australia Tom Doak: Idol Hands

Tom Doak has locked up what just might be his dream job.

Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia’s oldest (founded in 1891) and most renowned golf venue, has hired Doak as its design consultant, a position formerly held by Martin Hawtree. It’s “as good of a gig as I can imagine,” the Traverse City, Michigan-based designer said in a comment posted at GolfClubAtlas.com.

For Doak, the main attraction of the job is a chance to work on a pair of true world-class layouts, particularly the club’s West course, which he said in a recent interview “might be the place which has influenced my own design style the most.” The track, which opened in 1931, was designed by one of his idols, Alister MacKenzie, and is a fixture in rankings of the best courses on the planet.

Noteworthy factoid: MacKenzie never laid eyes on the completed course.

No renovation plans are currently in order, but Doak knows that the club’s courses are, as he put it, “feeling pressure from technology.” He’s expected to make a site visit later this year, presumably before November, when Royal Melbourne hosts the Presidents Cup.

One other thing: Rumor has it that the club, which is located in a southern suburb of Melbourne, may purchase an adjacent golf property, Sandringham Golf Club, and renovate it.