Address: Cheltenham Road, Cheltenham
Number of holes: 18
19th Hole: Yes
Motorized carts: Yes
Cost: 18 — $23 (weekday)
Cary, Stuart & Billy went out to play Sandringham on another perfect Melbourne winters day. The sun was shining & the wind was negligible. This was my first time out at one of Melbourne’s famed Sand belt courses, I must admit it was worth the trip. Sandringham is right next door to Royal Melbourne & I was told the the back 9 at Sandringham used to be part of Melbourne most famous courses (Please don’t sue me if this information is not correct). From the first tee you can see why this area is considered the best Golf course region in the state. The fairways look fantastic & the greens look superb. The bunkers are filled with good quality sand, which is a good thing because nearly every green is protected by bunkers. I found myself in a number of greenside bunkers during the course of the round & with the condition they are kept it was pleasure to play out of them. (For the record I played one of the shots of the day out of a bunker to within a meter of the hole).
One part of the course that I felt was a little dangerous was the 4th tee. It is located right behind the Par 3 3rd green. There is only a small path separating the two. At 156 meters it would be very easy to over cook your tee shot on the 3rd & put your ball in the middle of the group teeing off on the 4th.
The fairways are boarded on most holes by small trees( I believe they are Tea Trees but again please don’t sue if I’m incorrect) & shrubs. As Stuart commented after trying to retrieve an errant ball ” There is some thick shit in there”. If you stray from the fairways on a lot of holes you have Buckley’s chance of finding your ball.
One of my favourite holes on the front 9 was the par 3 7th. There is a bunker which appears to be at the front of the green but is in fact a good 10-15 meters short of the putting surface. There are also bunkers protecting the right hand side of the green.
It’s not until the 9th hole that encounter a par 5 here at Sandringham. It is a beautiful hole with the Clubhouse straight ahead of the tee.
If you thought the front 9 was good you are in for a treat on the back 9. It starts off with a short 135 meter par 3 with bunkers protecting the left side of the green. This is followed by the 11th which is a slight dogleg right with a wide open fairway.
The par 3 15th is a fantastic hole. At 153 meters it is an average length par 3, but the left side of the green is protected by bunkers & the green slopes away to the right. So to get the ball close to the hole you have to play over the bunkers otherwise your ball will roll off the front right edge of the green.
The 16th hole is rated as the toughest on the course. At 387 meters for a par 4, it is not it’s length that makes this hole tough. The fairways are wide so your tee shot & second shot are regulation. It’s when you get to the green that you may find yourself in trouble. This green is brilliant. It has more undulations on it than any other green I have seen. A 5 meter putt could quite easily turn into a 3 putter if the pin placement is unkind.
To sum up, this was a fantastic golf course. We had a ball playing here. If the rest of Melbourne’s Sand Belt course are anything like this, I will be going out of my way to play on more of them.