Cameron Smith has taken aim at "disappointing" course conditions for this week's Australian Open, strongly rejecting the idea that heavy rain is the primary reason behind soft and slow layouts.
Kingston Heath Golf Club and Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne are well-known as two of the country's best courses and usually play extremely firm and fast, but - according to the Ripper GC captain - they have been set up completely differently this time around.
The 31-year-old has played several practice rounds on the Melbourne Sandbelt since turning out another close call at the Australian PGA Championship last week, even competing alongside former Prime Minister Scot Morrison at the pro-am on Wednesday.
But, in his pre-tournament press conference, Smith admitted his surprise and disappointment at the unusual characteristics on display at the two courses which will be used this week.
He said: “It seems there's been been lot of water and it’s not exactly what I was expecting. The course(s) are in great condition but playing so much different to how they’re designed and how they’re meant to be played, which is pretty disappointing.
"I had been keeping an eye on the weather here and I was really excited last week – to play a really firm and fast Sandbelt.
“It’s something that my (Ripper GC) teammates and I spoke about this year. We love coming down here and playing these events because the golf courses (are firm and fast) and it’s just not going to play like that. It’s going to play more like an American golf course, kind of target golf.”
The Brisbane-born player then shared some of his experiences of competing in south-east Australia at this time of the year, highlighting just how different it can be to a typical American layout.
Smith said: “I’ve played down here at Kingston Heath in (the 2013) Aussie Masters, and I’ve told this story a lot actually, where I was allowing 25-30 metres of run out with a pitching wedge, which is a lot.
"Usually, around the world, you’re trying to take spin off, make sure it doesn’t spin back too much. I think when you get a place like this, where it’s meant to play like that, you have to create spin and create shots to get close to pins, which is what everyone really loves.”
Over the past several days, Melbourne has seen heavy rain a couple of times - on Sunday and on Wednesday - causing the pro-am to initially be delayed 90 minutes before ultimately leading to its cancellation later in the afternoon.
Otherwise, Saturday's temperature reportedly reached 36C in the southern end of New South Wales as the Australian late-Spring leads into early Summer.
But when the recent bad weather - which has affected other parts of the country and caused the Australian PGA Championship to lose a round - was put to Smith as a possible reason for the soft and slow conditions on display, the 2023 Open Championship winner was not willing to accept that.
He said: “The weather down here the last couple of weeks has been pretty good, I know they got some rain over the weekend and again this morning, but I’ve played down here in rain before and it’s still been like that the next day.
“So, I think that’s a bulls*** excuse, to be honest. I think it’s been prepared like this for a reason and it’s now how these golf courses are meant to be played.”
Smith will open up his latest attempt to land a first Australian Open title alongside last week's winner, Elvis Smylie and Frenchman Victor Perez during rounds one and two. The group will play Victoria GC first before heading over to Kingston Heath for what they hope will be the next three days.
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