The Metropolitan Golf Club

Metropolitan enjoys a reputation as one of the best-conditioned and most beautiful courses in the country. Pure couch grass fairways with large, fast bent-grass greens that are hand-mown to the edges of the greenside bunkers add greatly to the challenge of the course.

In total there are 96 bunkers and almost every hole is flanked by huge stands of Australian native trees, providing sanctuary to many species of native birds.

In 2001 Metropolitan was selected to host the USPGA Tour World Match Play Championship, which was won by Steve Stricker. It was also chosen as the host of the 2014 Australian Masters.

The top players from all over the world were amazed by the quality of the course. Tom Lehman compared it to Augusta, and USPGA Tour Commissioner, Tim Finchem, remarked:
‘I don’t recall being at one of our events where every player in the field is ecstatic about the quality and condition of the golf course – hats are off to everybody at Metropolitan for getting this great golf course in the condition that it’s in. Metropolitan has enhanced its reputation as one of the world’s truly great golf courses.

Metropolitan is probably the most difficult of the Sandbelt courses and its strength is the sum of its parts. Few members can agree on the best hole. Some pick the medium length par 4 5th hole. The 2nd is a beautiful Sandbelt par 3 and a favourite of many.

Metropolitan is the flattest of the Sandbelt courses and so cannot rely on the natural contour of a great piece of land to make a stunning hole, however at almost every hole the complex greens dictates that the middle of the fairway is hardly ever the best line into the flag. That principle is what makes Metropolitan such an interesting essay in golf course strategy.

This principle is perfectly exemplified at the opening hole. Two fairway bunkers guard the ideal driving line down the left and a typically sprawling greenside bunker to the right makes the shot from the right so much more complicated than the shot from the left.