WITH its dramatic scenery, tree-lined fairways, undulating greens and overall variety of holes, the Hilltop course at Mollymook never fails to deliver a memorable golfing experience.
Number 38 on Inside Golf’s Australia’s Top 100 Public Golf Experiences, readers and industry experts agreed that Mollymook, located some three hours from Sydney on the NSW South Coast, is a favourite amongst regular golfers and visitors alike.
However, as with the greatest of courses both in Australia and abroad, when casting a critical eye over positive and negative aspects, while aiming to do it appropriately and strategically, there is always a case for upgrade and improvement.
Which is what Mollymook Golf Manager Barry West and the Board of Directors, alongside respected course architect Ryan Van Der Veen, are looking to achieve with the course enhancement plan they have in place.
Works are underway at the Hilltop course at Mollymook Golf Club, starting with a revamp of the par five 13th green.
An American course designer with an impressive body of work behind him, having worked alongside and for the likes of Greg Norman, Pete Dye and most recently Neil Crafter on an upgrade project at Glenelg in South Australia, Van Der Veen has been assigned to take what’s there and to make Mollymook, already very good, even better.
“I’m definitely excited,” Van Der Veen said. “Twelve to 13 years ago, Barry (West) started as Director of Golf and he brought me in at that time to do a course assessment.
“Since then, I’ve said to them the canvas is fantastic here. The way it sits, the routing is very solid, the contours are good, the mature trees, vegetation is fantastic.”
Now with the blessing of Board and Management, Mollymook Hilltop is undergoing the facelift and upgrade first touted more than a decade ago.
“We’re looking at six, maybe seven greens which we will completely re-design. And the others are resurfaced,” Van Der Veen explained, with the initial changes underway and taking place at and around the green of the par five 13th and the area including the 11th and 14th tees.
“The first thing Barry did (12-13 years ago) was drive me to the 13th. That was the very first thing he showed me,” Van Der Veen said.
The 13th starts from an elevated tee, winding its way down a treelined fairway to a green guarded at the front by a small creek. It may not be the signature hole at Mollymook, however with its severely sloping green, the 13th is a hole that has always challenged, perhaps not always fairly.
“I checked the green before I pulled the turf off and there were spots where it was a seven per cent slope. With the pace of greens these days, it was more than double the percentage of allowable slope to have a pin.
“The maximum slope we will put in will be two and a half to three.
“We thought, let’s do this properly. We’re pulling the creek all the way back and making it look the way it is supposed to. We’ve also cleaned up a bit of light vegetation to open it up a bit more.
“That area of the course is kind of their Amen Corner. The par three 12th is pretty solid, the 14th after it, it’s a highlight of the course,” Van Der Veen reasoned.
Artwork showing the plans for the area of the 13th green and 14th tee.
After the revamp to 13 green and 14 tee; “once complete we will break into hole nine, the par three near the clubhouse, which might incorporate the 18th green as well.
“We’re working on something that could be pretty special. Trying to enhance the putting green area, the back of the clubhouse, to make it a bit more of an inviting space. Hilltop has been known as a pretty solid golf course, but people don’t hang around the clubhouse facilities.
“Barry is really leaning towards trying to get better amenities up there as well. To enhance the whole Member and visitor experience.”
Included in the plan is drainage and irrigation work, in aiming to make Mollymook playable and in pristine condition regardless of rainfall and weather, while the end goal is for Hilltop to stand out when compared to other courses in the region.
“Mollymook differentiates from the other courses on the south coast by its terrain and contouring. But the bunkers and greens look the same as every other course on the coast.
“We are trying to get a style that incorporates something different. We want people see a photo and say ‘that’s Mollymook’,” Van Der Veen added.
But fear not, while changes are currently taking place, with more to come, Mollymook’s unique set of challenges will remain, the course continuing to be enjoyable to play.
“We do want to keep it playable,” Van Der Veen assured.
An amateur standout, winning the NSW Amateur and Australian Medal in 1988, before going down in the final of the 1990 Australian Amateur Championship, Rob Willis turned professional in 1992, playing the Australasian and Asian Tours, with his highlight being his victory in the 1995 Dubai Creek Open and third placing at the European Tour's Dubai Dessert Classic. A former Editor of Golf Australia Magazine, Willis, who ventured away from golf for a period to be the media manager for the NRL's Cronulla Sharks, has been a contributor to PGA Australia's PGA Magazine for over a decade and for Inside Golf since its first edition back in 2005. 
