What makes Royal Melbourne so special? Cam Smith's fascinating answer

Key Highlights

• But when you haven’t visited a course in person it’s always interesting to try to puzzle out from TV, from comments, from expert reviews - what is it that makes a great golf course great?I found Smith’s answer particularly illuminating. Smith was beaming after a second-round 65 pulled him within shouting distance of the lead.“I think that’s what I needed mate, to be honest, was a bit of momentum,” he told his post-round interviewer.
• What, the interviewer asked, was the best part of his game?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I don’t think I’ve shaped the ball like that for a very long time,” Smith said.
• “I think it takes a good golf course for me to commit to that.
• You get on a few bland golf courses and it’s just kind of target golf and it’s definitely not like that out here, I think you have to ride the wind some shots and flight it up into the wind to get close to pins [on others], you have to be creative, you have to hit shots and I was able to do that, especially with the irons.”What’s fascinating about that answer is the implication that a good golf course can bring out good golf.
• Smith’s alternative - bland golf courses - bring less memorable golf shots.