WEBVTT - Fried Egg Stories: The Doctor Goes Down Under 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:03.280 Welcome to another edition of the Frida egg Podcast and 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:07.360 to another episode of Frida Egg Stories, our audio documentary series. 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:10.200 This is the second of these you've gotten in a row, 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:12.719 so it's worth noting that this is not the permanent 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:15.560 format going forward. You'll get just as many interviews and 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:20.480 conversations as usual. Today's installment of Frida Egg Stories focuses 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:24.439 on Royal Melbourne, the venue of this week's President's Cup. Specifically, 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:27.480 the episode tells the story of doctor Alistair Mackenzie's ten 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:32.000 week visit to Australia in nineteen twenty six. During that time, 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:34.760 the great architect not only planned the West Course at 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.519 Royal Melbourne, but also managed to have an influence on 0:00:37.560 --> 0:00:41.559 golf architecture throughout Australia. So right off the bat, I 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:44.479 want to thank the experts who talk to me, Mike Clayton, 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:48.560 Mike Cocking, Neil Crafter and Sean Tolly. I had long 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.559 conversations with each of them, but used only brief excerpts 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.240 for this episode. That's just the nature of this format. 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.880 But many thanks to those four gentlemen for their generosity. 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.960 All right, let's get to it. Here is the Doctor 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:02.440 goes down Under. 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:05.880 It requires a different technique. 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:08.839 What you need to do is actually square the face 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.640 so it'll dig down underneath that bad. 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.199 Lie and propel that ball right out onto the green. 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:15.720 Here's the thing. 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:18.280 Playing out of a buried lion a bunker is completely 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.800 different than playing out of a nice clean lion a 0:01:20.840 --> 0:01:21.720 green side bunker. 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:24.480 You need to be aggressive on any show. 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:28.040 Weather it's sitting cleanly, or it's Frida Egg. Well, we've 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.280 all faked it, the dreaded Frida Egg. It's not to 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:31.960 be feared, though. 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:33.640 It's actually a pretty easy shot to hit. 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.640 There's a particular sound that I love that we hear 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:47.680 in golf tournaments only a few times a year, sometimes 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:52.160 at the Open Championship, frequently at the Masters. It's this one. 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.560 It's slow down, slow down. 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:04.800 To right on the edge. 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:11.359 Yeah, that's gone. It's the unmistakable sound of a gallery 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.760 and a broadcast crew reacting to a ball. In this case, 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:18.320 Bubba Watson's rolling off the green and into trouble. There's 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:20.440 a reason we usually hear this just at the Open 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.600 and the Masters. Those events, unlike most these days, combine 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:26.760 firm conditions with plenty of short grass around the greens. 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:29.799 Firm means the ball rolls. Short grass means it rolls 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.800 a long way. That's just fun to watch. The clip 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.480 you heard isn't from the Open or the Masters, however, 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:38.920 it comes from the NBC telecast of the twenty eleven 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:42.160 President's Cup held at Royal Melbourne. On the final day, 0:02:42.480 --> 0:02:46.040 conditions got fiery and multiple players actually putted off the 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:50.480 treacherous third green at Royal Melbourne's composite course. This week, 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:55.040 the President's Cup returns there. For those interested in golf architecture, 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:58.040 this is the rare December event that's one hundred percent 0:02:58.240 --> 0:03:01.920 appointment viewing because the West Course at Royal Melbourne, which 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.880 makes up two thirds of the composite routing used for tournaments, 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:07.920 is one of the very best golf courses in the world. 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.000 It embodies much of what we at the Frida Egg 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:13.600 love about golf course design. Each hole offers a distinct 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.760 and memorable challenge. It's wide, so there's plenty of room 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:19.000 for everyone to plod along, but if you want to 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:21.560 go low, you'll either need to challenge the hazards or 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:24.800 hit great shots from bad positions. The turf is firm, 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:27.000 so your ball is going to run out after landing, 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:31.600 which means angles and shot shaping really matter. Finally, Royal 0:03:31.639 --> 0:03:35.960 Melbourne is just charismatic in appearance, the undulations, the varied 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:39.800 colors and textures, and those flamboyant bunkers which cut right 