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Mornington’s new par three affords stunning views of Port Phillip Bay
Mornington’s perfect Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is home to some of Australia’s most spectacular golf holes and Mornington Golf Club’s new par three is up there with the best.
Far right: The green was constructed using the California method Right: The site on which the new par three was constructed was originally covered in bushland
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number of years ago a small parcel of land was discovered in the furthermost corner of Mornington Golf Club just behind the 15th tee. This land was deemed big enough to potentially house a new small to medium length par three, however, the only problem was it was perched on the cliffs of Port Phillip Bay and was covered in trees and overgrown plantations. Fast forward to October 2017 and Mornington Golf Club now boasts an iconic, magnificent new par three with incredible views to the Melbourne city skyline, a remarkable achievement for one of the lesser known clubs on Victoria’s famed golfing playground that is the Mornington Peninsula. Mornington Golf Club is no longer the hidden gem of the peninsula and has been growing significantly in recent times with an increase in membership of close to 30 per cent since 2015. It has a proud history dating back to its inception in 1904 and currently has around 830 members. It boasts a very strong junior membership and a Course Master Plan in place to gradually improve
Below: The new green was seeded with Mackenzie creeping bentgrass
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AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 19.5
WORDS: CRAIG MURDOCH
par three the golf course over the next few years which will benefit its members. The future of Mornington Golf Club looks very bright indeed. The construction of the new par three is the first stage in the Master Plan which now gives the club an extra hole to enable it to deliver improvements to the entire course without compromising the ability to always have 18 holes in play at the one time.
OUT OF THE BUSH The transformation of the parcel of overgrown bushland to a beautiful par three was driven by the then club captain Craig Corfield, course advisor Darius Oliver from Planet Golf and course architect Ben Davey from Contour Golf Design, with the support of a forward-thinking Board and club management. The hole was designed by Davey and Oliver and the objectives were simple – to create an interesting green site that followed the natural landforms as best as possible and that didn’t divert attention from the stunning surrounds.