Rory McIlroy expresses heat on iconic host course: ‘My opinion’

History of the Kingdom of Melbourne Western course is ranked 7th The 100 best GOLF courses in the world list. Royal Melbourne is also the host of this week’s 2025 Crown Australian Open, and Rory McIlroy is in the field.

But to five times grand champion worried that he may have offended the “membership” of the historic club with a surprising but honest opinion that he shared publicly at his press conference. He thinks Royal Melbourne is not the best golf course in the area, let alone the whole of Australia.

Here’s what you need to know.

Where Royal Melbourne ranks among the top 100 golf courses

Before we get into McIlroy’s comments in his Aussie Open pre-tournament press conference, it’s important to get a few things straight.

Royal Melbourne has two courses in the world’s top 100, but technically neither will be played this week.

The Royal Melbourne Tour Course is a layout consisting of holes from the West 7th Course, designed by Alister MacKenzie in 1931, and Eastern course.

While the West Course is regularly in the conversation for the best course in the world, the East Course is no slouch. Designed by Alex Russell, it comes in at number 82 on the world’s top 100 list.

So as McIlroy gets his first look at Royal Melbourne this week, the layout he’s playing is a mix between the 7th-ranked and 82nd-ranked courses in the world.

Rory McIlroy: Royal Melbourne is not the best course in Melbourne

Given the prestige of Royal Melbourne, it was a surprise when McIlroy took it down a notch in public comments this week.

During his pre-tournament press conference at the club, McIlroy shared his opinion that this week’s host is not the best golf course in Australia.

“I don’t want the membership to get this wrong,” McIlroy tentatively began, “it’s (Royal Melbourne) probably not the best course in Melbourne.”

He was quick to reassure everyone that he still believes Royal Melbourne is one of the best courses in the world.

“That’s my opinion, but it’s certainly in the top 10 in the world,” McIlroy. “There’s a lot of great golf in this country, especially in this area.”

Despite the initial shock, it’s hard to blame the five-time major champion when you hear the course he thinks Royal Melbourne leads.

“Kingston Heath,” McIlroy declared.

Kingston Heath it is not a goat path. Just a short drive from Royal Melbourne, it has a historic pedigree of its own. Opened in 1928, Kingston Heath was also designed in part by MacKenzie. And its ranking in the top 100 courses in the world, 24shows that course experts value it highly.

McIlroy also provided some other specifics on his first experience at Royal Melbourne.

“I didn’t anticipate how many blind shots there would be,” he said. “It takes a while to figure it out. It’s certainly not straightforward.

He cautioned that the unusual southerly wind caused some holes to play “a little funky” in his practice round.

“It’s probably not a fair reflection on the golf course playing in this wind,” McIlroy said. “It would be nice to play it in some other directions.”

He continued: “But it’s definitely a great golf course and I can’t wait to get out there and compete on it.”

In his first competitive round at the Royal Melbourne Composite Course on Thursday, McIlroy traded five birdies for six bogeys to shoot a one-over 72. He will start the second round seven strokes off the lead.

Even if he doesn’t get his game back on the course this week, he should be happier with next year’s Australian Open host course: Kingston Heath.

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