Hardpan And A Lot Of Sand

Royal Melbourne poses unusual challenges

- Ron Kaspriske

CAMERON SMITH says he has played at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, site of the 2019 Presidents Cup (Dec. 12-15), at least 10 times. But when he’s asked to describe how its two courses play (they’ll be using 12 holes from the West Course and six from the East for the Cup), he goes silent for a bit. “That’s hard to say. Every time I’ve been down there, it wants something different from your game,” he says. “One thing is for sure about Royal Melbourne: You have to make adjustments to how you play.”