Reminder: The (Moving?) Dinosaur Debuts At Aus PGA

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I had no idea the dinosaurs at Clive Palmer's Coolum Resort move, but it seems from this News 10 footage that the "mechanical monstrosity" makes sounds too.

I think I'm getting a better feel for why the Australian PGA--locked out last weekend by the resort owner--is leaving after this week. Golf Channel has the feed starting at 9:00 ET.

Peter Senior (53!) Wins Australian Open!

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Absolutely amazing story Down Under at the Emirates Australian Open: Martin Blake reports on the wacky, windy final day from The Lakes where Peter Senior held off Justin Rose and Brendan Jones to become the oldest winner of the historic tournament.

Senior’s two Australian Open wins – he also won at Kingston Heath in 1989 – came 23 years apart, another record. He is the oldest winner of any top-level Australian tour event, having set the previous record himself when he won the Australian PGA at Coolum in 2010 at 51.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,’’ said Senior, a profoundly popular figure in the Australian golf industry over three decades.

He paid tribute to his son, who has carried the bag on the Champions Tour in the United States including two playoff losses. “We finally did it mate,’’ he said. “Mitch’s one percent (cut) is looking pretty good.’’

The tournament website's live blog covered the day beautifully, including posting some photos of the wind damage. The tournament replay on Golf Channel is at 1 ET.

Getting In The Mood: The Australian Open At The Lakes

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Hard to believe it was only a year ago one of the wackiest golf tournaments was held at The Lakes, but the Emirates Austrlian Open returns to the super-cool Mike Clayton-renovated course with not nearly as stellar as a field as 2011. That's because the Presidents Cup hasn't lured some big name Americans Down Under.
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Poulter On Kingston Heath: "Someone please tell modern day architects we don't need 8000 yard tracks..."

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The defending Australian Masters champion Ian Poulter got his first look at Kingston Heath Tuesday (he won last year at the equally fantastic Victoria).

Not surprisingly, Poulter liked what he found at the Heath and Tweeted accordingly:

 And this about the famous 15th.

Golf Channel hosts live coverage in the United States beginning at 5:30 Pacific Wednesday. Not only a chance to see great players dealing with one of the world's most idyllic courses, but Australian coverage is nearly always excellent.

Getting In The Mood For Kingston Heath

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The Australian Masters returns to Kingston Heath this year and after several weeks of some truly horrifying golf architecture on television, we get a welcome opportunity to cleanse ourselves by watching the game played on one of the world's very best designs.

While the neighboring Royal Melbourne might be the superior tournament course because of its grand scale and ability to hold up better under the technology onslaught, the more intimate Kingston Heath is the course you'd probably enjoy playing the most on a daily basis. You can't go wrong with either one.

Don't sue me for linking this, but the club's guest page offers a course tour which includes a 360 degree photo tour of the holes. It's a massive time killer and great fun once you get the hang of it.

For a refresher, here is Darius Oliver's excellent Kingston Heath review at Planet Golf, a super resource for course design insights.

Kingston Heath features one of my favorite logos and the most elegant course guide I've ever seen, created by Michael Cocking of Ogilvy-Clayton design. You can see a sample on his website.

I visited the area last year for the Presidents Cup, which led to this Golf Digest feature on The Australian Way and below, this admittedly substandard photo gallery of the course in not-the-best light. Still, it should be enough to whet your appetite to watch.

Golf Channel offers coverage Wednesday through Saturday nights starting at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time.