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:44.640 into the greens. So who's responsible for this course? The 0:03:44.720 --> 0:03:47.240 name you'll hear most this week is the familiar one 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:51.360 of Alistair McKenzie. In late nineteen twenty six, Mackenzie sailed 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:54.520 to Australia and stayed for ten weeks. In that time, 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.360 he left an indelible mark not just on the Melbourne 0:03:57.440 --> 0:04:00.760 sand belt, but on golf throughout the country. Today, many 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:04.480 Australian clubs boast of mackenzie heritage, and one form or another, 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:09.000 these include Kingston Heath, New South Wales, Rural Adelaide, Metropolitan, 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.320 Rural Queensland. Basically a role call of the finest courses 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:15.480 in Australia, and Mackenzie never even saw any of them 0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:18.719 in completed form because he never went back. And so 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.279 I've always been curious, how did Alistair mackenzie have such 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.000 an impact on Australian golf in just one two and 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:27.680 a half month visit or are we all giving him 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:36.760 too much credit? Prior to Mackenzie's visit, golf was popular 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:40.719 down Under, but golf architecture wasn't particularly advanced. 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.599 Billy Day's golf design was done by golf professionals, and 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:47.719 you know, they were checksable trades if you like. You know, 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.920 they could teach, they could make clubs, they could design 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:55.640 golf courses where they necessarily terribly good at it. Well, 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:56.960 that's sort of arguable. 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:01.040 Neil Crafter is an Ozzie golf architect, historian and one 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:03.920 of the writers of the Mackenzie Chronology. He has more 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:07.680 knowledge about this subject than just about anyone. Crafter told 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.240 me that by nineteen twenty six there were some good 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.320 courses in Australia, but a lot of them, including Royal Melbourne, 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.320 felt distinctly old fashioned. The shaping of the greens and 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:19.880 bunkers was somewhat simplistic, and the philosophy of design was 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:23.120 more penal than strategic. That is, the courses were designed 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:27.800 to punish poor strikes rather than to engage players minds. Overall, 0:05:27.960 --> 0:05:31.320 by the nineteen twenties, golf architecture in Australia seemed to 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:34.320 be stuck. In the late eighteen hundreds, the Victorian era. 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.360 So when Royal Melbourne decided to relocate and expand its 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.320 golf course, the club looked outside the country for help. 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:44.599 They probably reached out to the famous English architect Harry 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:48.920 Colt first, but they found Colt's former partner Alistair Mackenzie 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:52.920 more willing to travel. In nineteen twenty six, mackenzie had 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:56.640 not yet done Cyprus Point or Pass Tiempo or Augusta National, 0:05:57.120 --> 0:05:59.400 but his career was on the upswing. He was the 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:02.400 consulting architect for the RNA and he was starting to 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.120 become well known internationally. 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:09.200 Up until that time, his work had been restricted geographically 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:16.440 to England, Ireland, Scotland Wales, but nineteen twenty six saw him, 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:20.080 I guess, branch out on the world stage. 0:06:20.400 --> 0:06:23.440 Getting to Australia from Great Britain was no mean feat 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:29.840 back then. On September nineteenth, nineteen twenty six, Mackenzie boarded 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:33.240 the ss A Toronto in London. The ship rounded the 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:37.560 Iberian Peninsula, traveled east through the Mediterranean Sea and passed 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.960 through the Suez Canal before the long trip across the 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.400 Indian Ocean. It stopped in Ceylon or what is now 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:49.160 known as Sri Lanka. Mackenzie actually visited a golf course there. Finally, 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:54.160 on October nineteenth, the Toronto birthed at Fremantle in Western Australia. 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:59.040 It had been a month long journey. Within a few 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.640 days mckenns he arrived in Melbourne. While his primary task 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.799 was to reimagine the golf at Royal Melbourne, he visited 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:07.360 many other clubs during his stay. 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:12.960 Very cleverly, the Royal Melbourne made an arrangement with mackenzie 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:16.160 so that they wouldn't effectively loan him out to other 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:19.440 golf courses in Australia while he was here and take 0:07:19.480 --> 0:07:22.400 half the half of the fee a two hundred and 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:26.000 fifty pound fee they settled on Mackenzie would get half 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:29.520 and Royal Melbourne would get half, and effectively the net 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:32.840 result of that for Royal Melbourne was that McKenzie didn't 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:36.480 cost them anything at all, because they made his feedback 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.000 up out of the fees from the other golf clubs 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:40.760 that he consulted to while he was here. 