Royal Melbourne’s historic West Course ranks seventh on GOLF’s list of the world’s top 100 courses. Royal Melbourne is also the host of this week’s 2025 Crown Australian Open, with Rory McIlroy also on hand.
But the five-time Grand Slam champion is concerned that a surprising but honest opinion he shared publicly during a press conference may have offended the historic club’s “membership”. He believes Royal Melbourne is not the best golf course in the region, let alone the best in Australia.
Here’s what you need to know.
Royal Melbourne golf course joins top 100
Before we get into McIlroy’s comments during his pre-Australian Open press conference, it’s worth getting a few things straight.
Royal Melbourne has two courses ranked among the top 100 courses in the world, but technically neither of them is being played this week.
Royal Melbourne’s championship course is a composite layout, consisting of the seventh-ranked West Course and East Course designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1931.
While the West Course is often talked about as the best course in the world, the East Course is no slouch either. It was designed by Alex Russell and ranks 82nd on the World’s Top 100 list.
So while McIlroy is making his Royal Melbourne debut this week, he’s playing on a course that’s laid out somewhere between the No. 7 and No. 82 courses in the world.
Rory McIlroy: Royal Melbourne not the best course in Melbourne
Given Royal Melbourne’s stature, people were surprised when McIlroy demoted it in public comments this week.
During a pre-match press conference at the club, McIlroy shared his view that this week’s hosts are not the best golf courses in Australia.
“I don’t want members to be serious about this,” McIlroy said tentatively. [Royal Melbourne] Probably not the best course in Melbourne. “
He was quick to reassure everyone that he still believed Royal Melbourne Stadium was one of the best in the world.
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“That’s my opinion, but it’s definitely top 10 in the world,” McIlroy. “There are a lot of great golf courses in the country, especially in this area.”
Despite the initial shock, it’s hard to blame the five-time major champion when you hear he considers a course beyond Royal Melbourne.
“Kingston Heath,” McIlroy declared.
Kingston Heath is not a goat track. It’s just a short drive from Royal Melbourne and has its own historical pedigree. Kingston Heath opened in 1928 and was partly designed by MacKenzie. Its ranking among the top 100 courses in the world is 24th, which shows that course experts attach great importance to it.
McIlroy also provided more details about his first experience at Royal Melbourne.
“I didn’t anticipate how many blind drives there were going to be,” he said. “It’s going to take a little while to figure it out. It’s certainly not simple.
He did warn that the unusual south wind caused some of his practice rounds to play “a little weird.”
“That may not be a fair reflection of the golf courses that are played in these kinds of winds,” McIlroy said. “It would be nice if it worked in a few other directions.”
He continued: “But it’s obviously an amazing golf course and I can’t wait to get out there and compete.”
McIlroy had five birdies and six bogeys for a one-over-par 72 in Thursday’s first round at Royal Melbourne Complex. He would start the second round with a seven-shot lead.
Even if he doesn’t turn things around on the court this week, he should be more satisfied with the host course of next year’s Australian Open: Kingston Heath.
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