COURSE REVIEW: THE VINES RESORT & CC
SWAN VALLEY • WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Pairing scintillating holes with a captivating setting, The Vines offers 36 holes of quintessentially West Australian golf with a rich tournament history, writes Steve Keipert.
PAIRING SCINTILLATING HOLES WITH A CAPTIVATING SETTING, THE VINES OFFERS 36 HOLES OF QUINTESSENTIALLY WEST AUSTRALIAN GOLF COUPLED WITH A RICH TOURNAMENT HISTORY.
Television brought The Vines Resort into the lounge rooms of golfers across Australia for so long that it’s easy to forget just how many grand events were staged across its Composite course. Likewise, the passage of time might have pushed memories of this 36-hole complex to the recesses of the mind now that the steady diet of tournament action is, at least for now, exhausted. Fortunately it’s not dif cult to drag this golf icon of the Swan Valley forward in the memory bank. The stunning location, a leisurely drive outside the West Australian capital in the state’s oldest wine region, combined with a pair of exceptional golf courses and complemented by a four-star resort make it impossible to forget once you’ve spent a day or longer enjoying everything The Vines possesses. And, for those, who do remember the golf course used for the dozen professional tournaments the resort has hosted, the good news is there’s 18 more holes that are just as good yet never received a moment’s TV exposure.
The Vines opened in 1989 and garnered its reputation just a year later thanks to hosting the rst Vines Classic, which later morphed into the Heineken Classic. Every summer it became a xture on not just the golf calendar but also the national sporting schedule as stars ocked to Perth on an annual basis. The tournament became one of the success stories in Australian golf and even when bigger sponsorship dollars and an east-coast home at regal Royal Melbourne became too appealing for tournament organisers to resist, The Vines continued to draw tournament attention. A pair of Johnnie Walker Classics came to the Swan Valley and even the LPGA’s short-lived Lexus Cup called in once. As tournament venues go, few Australian courses of the same age can match the pedigree of big events to descend on The Vines.
The golf course commanded high praise throughout the tournament era. It had the space to accommodate the necessary infrastructure in a setting to appeal to both a local, national and international audience. Kangaroos hopping down a fairway less than an hour’s drive from an urban centre? A marketer’s dream. And the players enjoyed it, too. With an honour roll that anointed names as diverse as Ian Woosnam, Thomas Bjorn, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Michael Campbell, Mike Clayton, Jeff Maggert, Kevin Stadler,
Danny Lee, Robert Allenby and local favourite Jarrod Moseley, The Vines had a knack for unearthing a miscellaneous mix of champions with varying skill sets.
The course-architecture union of Graham Marsh and Ross Watson yielded countless ne layouts during their time in partnership and few rank better than The Vines. Split into the Lakes and Ellenbrook courses – the tournament, or Composite, course used the 1st and 2nd holes plus the 12th to 18th of Ellenbrook then the whole back nine of Lakes – the pair cleverly walk that ne line for 36-holers of re ecting one another without essentially feeling the same. If there is a common theme to the two courses, it’s the size of the greens. Often these gargantuan surfaces play like two or three greens in one, and their depth has the capacity to add (or subtract) hundreds of metres from the overall distance of each layout by switching cup locations. Play all 36 holes and it is unlikely you will get around without facing at least one putt of 70 feet or longer as two-putting becomes an enviable achievement.
The scenic value of The Vines’ surroundings extends to the holes themselves as grass trees and the stunning ora (and, occasionally, the hopping variety of fauna) nd a key place in the way many holes play. While a recent effort to eradicate some of the ground-level scrub has improved playability, the move hasn’t diminished the challenge for better players nor diluted the visual splendour of the quintessential bushland setting.
Traditionally, the 6,494-metre Lakes course ranks higher than its 6,561-metre sibling although the distance between the two for architectural merit is not broad at all. These days the Lakes is considered the members’ course, however visitors can still play it any time other than Tuesday mornings, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The Lakes is arguably more eye-catching, particularly with its waterladen nishing holes, although many of its more enticing attributes don’t feature any water. The par-5 3rd hole, for example, tricks the eye on approach thanks to a raised, segmented green that is 43 metres long and features a swale on the left that should be avoided. It’s a similar story at the par-3 next, which plays anywhere from 158 to 203 metres from the tee to the green’s centre, but you can add up to 25 metres if the ag is located in the rear of the 51-metre-long green. From an elevated tee, the target is this time more de ned, however the test becomes nding the portion of the green that won’t create an enormous putt.
The 5th hole caps a run of three intriguing green complexes. In fact, the shape of the entire hole is compelling. The 390-metre par-4 twists sharply right but contains a portion of fairway on the outside of the dogleg that appears safe yet tends to block many approach shots due to trees
retained on the corner, while the boomerang-shaped green yields an array of interesting pitches and putts.
The Lakes’ “TV holes” begin with a string of relatively open holes from 10 to 15 before the scene-stealers nish the examination. The 16th is a tremendous par-3 of 179 metres with a large, diagonal green. If the ag is cut on the left, the challenge is straightforward, but when it’s in the rear or right side, bunkers and an ominous lake come squarely into play. Fear not, as it is possible to feed balls into the back-right section with a curving tee shot. The 390-metre par-4 17th moves past a lake on its left side before climbing to raised green that pushes balls towards the back edge. The scene of many heroic acts and dashed chances, the par-5 18th offers high hopes for a closing birdie. Measuring 470 metres from the back markers, the Lakes’ home hole places three water hazards in play but none is more intimidating than the lake in front of the broad green.
Over on the Ellenbrook course, water may be less evident but other challenges remain in frame. Bush and scrub are recurring features, as are the spacious greens and abundant bunkers. A neat run of holes begins from the 5th, a par-3 to a deep green with a rear hollow. The 6th fairway is wide but the ideal angle to approach the green is up the left side yet the camber of the land wants to send the ball right, complicating the second shot. The 7th is another strong two-shotter and the 8th is a tempting 161-metre par-3 with water lurking left of the generous putting surface.
If there’s one hole that’s worth playing from the rear tees, it’s the 13th. The scorecard calls it a par-3 but it feels like more. Stretching 230 metres from the back markers, this behemoth will require a driver for almost every golfer – and quite possibly a pitch shot after that. The target is large but standing on a par-3 with a driver in hand is arguably the biggest obstacle to defeat; that and the litany of bunkers scattered against the right edge of the green. There is no disgrace in making a bogey here.
The giant 13th begins a run of holes demanding big shots to avoid big numbers. The 361-metre 14th invites a tee shot across a lone bunker hugging the inside corner of the dogleg-right par-4 yet the more prudent play is short or left of the trap. The 400-metre 15th asks for two solid shots to secure a par four and it’s more of the same at the uphill par-4 16th and strong par-3 17th. Ellenbrook’s 18th appears to offer some respite as a 480-metre par-5, although the dogleg-left, uphill climb and long, awkward putting surface often quash birdie hopes and make closing pars a tough proposition.
Two courses, two choices and a multitude of ways to play many holes. Just as the pros kept returning come tournament time, regular golfers know that any trip to The Vines is an opportunity to experience remarkable golf courses in a setting that’s tough to top.