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:44.760 Those clubs ranged through the most populous parts of Australia, 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:49.280 from Adelaide to Melbourne, to Sydney to Brisbane. In addition 0:07:49.320 --> 0:07:52.760 to his busy travel schedule. Mackenzie had one other major 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:54.320 method of spreading his influence. 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.920 In nineteen twenty Mackenzie had put out his Little Green 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:02.560 Book for golf archey and it was sort of his 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.720 calling card, and so it's very clear that he bought 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.080 a stack of them out with him when he came 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:12.440 to Australia and probably part of the deal of Mackenzie 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:14.360 designed for your course, you got a copy of his 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:18.520 book along with it. There were many extracts from that 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:23.200 book published in the newspapers in Melbourne. Mackenzie also wrote 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:27.160 regular columns for these newspapers, so he was very good 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:29.560 at marketing himself and his ideas. 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:34.280 These ideas were essentially those of the strategic school of architecture, 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:37.360 the ones that the old course at Saint Andrew's embodied, 0:08:37.480 --> 0:08:40.280 that John Lowe had articulated in his ratings, and that 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:43.920 Harry Cole, Mackenzie's ex partner, had widely put into practice 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:44.480 in the UK. 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:48.920 The two ideas that I guess caused the most interest 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:53.000 and controversy were the first one that there should be 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:56.079 no rough. That was very controversial because I think there 0:08:56.080 --> 0:09:00.360 were a lot of golf courses that had rough thick 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.720 Rough and liked the idea. Maybe the golfers themselves didn't, 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.720 but the powers that we did that was one that 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:11.000 was particularly promoted through some newspaper articles. And I think 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:15.320 the other one primarily was the different lines of play 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:21.080 that Mackenzie had promoted. That you could have a harder, 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:26.280 more challenging direct line of play that the better player 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:29.920 could take with a degree of risk associated with it, 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:35.320 while providing an alternate, much safer, but longer line of 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:38.440 play for shorter hitters to take to go around hazards 0:09:38.520 --> 0:09:39.960 rather than over them. 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:44.000 In total, Mackenzie spent about ten weeks in Australia, about 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.440 half of those at Royal Melbourne. He then sailed to 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:49.120 New Zealand where he designed tit Orangi, and from there 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:52.760 to California where he planned Sapress Point. But the impact 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.440 those ten weeks in Australia had on the future of 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:57.520 golf in the country was profound. 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:01.320 At the end of it, you had more courses in 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:07.800 their genesis of Royal Melbourne, New South Wales. These courses 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:13.360 hadn't existed before Mackenzie, and people couldn't really imagine what 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:17.520 they would be like. So very much a watershed moment 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.360 for golf in Australia. And you know, to this day, 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:25.679 the West Course a Royal Melbourne is still in Australia's 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.200 best golf course. And you know we're talking about ninety 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.800 years on, nearly from its opening. So you know, if 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:36.240 that's not testament to McKenzie and his the impact of 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:38.520 his trip, then nothing is. 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:45.600 Yeah the course player's birth. 0:10:45.679 --> 0:10:48.480 I thought I watched Savvy play there in nineteen seventy eight. 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:51.480 I watched pretty much every hole and Savvy just know 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:54.840 Kensie built that course for him. 0:10:55.559 --> 0:10:58.480 Mike Clayton is a former European tour pro now a 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.880 golf architect and for him, the artistry of Mackenzie's work 0:11:01.880 --> 0:11:05.840 at Royal Melbourne comes fully into relief when someone plays 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:07.240 it with artistry. 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:09.520 You know, it was a perfect stage for Sevie to 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.680 play golf, because that was the golf Mackenzie wanted people 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:13.040 to play. 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:14.880 He wanted people to play with freedom and flair. 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:18.040 And you know, if you hit the ball out of place, 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:20.679 he gave you a chance to recover if you could hit. 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:21.280 The great shot. 