Cameron Smith has slammed organisers for his or her Australian Open course set-up, ruing how the famed Kingston Heath and Victoria sandbelt layouts have been decreased to American-style goal golf.
The usually mild-mannered famous person was unable to cover his frustrations after Wednesday’s pro-am, calling out officers for hiding behind Melbourne’s huge moist as the explanation behind the tremendous smooth greens.
“I’ve performed down right here in rain earlier than and it’d nonetheless be like that (arduous and quick) the following day, so I feel that is a bull***t excuse, to be sincere,” Smith mentioned.
“I feel it is simply been ready like this for a motive and it isn’t how these golf programs are supposed to be performed.
“It is smooth and it is truly fairly disappointing.”
The Australian Open is being staged in Melbourne for less than the second time since 2005, with Sydney having held a mortgage on the flagship occasion for the previous 20 years.
Smith mentioned he’d been wanting ahead all 12 months to returning to the Victoria capital, solely to be left dissatisfied.
“I have been keeping track of the climate down right here and was actually fairly excited to get down right here with the climate that they’d final week — the recent temperatures, I used to be actually fairly excited to play a extremely agency and quick sandbelt,” mentioned the previous world No.2.
“I’d say the programs are in nice situation, do not get me mistaken, however they’ll play a lot completely different to in all probability how they’re designed to play and the way they’re meant to be performed.
“That is in all probability the softest and slowest I’ve seen a ‘sando’ golf course, which isn’t preferrred, significantly for Aussies that love coming down right here and being inventive.
“It may play extra like an American golf course, sort of goal golf.
“You may land it on the pin and simply sort of hearth away, which is, once more, not the explanation we love golf down right here.
“We like it as a result of it is agency and quick and it is arduous and it’s important to actually take into consideration shot shapes and be inventive.”
Regardless of his beef, the 2022 British Open champ mentioned he’d love for the Australian Open to stay in Melbourne completely.
“That is actually the house of Australian golf,” Smith mentioned.
“These are our greatest golf programs for certain and it would be actually cool to have a rota of 5 or 6 (completely different Melbourne programs).
“That is an incredible golf course, however there’s one other handful which are additionally worthy of holding an Australian Open and being actually powerful checks.”
LIV Golf’s Ripper GC skipper is enjoying his fourth event of the Australian summer season after ending third on the Queensland PGA Championship then runner-up on the NSW Open and in addition finally week’s Australian PGA after main into the ultimate spherical on each events.
He hopes to peak this weekend.
“The final three weeks have been actually stable. I simply have not been in a position to fairly recover from the road,” Smith mentioned.
“But when I used to be going to select one, this is able to be the one anyway, so hopefully all of it comes collectively.”
Smith will play the primary two rounds with newly-crowned Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie after being run down by the 22-year-old at Royal Queensland on Sunday.
