The Metropolitan

Indeed, Metropolitan and the Melbourne Golf Club (before the Royal was attached) were one in the same before the loss of land to the encroaching city necessitated Melbourne’s move to Port Philip Bay. The remaining members authorised the purchase of land and a two-storey farmhouse and formed Caulfield Golf Club in 1908, playing on a course designed by club member J.B. MacKenzie, an engineer. Tournament play began here in 1930 following a series of modifications suggested by Alister MacKenzie in 1926.

Much of the back nine was reconstructed by American architect Dick Wilson on adjacent market garden land during a visit he made to Australia in 1959. As a consequence the 7th and the back nine between the 10th and 17th are markedly different holes to the original layout.

Seven Australian Opens, five Australian PGAs and ten other professional tournaments have been hosted at Metropolitan. The World Golf Championships Match Play Championship was held here in 2001 where Steve Stricker prevailed over an illustrious field to beat Pierre Fulke in the final. The world’s finest arrived and heaped praise on the course. Memorable comments included Ernie Els who said: “I’ve checked my schedule (for the year) and I’d say this is the best course I’m going to play for the whole year.” Stuart Appleby risked the ire of the committee at Augusta National when he made the following comments: “I think it’s a whole set of clubs ahead of Augusta in condition. This is a natural golf course where the grass is playable twelve months of the year.”

Metropolitan is a fine members’ club with a tremendous course and a just reputation for excellent all-year-round conditioning.

The above passage is an extract from The Finest Golf Courses of Asia and Australasia by James Spence. Reproduced with kind permission.

In 2015, the club appointed the firm of Crafter + Mogford to improve a number of Dick Wilson’s holes. Crafter + Mogford take up the story:

“The club engaged Dick Wilson to design a number of new holes and to fit them into the fabric of the existing course. While he certainly designed some fine holes, with the 7th, 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th holes being the stand out – there were also some less than fine ones, holes that have some compromises. Overall the terrain of the new land was flatter than the lost land and this loss of character was difficult to replace. And here lies our challenge – to imbue these holes with similar features which abound holes 1 through 5, the 8th, 9th and 18th and bring greater unity to this already tremendous golf course.”