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:23.320 But if you tried for the great shot and didn't 0:11:23.320 --> 0:11:25.080 pull it off, then you're in a whole, a whole 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.360 part more trouble Sevi. You could hit it out of place, 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:31.280 but McKenzie gave him a shot and gave him a chance, 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.000 and he was great enough to pull it off because 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:34.880 he would. 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:37.880 Hit those towering high middle lines and long lines and 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:39.600 get him on the greens. 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.040 And if you missed on the short side, he was 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:44.480 great enough around the green. So please give himself a 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:45.520 chance to get up and down. 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:47.240 He was building. 0:11:47.280 --> 0:11:49.200 He wanted people to play golf like Sebie. When people 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.559 criticize Sebie, that's how mackenzie saw people playing golf, play 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:56.560 with flair and imagination and you know, don't play tight, restrictive, 0:11:56.920 --> 0:11:57.760 pokey golf. 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:01.320 For Clayton Royal Melbourne and encourages this kind of golf 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.000 as well as Saint Andrews does, or as well as 0:12:04.040 --> 0:12:07.640 Augusta National did before Tiger proofing. And one big reason 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:11.079 for that is the preponderance of short grass around the greens. 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:13.360 When you miss the granite roll Melbourne, you get a 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:17.040 really difficult shot played off a perfect lie was in 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.040 the PJA two. With all that ruffer and the grains, 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.160 you get really easy shots my difficult because they've played 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.920 out of terrible lives. It's kind of obvious which one 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:27.280 is A better option to me is that difficult shots 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:29.200 played off perfect lives where you can hit anyone of 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:31.319 literally twelve clubs. 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:35.439 Probably difficult shots from perfect lies. I'd never thought of 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:38.000 it that way before, but so often those shots are 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:40.959 the most fun to watch because if the lie is easy, 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:43.840 the golf course has to do something else, often something 0:12:44.000 --> 0:12:47.320 subtle or delayed, to make the situation hard. Both the 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:50.080 player and the viewer have a more complex puzzle to solve, 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:52.800 and that's what you get at Royal Melbourne that you 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.760 so rarely get at PGA Tour venues, real complexity. 0:12:57.280 --> 0:12:58.679 Last time with they were one of the pg I 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:00.640 rules officials told me this would be a much better course. 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:02.520 They would have more rask, which. 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:05.760 Was just a mind boggling misunderstanding of what the course is. 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:08.840 It needs with and it needs the boat to run 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:10.760 out to the bad angles, and it needs a bolt 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:11.880 to run away from the grains if. 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:12.360 You miss them. 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:16.240 So if the PGA Tour had its hand and set 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:18.120 the golf goes up exactly the way they wanted to, 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:19.920 that would kind of ruin it. Really, I'll just grow 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:21.640 rough everywhere and just the whole point of the place 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:24.080 would be lost and be like growing rough around the 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:24.920 grains of Augusta. 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:29.000 Thankfully, the club at Royal Melbourne, like the one of Augusta, 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.360 has a great deal of institutional pride. No one's going 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:34.120 to tell them how to set up their golf course. 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.200 So if the weather cooperates at the President's Cup, we 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:39.720 should see the ball doing all sorts of things around 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.120 the greens. The key to this is not only short grass, 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.920 but also the firmness of the turf, something Royal Melbourne 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:49.319 has in common with all of the best sand belt 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:51.240 courses Australia. 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.839 To me right now, there's the reason why a bunch 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:57.560 of superintendents get excited when in you know, in golfers 0:13:57.559 --> 0:13:59.959 as well, but more so for the for the superintendent 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:02.600 is we get to see a golf course that's playing 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.080 firm and fast and you just get to see the 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:05.680 ball move. 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:09.440 Sean Tully is the superintendent at the Meadow Club, a 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.240 Mackenzie course in California. 