THE WANDERING GOLFER: BRENDAN MOLONEY
It does not seem 20 years have slipped away since the Open Course at Moonah Links was first played, nor that we lost its designer, Peter Thomson, after a battle with Parkinson’s disease 18 months ago.
His creation of the layout that hosted the 2003 and 2005 Australian Opens was recognised early this year with the unveiling of a bronze bust in front of the clubhouse at Fingal on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
The tribute was the idea of Ming Jiao, the Chinese owner of the complex. It is said that the third owner of a golf course is usually the one who does well out of it. Mr Jiao bought it in 2015 from Paddy Handbury, Rupert Murdoch’s nephew, who bought it from the original syndicate that included land owner Bill Leslie, The Seekers’ Bruce Woodley, financial guru turned golf book author, David Worley, and the late Colin Phillips, CEO of the Australian Golf Union.
All shared a vision with Thomson of turning farm land producing beef and wine grapes into the “home of Australian golf” where it was stipulated that the Open would be played at least every third year.
The design and construction contract was awarded after an international tender process to the firm of Thomson, Wolveridge and Perrett but from the outset the Open Course was Thomson’s baby. Partner Ross Perrett built the adjoining Legends layout, while Mike Wolveridge was initially occupied with constructing courses designed by Thomson and Greg Norman at the nearby The National Golf Club.
Thomson said the quality of the sandy terrain and the brief to do whatever was required to produce the ideal course for the national championship were inspirational and he named the project from the outset his magnum opus. Thomson wanted a course without compromise that would test the best players and return prestige to the Open. He felt that if he built it, they would come purely for the golf instead of appearance money to play on tricked up member’s courses.
This threw a scare into the players because he’d so severely tricked up Royal Adelaide for the 1998 Australian Open that one player said he’d stand naked in front of the clubhouse during the presentations if anyone broke par for the week. His modesty was saved when Greg Chalmers won with a par score of 288.
As the 2003 Open neared, Royal Adelaide was still fresh in the memory and horror stories started to circulate. Thomson did nothing to allay them and there was a twinkle in his eye when he told reporters that a couple under par would be a very good score on a still day while 80 would probably be the average if the wind blew.
The difficulty came from the length, 7,400 yards in the old measure, wind and 77 small, fiendishly placed bunkers designed to limit the escape shot to 40 yards, sometimes while still 200 yards from the green. He was also advocating a return to the old days of the British Open when the bunkers were raked once at the beginning of the week and you took your luck with your lie in them after that.
Come the day, the field looked like men walking to the gallows but they finished pleasantly surprised. Either they were better players than they thought they were or the course was not the result of “Thommo finally losing his marbles”. Queenslander Chris Downes shot 67, one better than winner Peter Lonard. Luck played a part in it. For the first time in living memory the wind had not blown on the peninsula for three days in a row. As the great man said after the third round: “Another day of appallingly calm weather.”
Sadly, the 2005 Open won by Robert Allenby was the last time the title was played in Victoria and Thomson’s magnum opus is not the preferred course for most players at Moonah Links. Perrett’s shorter, by 500 yards, and easier Legends Course is more popular. I’m not a good enough player to judge which is better but as a watcher of both Opens I find Thomson’s course unsurpassed in its beauty, variety, challenge and superb viewing locations. There are many vantage points up high in the “stadium” design from which you can see several holes and perhaps the best is on the 16th where you watch and hear the ball go by. Mary Thomson summed it up well when she helped Mr Jiao unveil the bust: “Peter believed that every course should be enjoyed by golfers of every calibre. Every time someone makes a birdie on the Open Course, he or she should be aware that Peter is up there watching and wearing a very large smile.”
The owner added through an interpreter: “It is fitting that all golfers who play at our facility will pass this bust of Mr Peter Thomson as they go out on course to begin their round. I am hopeful that as golfers pass the bust they receive good luck and enjoy their round all the better as they acknowledge a great of the game.”