Moore Park has also ‘filled out’ with many of the trees planted by Apperly in the late ’40s now towering over several fairways. Addtional trees planted in the ’90s have helped to block the sight of city buildings, which has added to the oasis feel of Moore Park.

Moore Park is not a long course (5,791 metres from the blue markers) and the fairways are generally wide enough to entice players to hit their driver at every opportunity. The greens, too, are generously large but they are also full of slopes making long putting and chipping a real challenge.

My favourite hole has always been the 363-metre par-4 8th hole. This is one hole that hasn’t changed  much over the years (with the exception of a new green and surrounds) and has always demanded two really good shots to make par. Large trees, with wide-reaching branches, line both sides of the fairway, while out-of-bounds is just beyond the trees down the left side. There are few, if any, truly flat lies in this fairway as ripples in the ground turn into swales and hollows as the fairway climbs toward the relatively new green that has been pushed back from the site of the previous putting surface. The 8th green sits perched atop the hill and is angled diagonally to the right with bunkers guarding the right edge. What used to be a long and demanding second shot here is now a longer and even more difficult shot but a great challenge.

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