St Andrews Beach Golf Club

Saint Andrews Beach could finally be ready to live up to its potential. A new clubhouse is scheduled to debut in 2024, giving the Doak design a suitable home to complement a thrilling layout. The combination of blind shots and demanding green complexes make scoring difficult. It's a thinking man's golf course that requires precision. You're likely to see a few kangaroos along the way, so that makes it a must play for American visitors, especially golf architecture nerds looking to collect as many Doaks as they can.

It’s quite astonishing to think that one can play this Tom Doak masterpiece, alone in less than three and a half hours for $50 USD. (Midweek). Amazing value for a course of this class. Located on the Mornington peninsula an hour and a half from Melbourne’s famous sand belt, this course neighbours some other great courses like The Dunes, Moonah Links, the cape Schank complex and Eagle ridge.

This is a public course, without any of the pomp and ceremony of members courses. Basic practice green, clubhouse and driving range. No snootiness.

I played from the tips, to prepare for a competition round. I did not play well, but even in the best of conditions this would be a real challenge. It was also quite windy, and I didn’t take advantage of the holes I had with the breeze. The holes into the wind, were absolutely brutal. On The 13th I flushed a driver, 2 iron and an 8 iron to the front of the green for a two putt bogey. Golfers must ensure they play off the correct set of tees.

The course puts premium on strategy, course management and understanding how to play links golf. Other holes are just downright hard. The 3rd plays like a par five. You absolutely must put your ball into the fairway for any chance of threading the needle through to a bush-enclosed green. Play it like a short par 5.

Bunkers in the middle of fairways force you to think about your club selection off the tee and understanding which side of the green to miss is essential.

But then on some holes, like the tenth, you must hit the green or be faced with tough bunker shots or rolling back into valleys of sin.

Then again there is plenty of opportunity for fun use of slopes around the green complexes. Several examples of greens where aiming at the hole is not necessary. Use the slope to get your ball close. Experience does help you here.

For architect nerds there is a quick at the back right of the 14th back tee box. There is an extra tee box for the pros there that was never fully built out due to residential complaints I believe.

A tough course to walk with lots of undulation, carts are available. The views of the rolling dunes that surround the course are of course all worth it. My favourite course in Victoria.