Allenby says VGC is a thinker's course

Two-time Australian Masters winner Robert Allenby says it will take smart, safe golf
to claim this week's event at Melbourne's Victoria Golf Club.
The world No.21 said while length was not likely to be an issue on the 6,278m
sandbelt layout, placement would be crucial, with finding the rough or the wrong
part of greens set to be costly.
"The greens, with some warm weather, can dry out pretty quick and get pretty fast,"
Allenby said after Tuesday's practice round.
"That's what I noticed today, that the greens were quite slow uphill but downhill
they were very fast.
"It's definitely a thinker's course, you have to manage your ball around the greens
and try to leave yourself uphill putts, because downhill is going to be pretty
tricky to judge."
Allenby said that balls also tended to take large bounces when they landed on the
greens, which could make life difficult on approach shots.
"If you are coming out of the rough it's going to be very tricky to try to judge
that and try to keep it on the greens," he said.
"The beauty of most sandbelt courses that we have in Melbourne is that you can land
it short and bounce it up but it's going to be tricky if you are coming out of the
rough to judge that."
While the Victorian can call on plenty of local knowledge, Allenby said with the
class of overseas entrants, such as American Tiger Woods, Colombia's Camilo Villegas
and Spain's Sergio Garcia, they would adjust quickly.
Woods won last year's Masters on his first visit to another Melbourne sandbelt
course, Kingston Heath, while Garcia said he became an instant fan of the course
after Tuesday's practice.
"I love Australian courses, I think they look like they fit into the terrain and
everything, it looks like nothing is forced," Garcia said.
"I love the bunkering, the shape of the greens, Australia is definitely one of my
favourite places to come and play."