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:14.640 It's important to have firm conditions and instead of being 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:19.160 green and lush, the idea is to not worry about color, 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:22.040 and you're not playing on color, you're playing on turf, 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.240 and again it doesn't matter the color. It just matters 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:28.040 to the furnace. So you can get it firm with green, 0:14:28.600 --> 0:14:30.600 and you can get it firm with brown. The most 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.480 important part is to find that firmness to hell with 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:35.880 the color, you know, figure out how you get to 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:39.720 that firmnace, if it's strainage, sand, top dressing or different grasses. 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.000 I think if there's one thing Australia's got. 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:43.600 Right, it's that. 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.640 And as Ozzie golf architect Mike Cocking explained to me, 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:52.040 the firmness of Royal Melbourne is key to its strategic integrity. 0:14:52.280 --> 0:14:54.960 You know, one of the challenges as an architect is 0:14:55.920 --> 0:14:58.680 you can create the most strategic golf haul in the world, 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.160 but if the grains is soft, you can't defend it. 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:05.200 The ability or the way that guys can hit short 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:07.680 eynes these days and stop them quickly even if they're 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:10.920 out of position, you just can't defend some of these 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:14.840 holes against that. But at Royal Melbourne's it's the firmest, 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:18.720 fastest golf course, one of the firmest, fastest golf courses 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:23.160 in the world, and that just further enhances that strategic 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.800 notion of being in the right position or the wrong position. 0:15:26.240 --> 0:15:28.520 For every yard you are out of position, that shot 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.400 into the green just becomes more difficult with every yard. 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:34.440 So it's an incredibly strategic golf course. 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:38.880 Clearly, Royal Melbourne's turf conditions are integral to its greatness, 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:43.480 and obviously Alistair mackenzie isn't responsible for that. He was 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.400 never out there attending native areas or edging bunkers or 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:49.600 sprinkling sand on the greens. In fact, he was present 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:52.960 for the construction of only a couple of holes. So 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.640 while the firm and fast turf and the fascinating green 0:15:55.680 --> 0:16:00.320 complexes we've been discussing, Embardi Mackenzie's ideas were put in 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.840 the ground by others, specifically at Royal Melbourne, by a 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:12.480 pair of supremely talented individuals, Alex Russell and Mick Morecombe. 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.520 While he was in Melbourne, Alistair Mackenzie boarded at the 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.960 Royal Melbourne Clubhouse. Just across the road was the home 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.240 of Alex Russell, a well to do young member of 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:23.800 the club and one of the best golfers in Australia. 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:27.360 Although Russell was twelve years younger than Mackenzie, the two 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:29.840 men had a lot in common. Both had served in 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.360 the British Army in the Great War, both had attended 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:36.960 Cambridge University, and both had an absorbing passion for golf architecture. 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:41.760 By all accounts, they got along famously. Mick Morecambe was 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.760 the superintendent at Royal Melbourne and as it turned out, 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:48.760 one of the most gifted shapers in golf history. Together, 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:51.720 Morecambe and Russell learned what they could from McKenzie in 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:54.960 November and December of nineteen twenty six, and they proceeded 0:16:54.960 --> 0:16:58.080 to build the West Course according to McKenzie's plan, certainly, 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.600 but also using their own career creativity. From there, along 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:05.640 with Mick's son, Vern, they essentially created what we now 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:08.800 know as sam Belt Golf, and Mike Carking, for one, 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.439 would rather not see their legacy overshadowed by mackenzie's. 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:18.720 So every single sad Belt course bar Peninsula, either Vern, 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:22.200 Mick or Alex Russell was involved with at some point 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:26.320 in time. You know, some courses really heavily involved, like Yaria, 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.240 whereas at Russell Design and the Malcoms were involved in 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:34.120 constructing it, you know, to Commonwealth to Woodlands, so really 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.080 they are involved basically everywhere, which is why they deserve 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.200 some credit or at least a part in the discussion 0:17:40.240 --> 0:17:42.800 of when the sand belt comes up in the look 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:45.200 and the feel of sam Belt golf, which is particularly 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:48.119 the particularly the bunkering. You know, those two guys really 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:49.639 need to be part of the discussion. 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:53.760 In fact, as a solo architect, Russell produced a remarkable 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:54.639 quality of work. 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:57.040 You know, Russell probably has the best strike rate of 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:01.040 any architect in history. Really when you consider he did 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:04.360 his four main courses were like carrying out the ace 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:08.600 course at Real Melbourne, Yariara and Paraperomu. 