The Presidents Cup 2011: About Melbourne

Thanks to worldwide attention from the 1998 Presidents Cup, Melbourne shed its title of "The Best Kept Secret in Golf," and in the ensuing 12 years has added a new accolade: "The World's Best Golf Destination."

It's a bold claim, but one Melbourne and the state of Victoria, Australia can easily justify -- according to Golf Magazine's industry leading international ranking, no city on earth, not New York, not London, not Edinburgh or San Francisco, has as many Top 100 courses visitors can play as Melbourne. In fact, the city of Melbourne alone has as many Top 100 courses as all of Ireland and more than almost every other country, including any nation in Continental Europe and the entire Caribbean combined!

But it is not just the world's best cluster of courses that makes Melbourne and surrounding Victoria the ultimate golf vacation. Much larger than Dublin, Edinburgh, or Phoenix/Scottsdale, Melbourne is a world-class cosmopolitan city, something you simply will not find in almost any other premier golf destination. Australia's fastest growing city, with about four million residents, Melbourne offers hotels from budget to luxury, every imaginable cuisine at more than 4,000 restaurants, and all the cultural trappings a traveler could want, from museums and sports to performing arts, shopping and gaming.

The golf in Victoria is excellent in both quality and quantity (nearly 400 courses), but it also offers a unique variety you will find no place else. Architects read like a Hall of Fame roster for golf course design: Alister MacKenzie, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Doak, Peter Thomson, Nick Faldo, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and of course, Australia's own golf legend, Greg Norman. The city's famed Sandbelt courses are built on the game's rarest topography, sandy parkland similar to the Pinehurst region of the Carolinas or the heathlands outside London, terrain that consistently produces some of the world's finest courses. South of the city lies the Mornington Peninsula, Australia's answer to Scotland or Ireland, with towering coastal sand dunes and true linksland, the course designer's other favorite setting. The opportunity to play golf's two most desirable styles of courses on the same trip, as well as the wine country designs of the Yarra Valley and the stunning seaside beauty of the Bellarine Peninsula, all in one easy visit, puts Melbourne at the very top of any golf traveler's fantasy list. It is no coincidence that the PGA Tour again selected Melbourne to host the Presidents Cup 2011, the first time a destination outside the United States has been granted this honor twice.

Melbourne Attractions:
A vibrant and modern city, Melbourne is renowned for its extensive shopping and food scenes, featuring more than 75 distinct ethnic varieties and taking advantage of Australia's position in the Pacific Rim. Visitors can view the city from the observation deck atop the Eureka Tower, the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere, take in art at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV International and NGV Ian Potter Centre), stroll Federation Square, the city's most visited tourist attraction and cultural heart, try one of the world's most iconic drives, the Great Ocean Road, or visit the Queen Victoria Market, the largest open air market in the Southern hemisphere, in operating since 1878, spanning more than 17 acres, with over a thousand vendors.

Melbourne Events:
Golf is not the only sport Melbourne loves: the city hosts horse racing's premier event, the Spring Racing Carnival, culminating with the Melbourne Cup, or "The Race That Stops a Nation", and is home of Australian Rules Football, better known as "footy". Other top annual sporting events and festivals include one of tennis' four Majors, the Australian Open, a Formula One Grand Prix, and the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, the largest in the world. Also considered Australia's "Cultural Capitol", arts lovers can choose from Melbourne's annual international comedy festival, extensive galleries and museums, performances of both the Melbourne and Australian Ballets, Opera Australia, the Victorian Opera, or the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Official website: VisitMelbourne.com