Peninsula Kingswood CGC (North)

A solid drive will leave a short iron or pitch but it’s a dangerous gamble as your first shot of the day. The more conservative play with a long iron or hybrid will avoid most of the trouble but leave the more difficult mid iron to an elevated green. If in doubt, playing a little left with your approach takes advantage of a handy backstop, funnelling the ball back onto the putting surface.

One of the most picturesque holes on the North, the shot across the valley to a green set into a large dune has some similarities to the famous 5th hole on Royal Melbourne’s West Course. The most important yardage here is to the front edge of the green, and the dilemma when the greens are firm is deciding how close to flirt with it. Land just a few feet short and your ball will finish at the bottom of the slope some 30 metres from the green. Play too boldly and you’ll be lucky to hold the green.

An aggressive drive and the reward is a shorter shot and full view of the green, but a bad swing and you can easily find either of the left bunkers or worse still, end up playing another. Laying up further back in the fairway takes full advantage of the wide fairway, but the view to the green and the short hazards will be blind.

The tee shot on the 4th must be threaded between the sandy waste on the left and bunkers down the right. It looks much narrower and more difficult than it actually is, and for shorter hitters, the fairway is at least 40m wide, only narrowing where the longer hitters drive their ball. The new green here is receptive to running shots played out to the right, with slopes helping shoulder a ball toward the middle of the green. Only when the flag is tucked in the left corner does the player need to take the more attacking line directly over the bunker.

The tee shot on the 5th is like no other on the sandbelt; a thrilling drive through a valley with steep banks on either side. The fairway is wider both short and long of the valley making for an interesting decision from the tee. This par five is easily reachable for those who can drive beyond the valley but for those needing an extra shot or two, its best to hug the left side of the fairway for an easier pitch to the green. To the right the fairway drops off into a bowl leaving a difficult uphill pitch across a deep greenside bunker.

The 6th is the first of the drivable par fours on the North course and this one is somewhat unique for the sandbelt as it plays fairly steeply uphill. There are a multitude of options from the tee depending on how you feel on the day. Short of the bunkers, up the narrow tongue of fairway left, safely out to the right and away from the hazards, or attempt a thrilling drive across the sand. Each will result in a slightly different approach – sometimes easier or sometimes harder depending on the pin position of the day. The challenge is to figure out what works best for you.

The 7th is one of the highest parts of the property and among the most picturesque tee shots on the North course. Aiming for the widest part of the green on the right is generally the best play here with only the bravest (or silliest) taking dead aim when the pin is tucked in the left corner. Surrounded by deep bunkers and a cavernous hollow over the back, anywhere on the dance floor is often a great result here.

Many of the world’s great short par fours feature a penal hazard which one must flirt with to gain an advantage, and here we find perhaps the biggest, deepest, angriest hazard on the course. There is an abundance of fairway to the right but the angle into the green makes for a more difficult pitch from here. In the right conditions, some will choose to try and carry all the trouble to finish on or around the green and leave a relatively simple up and down for birdie. For those who can’t make that sort of carry, a small bump just right of the big hazard can help funnel a running ball further around to the left, leaving a fairly straight forward pitch.

The 9th begins the most difficult stretch of holes on the North. This long par four has been stretched as part of the redesign and will require your best two shots to find the green. The best line off the tee is close to the sand down the right, leaving a slightly more friendly angle into the green.

Back to back strong par fours at 9 and 10 and here we have one of the narrowest and most difficult tee shots to boot! This green is loosely based on a “redan”, a design concept where the putting surface tips from front to back and right to left and tends to reward those who can bounce or run the ball into the green. The most difficult pins here are at the front where the player must land their shot well short and on a small flat spot close to the bunkers on the right. From the very back tees, this hole measures 465 metres…so can be played as a par five on occasions for members or the strongest of par fours in tournament play.

A long sandy waste up the left and a cluster of bunkers at around 240 metres on the right generally takes the driver out of the hands of the longer hitters. The approach plays to one of our favourite greens on the property. The smart play is to land short with a running shot and allow the contours to funnel the ball towards the middle of the green.

The “hogsback” is a wonderful feature in golf course design and, whilst not that common in Australia, we are lucky to have a few within a few hundred metres of each other…one here, another on the 8th South and then again next door at Long Island on their fabulous 8th hole. The hogsback rises at around 210m from the tee and extends all the way to the green. Tee shots short of this are relatively simple as the fairway is wide and fairly flat but it leaves a long, difficult second. With a well struck driver or 3 wood, those wishing to take on the domed fairway will enjoy a significantly shorter second but the risks of finishing in rough or sand are high and a certain bogey awaits.

Much like the 12th hole, the tee shot here becomes riskier the more club you take. For most, the best play is a long iron or hybrid, with the angle a little better from the left side of the fairway than the right. The pitch can be a difficult one when the wind is gusting with deep bunkers on most sides and a putting surface tilted strongly from back right to front left.

The North course is blessed with some beautiful backdrops on the short holes, and this one, whilst the flattest is no exception, surrounded by an amazing expanse of heath and sand. A lot has changed here since I first joined as a 15 year old. Back then, pine trees covered the hill behind the green and trees lined both sides of the hole. There was little in the way of any heathland or sand, and the trees were so thick it was like someone had turned off the lights as you walked down the fairway. With careful tree removal and some encouragement of the heathland plants and grasses which originally covered much of the site, we were able to return this ground to what it once was and give the 14th its unique look.

A largely blind tee shot plays over a ridge which runs across the fairway, but it opens up a great looking second. There is some nice visual trickery at play with the second shot as the bunker on the corner of the dogleg merges with greenside bunkers and those around the 9th green, making it appear like there is more trouble (and less room) than there actually is. The best line is over the bunker on the dogleg which opens up an easier approach, especially when the pin is tucked in the right corner.

The 16th is best played left to right. The safe play is a little left of centre where a small mound helps nudge a ball towards the middle of the green. The most difficult pin is far right and over the large bunker. To get close, one must take dead aim over all the trouble

At 550 metres, the penultimate hole is the longest on the property and is a legitimate three shot hole for practically everyone. Two huge bunkers guard the preferred line from the tee and the reward for playing over these is a clear view of the green and a much shorter shot. The green is a tricky one with the hollow at the front difficult to see from the fairway and easy to hit into, making for a difficult up and down. Bogeys are plentiful from down here!

The tee shot at the last gives no hint to what lies around the corner…perhaps the most photogenic approach on the property, with the green sitting at the base of a huge natural amphitheater and framed by bunkers and heath. The longest hitters will try and drive the corner bunker and leave a short pitch, but plenty of trouble awaits anything off-line. I quite like playing a shorter tee shot with a 3 or 4 iron. The slopes help funnel the ball close to the corner bunker and it eliminates virtually all risk and leaves an 8 or 9 iron with a great angle when the pin is over on the right.