that all the great courses – St Andrews, Royal Melbourne West, Kingston Heath, Cypress Point – have at least one good short par-4,” he said.

“This is what separates the cream from the crop, and I try to keep these short holes in my designs.”

The best short par-4 at St Andrews Beach comes early in the round. From an elevated tee, the 279-metre 2nd hole doesn’t hold any secrets. There is high risk-and-reward for taking on the bunkers that cut into the right side of the fairway as it climbs toward the green from the valley in front of the tee. Clear the traps and your drive could finish on the green as the land contour beyond the sand feeds balls onto the putting surface. A scheme of wasteland bunkers and a high sand dune flank the left edge of the fairway.

One of the most spectacular holes on the course is the 169-metre par-3 6th. Depending on the direction of the breeze, you may need a mid- or long-iron to reach the elevated putting surface that lies between thickets of tea-tree in a natural bowl and is protected by bunkers carved out of the mountainous sand dune short of the green.

The St Andrews Beach layout also highlights Doak’s readiness to tuck a green behind some dunes or find a plateau at the end of a fairway if the land allows that.

Balls falling short on the long par-4 12th will bounce hard right and into trouble. PHOTO: Brendan James.

“The worst thing a designer can do is over design,” he said. “There were natural green sites available on this land, so we used them. Sometimes that meant leaving a small green beyond some banks or in a natural amphitheatre.”

The second of the short par-4s – the 276-metre 14th – is one such hole. The tiny green – by modern standards, sits at the end of a wide, split level fairway – is surrounded on three sides by dunes. The right side of the putting surface features a steep drop off, which can repel a miss-hit nearly 15 metres down a hill into high, wispy rough. This is a wonderful hole that can be played three or four different ways and all result in the same score.

You won’t find this hole, or any of the other 17 holes, anywhere else on the Peninsula or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

St Andrews Beach has a significant presence within Doak’s portfolio of design work around the globe and certainly earned him a seat at the table alongside the best course designers of his generation

FACT FILE

LOCATION: Sandy Rd, St Andrews Beach, Victoria

CONTACT: (03) 5988 6000