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Since
the day the first drive was struck from the opening
tee in 1993, The Links at Hope Island has gained a
glowing reputation among discerning golfers within
Australia, partly for the naturalized layout, and
partly for the authenticity of the principles of
design employed in its construction.
Peter
Thomson, local legend and winner of five Open
Championships during his professional career,
spearheaded the design, and we find in the nuance and
style of the design the architect's affection for
links-style golf, a purer version of the game that his
record suggests he clearly enjoyed.
At the Links at Hope Island, the premium is on
managing a smart, low-ball game, something stipulated
by the firm terrain and breezy conditions, and sadly
lost to the game outside of the United Kingdom over
the past couple of generations. With an interesting
parcel of Gold Coast land made available to him,
Thomson has created a superb, running layout, where
playing the ball low into the contours of the land is
absolutely imperative to playing well. Pot bunkers and a plentitude of chipping
areas make approach shots more challenging, but also
give the golfer a chance to use their imagination
around the green. It is this confluences of styles and
shot values that has earned Hope
Island status as a landmark design in Australia, and a
modest endorsement from the master himself. Assessing
the 200 or so works in his firm's portfolio, Thomson
recently called Hope Island his best work, against
which all other future designs ought to be measured.
Ranking panels in Australia seem to agree, as Hope
Island has moved quickly into the top dozen or so on
the continent,
making it the must-play layout on the Gold Coast.
Hope
Island opens with
a
modest start, presenting a microcosm of the strategic
and stylistic challenges that await
the golfer, where the approach either reaches the
elevated green, or trickles back into a shaved hollow
to leave a tricky bump-and-run play up the slope. The course comes alive at the second hole,
appropriately named ‘Fig’ for the pair of trees that
flank both sides of the driving area. The par five may
seem short according to the yardage, but only the
boldest players will try to find the green in two. The
tighter line down the left side may flirt with the fig
tree and water, or the golfer may choose the right
side of the fairway to avoid the trouble. From
there, the second shot must be played with care, as
bunkers pinch the landing area at the 110-yard mark.
Those willing to lay back to 120 yards gain a wide
landing area, but also a tougher approach to a tricky
green, while those trying to cheat for a few extra
yards must be accurate with their second. The approach
to the green is tricky due to the difficult pot
bunkers on the left side of the green, which behoove
the golfer to play to the safer right side and face an uphill putt.
One's game must be sharp, and their thought process
clear, to navigate these strategically comprehensive
designs of
Thomson's.
The
harmony between the land and the design is equally
enjoyable, and one finds at the fifth a pretty little
par three that offers reprieve from the length
required at the third and fourth holes.
Measuring only
154 yards from the back tees, the hole would appear to
be little more than a short iron and a pair of putts,
but the
shallow green makes the hole devilish. The fronting
bunker means that short is not an option, and long is
an even tougher recovery. The left-center of the
green is the deepest section of the green and affords
the best opportunity to hold the green and leave a
very reasonable two-putt for par.
In
a tribute to the famed Old Course at St. Andrews, and
perhaps his 1955 Open win there, Thomson named the eighth hole ‘Principal’s
Nose’ after the spectacle like bunkers on the
right side of the driving area. However, eight is
probably the best birdie opportunity on the front
side, so long as the plethora of bunkers that dot the
hole can be avoided. Aside from the driving area
bunkers, the approach must be played over a series of
pot bunkers that make trying to run in a long second
shot an unwise choice. Laying up also boasts
the added advantage of having a short iron into one of
the largest greens on the course, meaning pin seeking
will be marginally easier.
Arriving
at the 13th hole gives a golfer a sense of
apprehension from the outset and the hole’s name
‘The Wetlands’ explains simply why
that is the case. The treacherous dogleg left bends
entirely around the pond, and also boasts plenty of
bunkers to add to the challenge. The drive seemingly
begs the golfer to choose the right hand side, however
this tactic forces a very difficult approach to the
green over the greenside bunkers. The left side from
the tee does leave the more favoured approach, but it also forces the golfer
to split the fairway
bunkers and pond with a solid strike. Coming into the elevated green
that is well-guarded by bunkers on
the left, getting up-and-down after a near-side miss
is next to impossible. Two extra clubs, and a play
well right of the flag, is the sharp, prudent play,
and there is always the chance that a lag putt will
topple in.
Selecting
a signature hole from
Hope
Island's
arsenal of great options is a trying task, but, held
to a vote, the 17th would be the favourite to win. The
brutish back tee plays to an unfathomable 253 yards,
over water and bunkers to an elevated green. From the
more reasonable regular tees the shot is seemingly no
easier, with the exception that the bail out area is
massive. Few
golfers have the nerve to play to the pin, despite the
prevailing winds blowing from the left and forcing the
ball to the right side and the generous chipping area.
Given the long club played into the green, few shots
could hold the surface, so any of the fronting bunkers
or the chipping area afford the golfer the best chance
at par. Coming in, one would be best to think about protecting
their good score rather than trying to attack.
If
the 17th is about exercising caution, the closing hole is
about attacking as much as one needs to. The classic
par five measures a daunting 566 yards from the pro
tees, but still affords a birdie opportunity to close
the round. The drive must avoid the bunkers on the
right side and the back sides of them can actually be
used to catapult the drive those few extra precious
yards. From the fairway the golfer must decide where
to lay up for the approach, where a dangerous line is
rewarded with a shorter, more direct line to the flag
for the third shot. The green itself, though, is
designed to deflect balls either way, no matter what
the line or trajectory of attack, so playing to the
center of the green for a reasonable birdie try is the
best decision.
Thomson’s
belief that a course should unfold like a story is
evident at Hope
Island, where suspense builds throughout the round and gives
the golfer one of the most dramatic finishes in
Australian golf. Now the continent's old favourites at
last have a contemporary classic to challenge their
merit. If the designer himself, Australia's first golf
hero, opinion is of any matter (and it is), Hope
Island is destined to claw further up in the rankings
of Australia's timeless links courses.
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