Royal Melbourne’s historic West Course is ranked 7th on GOLF’s Top 100 courses in the world list. Royal Melbourne also hosts the 2025 Crown Australian Open this week, and Rory McIlroy is in the field.
But the five-time champion feared he might have insulted the historic club’s ‘membership’ with a surprising but honest opinion he shared publicly at his press conference. He doesn’t think Royal Melbourne is the best golf course in the area, let alone all of Australia.
Here’s what you need to know.
Where Royal Melbourne is one of the Top 100 golf courses
Before we get into McIlroy’s comments during his pre-tournament press conference at the Aussie Open, it’s important to get a few things clear.
Royal Melbourne has two courses on the Top 100 courses in the world list, but technically neither is being played this week.
Royal Melbourne’s tournament course is a composite layout consisting of holes from the 7th ranked West Course, designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1931, and the East Course.
While the West Course is regularly in the conversation as the best course in the world, the East Course is no slouch. Designed by Alex Russell, it is ranked 82nd on the World Top 100 list.
So while McIlroy gets his first taste of Royal Melbourne this week, the layout he’s playing on is a mix between the courses ranked 7th and 82nd in the world.
Rory McIlroy: Royal Melbourne is not the best race in Melbourne
Given the prestige of Royal Melbourne, it came as a surprise when McIlroy stepped back in public comments this week.
During his pre-tournament press conference at the club, McIlroy shared his view that this week’s host is not the best golf course in Australia.
“I don’t want the members to take this so badly,” McIlroy began cautiously, “I do [Royal Melbourne] probably not the best job in Melbourne.”
He was quick to reassure everyone that he still believes Royal Melbourne is one of the best golf courses in the world.
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“That’s my opinion, but it’s definitely in the top 10 in the world,” says McIlroy. “There is so much great golf in this country, especially in this area.”
Despite the initial shock, it’s hard to blame the five-time major champion when you hear which course he thinks is better than Royal Melbourne.
“Kingston Heath,” McIlroy declared.
Kingston Heath is not a goat path. It is just a short drive from Royal Melbourne and has its own historic pedigree. Kingston Heath opened in 1928 and was also partly designed by MacKenzie. And its own ranking in the Top 100 courses in the world, 24th, shows that course experts hold this course in high regard.
McIlroy also gave a few details about his first experience at Royal Melbourne.
“I didn’t expect how many blind tee shots there would be,” he said. “It’ll take some time to figure it out. It’s certainly not easy.
He did add the caveat that the unusual southerly wind caused some holes to play “a little funky” during his practice round.
“It’s probably not a fair reflection of the golf course playing in this wind,” McIlroy said. “It would be good to play it in a few different directions.”
He continued, “But it’s obviously a great golf course and I can’t wait to get out there and compete on it.”
In his first competitive round on the Royal Melbourne composite course Thursday, McIlroy traded five birdies for six bogeys to shoot a one-over 72. He will start the second round. seven shots ahead.
Even if he doesn’t turn his game around on the court this week, he should be happier with the host court of next year’s Australian Open: Kingston Heath.
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