It asks questions of your skill and imagination to play a range of shots, which differs from one round to another. And no matter whether you’re a scratch player or high-handicapper, the challenge is equally enjoyable.
Courses of this caliber are among the elite and new ones don’t come along very often. So, when two courses – at the same club – open within a year of each other and within months are ranked among the best in the country, the word ‘great’ gets used a lot. That’s what happened at Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club with the unveiling of its completely remodeled North and South Courses.
The merger of the Peninsula and Kingswood Golf Clubs in 2013 led to the new club commissioning the then Ogilvy, Clayton, Cocking and Mead (OCCM) design firm to totally revamp the 36-hole facility, with Mike Cocking taking responsibility for much of the epic project that ultimately created two new courses.
In an interview with Golf Australia magazine when the project was completed, Cocking said the original plan was to improve the course conditioning but the merger upped the ante.
“We didn’t start out trying to make two different courses. I kind of argued, you’ve just got to let the country dictate what is happening,” Cocking said. “Part of the works was to try to make the South Course feel more like a Sandbelt course and then unveiling the Sandbelt characteristics of the North.”
The Sandbelt qualities of both courses have not gone unnoticed by just about everyone that has stepped onto the property since the official opening of both layouts in 2019.
Players must flirt with the deep sandy hazard left on North’s brilliant short par-4 8th hole. PHOTO: Brendan James.
Even Victorian Premier Dan Andrews, an avid golfer, was glowing of the 36-hole complex moment before striking the ceremonial opening drive.
“Peninsula Kingswood is a gift to the game of golf – a great test that sits comfortably alongside Melbourne’s other Sandbelt gems like Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath,” he enthused.
And he’s right.
“The South Course is a more member friendly companion to the championship inspired North. It shares the same strengths in a great routing and superb green complexes but doesn’t punish wayward approaches in the way that North can humble you.” – Top-100 Courses ranking judge, Brian Walshe.
The North Course debuted at No.5 in Golf Australia’s 2020 ranking of the nation’s Top-100 Courses. The South Course entered the rank at No.18. Two years on and North maintained its top-10 position coming in at No.6 (despite polling more voting points than it had to reach No.5) and the South Course rose to No.16.
Our Top-100 ranking judges were as enthusiastic as Andrews about their Peninsula Kingswood experience.
“Peninsula North is OCCM’s take on the modern Sandbelt and they deliver a course full of great green complexes and clever fairway bunkering,” commented Brian Walshe. “The greens are big and full of interesting lobes and shelves with greenside bunkers that can punish those who confuse ambition and talent. Moving the pins around could see the course go from member friendly to pro level test.”
Ranking panellist Matt Mollica added: “One of the best parcels of land for golf on the Sandbelt is now home to a course of rare quality. Exceptional green complexes, and gorgeous bunkering are complimented by pure putting surfaces.
RIGHT: Like the best short par-4s on the Sandbelt, the South Course’s 7th hole asks a lot of questions from the tee. PHOTO: Brendan James.
“Hole after hole of engaging design, fun and challenge. The course catapults into the top-10 in the country for me, sitting comfortably alongside our most revered classic layouts.”
And ranking judge Ross Flannigan hints at the greatness of the North Course.
“Peninsula Kingswood North leaves most wanting a hasty return to tackle the challenge again. It is one of those courses that once isn’t enough, as it is not until the second and third visit you get to truly understand how Mr. Cocking has set out the course for risk and reward strategic shot making.”
The general feeling among Golf Australia’s ranking judges is the challenging North Course is more demanding than the adjoining South Course, but both are a lot of fun to play.
“The South Course is a more member friendly companion to the championship inspired North,” says Walshe. “It shares the same strengths in a great routing and superb green complexes but doesn’t punish wayward approaches in the way that North can humble you. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, far from it, but it would be more manageable for most players.”
The North Course’s par-3 2nd has been fondly compared to Royal Melbourne West’s great 5th hole. PHOTO: Brendan James.
Difficulty should never be used in assessing the quality of a golf course, and when a club focuses on making their course harder, it usually spells the end for hole width and, ultimately, strategy. With the Peninsula Kingswood club giving the design team free reign to create the best holes they could, width and strategy were re-introduced throughout, perhaps even more so on the South Course.
“Built on a slightly bigger scale than its neighbour, the South Course is equally compelling,” says Mollica. “Broad fairways, larger rises and falls, as well as bigger hazards and greens provide enjoyable and high-quality golf on a big canvas.
“This course rewards sound strategy and accurate shot placement. The par-3s are a standout, as are the short par-4s. The designers did a mighty job with wonderful bunkering and construction.”
The South’s opening hole is the first of a superb collection of short par-4s. PHOTO: Brendan James.
Touring pro DJ Loypur adds: “The back nine on the South may well be the best nine on the entire Peninsula Kingswood property. It is a hugely impressive redesign and you will be hard pressed to find a better finishing stretch than 16, 17, 18.”
Much of the width, offering multiple playing lines on most holes, was created with the clearing of non-indigenous vegetation and the rediscovery of the natural heathland of the area.
“The features of Sandbelt golf, a lot of it’s about the flash sand bunkers, the style of the greens and the scruffy roughs,” Cocking says. “These can be sandy or long native roughs, but particularly the heathlands that you get around the tee carries and around the bunkers.
“There were quite a lot of areas, particularly on the North, which had this beautiful remnant vegetation that had been there forever. There’s almost a monostand of coastal manna gums throughout the entire North course, so what we did was remove all the other introduced species to uncover that.
“We removed a lot of the weed, a lot of the clutter and the introduced species and now we’re left with this amazing backdrop of these manna gums and this amazing heathland. And in some areas, the feed bank had stayed in the soil so when we opened it up to sunlight and rain, all these heathland plants started to regenerate.”
Peninsula Kingswood’s North and South layouts are great courses. The temptation to get back there and experience both – as well as the world class clubhouse and facilities – is strong as I don’t know that I’ve yet discovered all of its nuances and secrets.
FACT FILE
LOCATION: Skye Rd, Frankston, Victoria.
CONTACT: (03) 9789 2222
WEBSITE: www.peninsulakingswood.com.au
DESIGNERS: Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Clayton, Mike Cocking & Ashley Mead – OCCM (2019).
PLAYING SURFACES: Pure Distinction bentgrass (greens), Wintergreen couch (fairways and tees).
COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS: Glenn Stuart (Director of Courses).
PGA PROFESSIONALS: Ben Davey (Director of Golf), Denis McDade, Catherine Odgers, Stuart Byrnes and Adam Smith.
GREEN FEES: Peninsula Kingswood is a private club but interstate visitors can apply for a tee time via the club’s website.
MEMBERSHIPS: Members enjoy full seven-day access to two championship courses, a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, gym, tennis court, bowling green, games room and state-of-the-art practice facilities. A membership prospectus can be viewed on the club’s website.
ACCOMMODATION: Peninsula Kingswood offers clubhouse accommodation, with views overlooking the South Course’s 18th hole, as well as remote rooms beside the 10th hole of the South layout. Play and stay packages are available and a brochure can be downloaded from the website.
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