Those familiar with the history of the sandbelt will know the story of Mick Morcom and his son Vernon. Mick was the superintendent at Royal Melbourne when Alister Mackenzie made his famous 1926 visit to Australia to design their West Course and ultimately change the direction of golf course design in this country. In the 10 weeks he spent in Australia, Mackenzie consulted to over 20 clubs, including many of what would become the world-renowned sandbelt clubs: Kingston Heath, Victoria and Metropolitan.

Mick and Vern ended up building all of the Doctor's work around Melbourne and before long branched out into course design, first as a duo and then, after Mick's passing, Vern on his own. Vern's resume includes many excellent courses, among them the Grange in Adelaide, Anglesea, Leongatha, Curlewis and Rosanna, but none are as good as Spring Valley, arguably the most underrated course in Melbourne.

Spring Valley has steadily improved over the past two decades, and we are excited to continue our relationship with the club through the formation of a new Masterplan in 2022. It includes elements of restoration and redesign, among them the reshaping of all greens, revegetation work and the construction of a number of new tees and bunkers. In 2025 we will commence work on the Masterplan with the reconstruction of the 10th, 11th, 18th and practice putting green, along with changes to the bunkering and tees. The aim is to complete the reconstruction of the course over the next three to four years.