Kingston Heath ousts Royal Melbourne as Aussie No 1

FROM THE AGE.COM.AU WEBSITE
By MARTIN BLAKE
Royal Melbourne has lost its customary position as Australia's No. 1 ranked golf course for the first time, with Kingston Heath crowned as the new leader.
Golf Digest, the Sydney-based national magazine, has sent the esteemed ''Royal'' and its west course slumping to No. 3 in its list released today. New South Wales, in Sydney's southern suburbs and the host for last year's Australian Open, is at No. 2.
Constant problems with greens and fairways have dogged Australia's most prestigious club through the drought, with the west course currently closed for most of the greens to be relaid and the fairways being resown.
It is not expected to reopen until next month. Some holes on the east course also have been closed for attention.
Golf Digest editor Steve Keipert described Royal Melbourne as ''a masterpiece'', but added that ''severe conditioning issues'' and the splitting of the two courses for the purposes of ranking had been important to the change in ranking. It is the first time since rankings began in the 1980s that ''Royal'' has moved from the top.
''It would be easy to say 'we don't worry about those things', but it's not the right thing to say,'' said Royal Melbourne's chief executive Paul Rak last night. ''We do look at the rankings. We just congratulate Kingston Heath.''
Rak said the drought had pummelled the two courses over the past five years, but that recent moves had addressed the problems. The club has built a 37-megalitre lagoon, begun a stormwater harvesting project and built a wetlands and a bioretention area.
Previously most course-ranking panels have judged Royal Melbourne on its composite course, the tournament lay-out that has 12 holes from the west course and six from the east. Under this method, Royal was on top of the most recent list released by Golf Australia magazine, and also was the top-ranked Australian course at No. 6 in a list of the best courses outside the US compiled by Golf Digest in America.
Recently there has been a push to split the courses for purposes of ranking, since the composite course is rarely played.
Twenty-one Victorian courses made the top 100, with Kingston Heath, highly successful host of last year's Australian Masters, leading the way.
Royal Melbourne is hosting the Presidents Cup between the US and an International team next year, drawing the best players in the world. Rak said the club would have its courses shipshape by then.
''We believe we've got the water-supply issues right, and we've addressed the quality of the turf. The members have been very supportive.
''Of course you'd like to be No. 1 but we're doing what we can to get back to where we should be,'' Rak added.
TOP COURSES
Australia's top 10 golf courses by Australian Golf Digest:
1. Kingston Heath (Victoria)
2. New South Wales (New South Wales)
3. Royal Melbourne, West (Vic)
4. Barnbougle Dunes (Tasmania)
5. Ellerston (NSW)
6. The National, Moonah (Vic)
7. Metropolitan (Vic)
8. Royal Melbourne, East (Vic)
9. Royal Adelaide (South Australia)
10. Victoria (Vic)
Other Victorian clubs in the top 40:
13. Moonah Links (legends); 14. The Dunes; 16 The National (old); 21. Barwon Heads; 22. Woodlands; 24. Commonwealth; 25. Peninsula (north); 26. Moonah Links (Open); 29. Thirteenth Beach (Beach); 32. St Andrews Beach; 34. Yarra Yarra; 36. Huntingdale; 37. The National Ocean); 38. Portsea; 39. Peninsula (south).