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:10.920 In New Zealand said great strike right. 0:18:11.600 --> 0:18:14.439 So for my fellow Americans out there, strike rate is 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:18.600 a cricket term, we would say batting average. Basically, every 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:22.119 time Russell tried, he at least got a triple. So 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:25.480 clearly Russell, as well as mcmorcam had serious skills. They're 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:28.080 the ones who actually built the courses. The same is 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:30.639 true of many Mackenzie courses. In fact, think of Perry 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:34.040 Maxwell at Crystal Downs or Robert Hunter at Cyprus Point. 0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:36.680 That kind of thing makes the issue of credit at 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.800 Royal Melbourne and elsewhere somewhat complicated. 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:43.360 And that's where it gets a little bit hazy, because 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:46.280 you can sort of look at Mackenzie and look at 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:50.000 his primary influence, the plans he drew and the things 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:53.040 he did while he was here, and I mean really 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:57.239 other than those plans, which aren't always that accurate, and 0:18:57.320 --> 0:19:00.199 he you know, he had a tendency to exaggerate of 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:03.040 his green drawings and things like that. So a lot 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:05.119 of it was how he communicated it to the guys 0:19:05.119 --> 0:19:07.400 on the ground. And when he was here he only 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.200 saw a couple of things being built and that was it. 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:11.280 Then he left. 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.680 He never wrote about his time in Melbourne in the 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:18.159 spirit of Snandrew's. He had a picture of some dunes 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:20.919 at Royal Adelaide and made a comment about, you know, 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:24.000 how great it is as golfing ground, but never talked 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:26.560 about how good the land was at Royal Melbourne or 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:29.040 how well he thought the design was going to turn out. 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:31.760 So it was really left to the Morcams and to 0:19:31.840 --> 0:19:35.199 Russell to execute his plans, certainly at Real Melbourne and 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:38.200 then at some of the other courses just to the Markhams. 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:40.800 And it's hard to know, I mean, how much did 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:43.120 he how much did he actually teach him in ten 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:45.760 weeks and did he really teach them much at all? 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:47.640 I mean did it was just some passing comments. 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:51.080 So did they really deserve the credit for a lot 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:53.600 of the work, particularly for the style. 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.240 Of the sandal bunkering and for some of the green complexes. 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:58.879 So it's kind of murky when you start trying to 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:01.159 apply credit for specific things. 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.520 At the same time, a lot of fantastic golf courses 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:08.360 in Australia started the same way with a visit from 0:20:08.359 --> 0:20:09.359 Alistair mackenzie. 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:13.119 I guess if you look at the bigger picture, would 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:15.879 any of that work have ever been carried out the 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.080 way it has been if he had never come? 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:19.400 And you would have to say, well, now. 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:28.120 There's no denying Mackenzie' Johnny Appleseed effect. Wherever he went, 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.600 world class golf courses seemed to sprout up in his weak. 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:32.679 If you want to know. 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:34.800 Having fluenil McKenzie I was look at the places he 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:38.600 didn't go in Australia, person terrible golf Prisbone. He went 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:40.760 to Royal Queens and that's the only decent golf course there. 0:20:40.920 --> 0:20:43.000 And well that Slides did a new course that we did, 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:47.320 So you know, McKenzie's influence was. It's definitely not a coincidence. 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:50.679 Where he went he left great golf and where he 0:20:50.720 --> 0:20:52.440 didn't go there isn't great goal. 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:55.359 Mike Clayton goes as far as to say that if 0:20:55.400 --> 0:20:58.760 mackenzie had spent more time in Western Australia, things would 0:20:58.760 --> 0:20:59.960 have turned out differently there. 0:21:00.640 --> 0:21:02.840 If mackenzie had gone to Perth and had the influence 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:05.119 he had in Melbourne, Perth of the best course in 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.400 the world. It's got incredible lamb and Melbourne's got shiplamb 0:21:08.440 --> 0:21:11.880 for golvit to Sandy it's not ship lamb, but that's exaggeration, 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.720 but low It was flat sand that Perth had, undulating 0:21:15.760 --> 0:21:19.240 sam with much better vegetation. So his influence had been 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:21.160 the same in perthos that was in Melburn, Perth would 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:22.159 have an incredible golf. 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:26.560 Basically, Clayton acknowledges the importance of Russell and Morcambe, but 0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:31.040