The Dunes - Golf Links
The Dunes Golf Links is a championship links-style golf course located on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, approximately one hour's drive from Melbourne. It was designed by Tony Cashmore and opened in 1997.
The course has a traditional out-and-back layout, meaning that the first nine holes and the last nine holes both start and finish at the clubhouse. The front nine holes are generally more exposed to the wind, while the back nine holes are sheltered by sand dunes and trees. The fairways are wide and generous, but the course's main defense is its greens, which are small, fast, and undulating. Many of the greens are protected by deep bunkers and mounds, which require players to hit accurate shots to avoid trouble.
Forecast had predicted rain, but Melbourne did it yet again and produced an absolute gem of a day. We had a morning tee time kicking off on the 10th tee. Warming up at the range I felt a bit shaky but towards the end the feels started to come back.
It was another good day off the box hitting the majority of the fairways for the day. My iron play improved significantly from my previous round at The National, and I felt like I was channeling my inner Min Woo Lee.
Thankfully no hosels on this round with a much better performance on and around the greens. What was once the part of my game I loved the most, has become my nemesis so to be able to string 18 holes together with a vastly improved chipping and putting performance was a great feeling.
My highlight for the day was eagling the par 5 7th hole. I hit a nice drive which followed the left to right slope of the fairway and ended up in the right hand rough on the right side of the fairway. A tricky 2nd with the ball above my feet on a slope. I was in two minds about which iron to hit, 3 or 4. I was trying to feel the wind. I felt that a 3 would be too long and run out the green but maybe my 4 is not enough. It came down to the wind and it felt like there was just enough there to give my 4 iron a chance..The pin placement on 7th was sitting in a bowl having taken a look on the 4th tee box prior. If this was going to have a chance I needed to catch it well. I clubbed down and kept telling myself to let the club do the work and no need to force it. Everything from the swing, to the strike, the ball flight and height, was everything that I have envisioned. I can picture it in slow mo as I type this blog post out. All that was left was to see where it ended up. Nestled in the bowl for a tap in eagle.
I was gutted to close out the final 2 holes double and 1 over but with 4 birdies and an eagle to close out +2 with a 74, it was a good day. Progress, finally! With my game being in tatters for many months, this is the round that takes me a step forward and reminds me I can play this game.
This was my second time playing The Dunes, and I loved it just as much as the first time. It's an incredible links-style course that can be deceiving and testing in many ways so one not to underestimate. You will need to play with strategy and patience and keep your emotions on ice.
