Royal Sydney - New South Wales - Australia

A club golfing friend of mine erroneously assumed that my round at Royal Sydney would be the highlight of my trip. Having played the course on a number of occasions before I was looking forward to the manicured challenge that this sleeping giant at Rose Bay would present, however, I was conscious that time has not been kind to this grand old lady.

Significant non indigenous tree planting from the 1960’s and 70’s has encroached upon playing corridors to such a negative extent that the Gill Hanse and his bulldozers cannot move in quick enough. To see historical wide view photographs of the layout denuded of tree canopy shows where RSGC has come from and where they wish to get back to should Woollhara council allow the much needed reimagining of this oasis of calm almost within the Sydney CBD boundaries.

I look forward to reacquainting myself with RSGC 2.0 as and when the opportunity arises.

For more information on my Australian golfing adventure, please click the following link: The Long Road to Van Diemen's Land

The Club dates from 1893, but only moved to it's current site in Rose Bay in 1922. Unusually for such a decorated club and course, there is no one architect or driving force that appears to have made a lasting impact on the design of the course- rather it appears that the course evolved over time as the handiwork of many contributors.

However the club does have a well documented history in realtion to clubhouses- they were destroyed by fire 4 times.

Royal Sydney has hosted many championships over the years including The Australian Open 15 times, and the Women's Australian Open just once

There are two courses at Royal Sydney with the 9 hole Centenary course sited adjacent to the championship course.

The Championship course is a stern test of golf, and although not overly long is heavily bunkered and treed- and favours the straight hitter.

The site was over planted with malaleucas in the 1940's on the belief that many would not survive, and the end result is very pleasant , but densely vegetated parkland course .

At the time of writing a Gil Hanse redesign is waiting on local council approval and is scheduled to take place between April 2021 & 2022.

The changes will put an emphasis on the local heathland vegetation, and a strategic golf course. It is an exciting upgrade!

Notable holes include:

hole 1- the opening hole is a short driveable par 4, protected by clusters of fairway bunkers at different lengths, and a well bunkered green with ample movement. It demands your attention!

hole 3- a mid length downhill par 3 to a well bunkered green

hole 6- an attractive, tight par 3 with some dangerous pin positions..

hole 7- a twisting, rolling par 5 where the bunkering dominates- you need to plot your way down this hole!

hole 8- a short par 4 with an elevated green and nowhere to miss. You definitely can't go long!

hole 14- a long testing par 3

hole 17- the final par 3 is the 'crowd hole' at championships surrounded by stands. It is a relatively long approach to a tricky green

hole 18- the 'home' hole is a relatively tight dog leg to a grand finish in front of the clubhouse

Royal Sydney is one of the best sporting facilities in Australia with over 6000 members. They have access to tennis courts, croquet and bowling greens, swimming pools, a magnificent old clubhouse and a nine hole course to complement the Championship course.

For those fortunate enough to stay in house the clubhouse is very comfortable with fine dining, gymnasium and billards room

The course is nicely maintained, a good test of golf, and a joy to play And if the Gil Hanse plans are brought to fruition in 2023, it will be even better..

Peter Wood is the founder of The Travelling Golfer – click the link to read his full review

Royal Sydney is one of Australia's great sporting complexes with Tennis, bowls, croquet, squash, a fitness centre and swimming pool all available to members!

Accommodation is available for guests of members as well, with some fine views to be had.

The Championship course is famous for hosting Men's and Women's Australian Open's throughout it's time in the beautiful and leafy surrounds of Rose Bay, one of Sydney's premier suburbs.

The day I was to play the course the heavens opened sadly, the course itself held up very well in these conditions, and as it's exceptionally hard to get on here (it took this writer 3 years) you don't pack up and head back to the clubhouse.

The course has one of the more interesting opening holes in Australia, a short par 4 that has an elevated tee box and has bunkers everywhere posing a problem straight away, lay up is the best option!

Speaking of bunkers the course has significantly reduced it's bunkering from yester year, but it still poses a threat all day and definitely makes the golfer think before their next shot.

The course runs fairly up and back with not too much directional change, or elevation, but what it lacks in these departments in more than makes up for in design of the current holes. You can see why major tournaments are held there.

Greens are a challenge and having local knowledge on the day certainly helped!

The Club is in the midst of a potential change to the course design with the great Gil Hanse reportedly undertaking the redevelop of the Championship course, for myself this could certainly see a rise in the ranking for this mighty course, and I'd certainly enjoy playing here once this change is completed.

Tyson.

I would agree very much with the below reviews. The course starts on a high with a lovely short par 4 with strategic bunkering and a tricky green with the front 9 certainly being the stronger of the two. The other short par 4 8th is a very nice hole that again requires a solid strategy. The back 9 is a bit of a slog over less interesting land. the facilities are glorious and makes me think of what an elite country club in the U.S. may appear like. Unfortunately the quality of the course does not match and although enjoyable, is well below the best in the state at NSW.

It will be interesting to see how the work at bonnie doon goes. If the original work by occm is replicated then it may well elevate itself above its more illustrious neigbours in the city.

There are certainly some strong holes at Royal Sydney. Notable is the stretch from the 1st to the 6th that runs along the entire east side of the property. Things become more pedestrian from the 7th to the 12th. Then things get more compelling again at the tempting uphill par 5 13th and the par 3 14th. After that, it is a less than inspiring run to the finish. The location of the course is remarkable, located in the bucolic eastern harbourside suburb of Rose Bay, a mere 15 minutes from the CBD and 5 minutes from Bondi Beach. That is certainly worth some consideration in terms of the overall experience of playing the course. However, because of apparent land constraints (worsened by the Club’s short course) there is not enough room to plot out the most optimal routing in order to get all the holes up towards a global elite standard. Also, there is a sense that the layout would be a much better course without trees (which might have been the case since the trees on the course don’t look like old growth original – especially the rows of what look to be a type of coniferous tree planted to create separation between some of the holes). Definitely fun to play because of the location. But void of any tee shots or approach shots that are capable of heightening anticipation with the exception of the drivable 1st hole. Still, very much worth playing.

This course has the best greens that I have ever played. Set in the opulent surroundings of Rose Bay, Royal Sydney is an oasis of calm on Sydneys' doorstep. Vast tiered green complexes put a premium on accuarcy and beware the myriad of bunkers that lie like sentinels around the greens. Quite a straightforward course if you manage to keep the ball out of the trees and the bunkers. The standout hole has to be the 18th which is a 90 degree dogleg left requiring a drawing drive to the corner of the dogleg leaving a mid to short iron approach to a large 3 tiered green. The Australian Open returns to RSGC this year so it will be interesting to see how the pros fare on this grand old lady.