Blog 271 – The Dunes

Nomadic_golfer : November 2023 – The Dunes Golf Club, Rye, Vic review

Par 72, 6232m slope 141

4 par3s 135-192m, 10 par4s 299-408m, 4 par5s 472-504m

A sensational 1997 Tony Cashmore design in beautiful undulating golf terrain amongst sandy dunes at the bottom of the Mornington Peninsula, in an area called ‘The Cups’. Fairways are typically generous, with a number of them set between dunes, some crossing ridges, with lots of sandy wasteland out wide. Prevailing winds and firmness of ground has them play a little narrower than they appear. The premium however, is on quality approach shots to the well bunkered, firm surfaces and surrounds.

There are some super aesthetics accompanying your approaches; the typical raised green accompanied by natural-looking sand traps, native grasses and dry mounds, topped by the diagonally placed bunkers into the par 5 5th, the pitch into an ampitheatre-set green on the 340m 10th and another downhill approach into the 392m 15th which also has those ampitheatre qualities.

I had played this course quite a bit back in the early 2000’s and had forgotten how good it is – top 25 in most Aussie course ratings, as a public course. The memorable holes are everywhere – almost too many to stand-out!! I’ll have a go:

– the magic 130m short 3rd across the top of an exposed ridge to a well protected small, firm green;

– the other par3 on the front is very unusual in Australia, the 200m 6th down a substantial slope to a very wide green that requires a runner, as lots of bumps and lumps kick the ball forward and the worst place to miss is in the hazard, long;

– the short par4s in 4 (300m, downhill and over a dune, with a lay-up option to a crest or a go option that leaves difficult angles if you don’t get it centre-right), and 11 (classic risk reward on a 300m sharp dogleg right and uphill that is much shorter on a direct route but has very small landing zones that decrease the more you chop off the corner, culminating in a firm raised green with drop offs, and deep bunkers left;

– I don’t know where to stop on the individual holes – Tom Watson reckoned the par 3 17th was his favourite hole and one of his all-time favourite par3s, 180m across an indentation to a raised, exposed green into the prevailing wind, with bunkers left, a mound short right and drop-offs elsewhere, to a very long green;

– the 3 long 4s in 1 (408m), 8 (393m) and 15 (392), which all face in different directions, can be absolute brutes if the wind is against. 1 is memorable for it’s toughness as a starter, particularly the accuracy it places on a long 2nd shot to an unforgiving surface, 15 for its beauty in a valley with the fairways turning up on both sides, but offering no bail-out, to that ampitheatre green setting, but 8 gets my vote as the strongest 4 – a hard turning right to lefter over multiple, inside-corner bunkers offering numerous line options, to a narrow-ish, tiered green with mounds right and traps left encroaching on the approach line.

The variety the course serves to you is highlighted by the 2 nines being of separate clockwise loops, which ensure you get the ever-present breezes from all golfing quadrants. This is a gem that often gets overlooked by the surrounding sandbelt and Mornington Peninsula quality, perhaps because it is a public access course. It shouldn’t get overlooked – it is a must play!!