This week’s Australian Open included both the men’s and women’s championships, plus the Australian All Abilities Championship all played at two of the Melbourne Sandbelt’s finest courses, Victoria and Kingston Heath.

Golf tournaments of any significance are extraordinarily tough to manage.

Ensuring the players are happy, sponsors get value for their investment and the fans have a great experience and want to return is a tough assignment, even with a singular focus.

It is often a logistical minefield, yet much is overcome – on and off the course – by getting the one-percenters right.

So it should come as no surprise with three concurrent events over two courses with large galleries all week that there were some problems.

Did Golf Australia bite off more than it could chew? Probably, but at a superficial level the attempt appears fine.

But the one-percenters just didn’t seem to matter.

Obvious things, common at most tournaments around the world, were either simply overlooked or seemingly deemed not important enough to warrant any further investment, which might affect Golf Australia’s bottom line.

For example, a courtesy car was not booked to pick up 54-hole leader and overwhelming local favourite Adam Scott from his city hotel to take him to Victoria Golf Club for the final round. He still made it to the course in time, but it’s the one-percenters…

This was far from ideal “player relations” from the tournament host who earlier in the week refused Scott’s request for four passes, allowing his guests clubhouse access. Similar requests from marquee players including Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Minjee Lee and Min Woo Lee – all of whom haven’t played in Melbourne for years and were looking to host close family and friends during the Open – were also refused.

Whether extending this hospitality might prove a sticking point in future negotiations with such drawcard players remains to be seen, but this dropped one-percenter definitely didn’t leave a great taste in said mouths.

But that’s not all.

Former champion Jiyai Shin was refused entry to a shuttle bus when trying to get to Victoria Golf Club. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Former Women’s Australian Open champ Jiyai Shin was unable to get a courtesy car back to Victoria GC after her opening round at Kingston Heath on Thursday morning. She instead tried to board one of the public shuttle buses running the 5km route back and forth between the courses for the opening two rounds. She was refused entry on to the bus because she had her clubs in tow.

The following morning, there was a mass exodus from Kingston Heath after the completion of Cam Smith’s second round as fans tried to race back to Victoria GC to watch the marquee afternoon groups. There weren’t enough buses to accommodate the throng and long delays were experienced.

That might have been more than one per cent.

Still at Kingston Heath, there were complaints from fans and players about the lack of leaderboards. There was one leaderboard behind the 15th green and only a handful of marquee groups had accompanying scorers walking with a group scoreboard.

After the 36-hole cut, more than 150 players were sent out in the third round and, not surprisingly, pace of play became the issue de jour.

Lucas Herbert wasn’t the only frustrated player, but he was the only one to vent publicly.

"I think 77 girls or something made the cut with all the amateurs included, so that obviously made things tough creating the draw and it's not an easy golf course out there," Herbert said after his five-hour and 20-minute round.

"I feel like it's a tough golf course and I'm one of the best players in the field so for the girls who are not playing the game full time, who have maybe just snuck in through the cut and struggling with their game a bit, it's a brutal test out there.

"It didn't feel like there were many (holes) where we didn't get jammed up ... this is what happens when you have so many people out on the course.”

Herbert didn’t get the worst of it though. Cameron Davis and Elvis Smylie were sent out as a two-ball in the first group off the 10th tee. When they reached the 1st tee, they had to wait for four groups to hit off before they could continue.

The major talking point among the players, especially in the men’s championship, was the 54-hole cut after which only the top-30 players and ties would have a shot at the final round. This second cut has been successfully used for several years at the Vic Open, which was the oft-used reply from some officials when questioning the validity of a 54-hole cut for the national championship.

Ashleigh Buhai was a gracious and deserving winner of the Women's Australian Open. PHOTO: Getty Images.

When the tournament’s biggest drawcard, The Open champion Cam Smith, snuck into the weekend, Golf Australia still held out hopes he would shoot a score sufficiently low to make the top 30 for the final round. His third-round 69 left him at T47 and two shy of a Sunday tee time, which undoubtedly put a dent in the attendance numbers for the final round.

Spain’s Alejandro Canizares scraped into the Sunday field and jumped 26 spots to finish in the top five after a closing round of 64. Players one and two shots behind him after Saturday didn’t have that opportunity.

The saviour of these dual Australian Opens and the All Abilities Championship was the golf.

Everything that was good and memorable about this week in the Melbourne Sandbelt happened inside the ropes.

As was to be expected the Kingston Heath and Victoria courses easily lived up to their world-class status. The difficult task of setting up both courses to be challenging, but fair, for men and women at the same time was one of the one-percenters Golf Australia nailed. 

Scott chasing his second Stonehaven Cup and putting on a ball-striking clinic for a 63 on Saturday was one. Adrian Meronk eagling the 72nd hole to seal the win by five strokes and punching the air with the ferocity of a prize fighter was another.

The battle for Patricia Bridges Bowl honours provided a star-studded leaderboard with our best players going head-to-head with Women’s Open champion Ashleigh Buhai and former world No.1 Shin.

Grace Kim’s presence was a sign of championships to come. Buhai’s embrace with her caddie/husband, Dave, knowing she had the Women’s Open and Women’s Australian Open titles in one year was unforgettable.

If stand-alone Australian Opens are to go the way of the persimmon wood, Golf Australia will need to address these problems – and its own maths. Because one-percenters can add up very quickly.

In the All Abilities, when Italian Tommaso Perrino holed a 40-metre bunker shot for eagle on the 18th and an opening round 80, it brought the gallery to their feet and an almost one-minute ovation until he plucked the ball out of the hole was joyous.

Yes, the highlights inside the ropes were plentiful this week and more than 50,000 spectators would surely agree.

But will Golf Australia host concurrent national Opens again?

If it does, it will have to find a date that suits both the men and the women. At the moment, for both championships to be the best they can be, their ideal dates are nearly three months apart.

The Women’s Australian Open in this end-of-year date will never be co-sanctioned by the LPGA as its season is done. The championship needs that co-sanctioning to give the field a greater depth of talent. A February date that leads into the Asian-based events, remains the best option for the women’s championship.

On the men’s side, the traditional first week of December date is the best for attracting overseas-based Australian players home to play our big events.

If stand-alone Australian Opens are to go the way of the persimmon wood, Golf Australia will need to address these problems – and its own maths.

Because one-percenters can add up very quickly.