Royal Perth Golf Club, located south of Swan River in Perth, Australia, has appointed Clayton, DeVries & Pont and Kruse Golf to author a long-term course plan and advise on future renovation work.

The course originally consisted of nine holes and large expanses of sand, before it was extended to 18 holes in 1929. Royal Perth sits on just over 80 acres of land, playing at 6,600 yards from the back tee, and has hosted three Australian Senior Opens, three Australian Amateurs and 13 Western Australian Opens, the most recent of which was won by Stephen Leaney in 2017.

“I first played Royal Perth in the 1979 Australian Amateur,” said Mike Clayton, partner at CDP. “Ever since then, I have marvelled at how so much good golf could be squeezed into around 80 acres and wondered how the course could be made even better. This is unquestionably one of the most interesting design mandates in Australia.

“My colleague Lukas Michel grew up in Perth and knows the course and its recent history extremely well. As one of Australia’s leading amateurs, his input will be invaluable, especially with regard to how the best players manage their way around the course. My partner Mike DeVries will also be involved, particularly when renovation works commence.

“I have known Harley Kruse for many years. When it comes to course design, we share many of the same mantras and beliefs. The skillsets of our two teams are highly complementary. All of us at CDP greatly look forward to working with Kruse Golf on this assignment.”

Harley Kruse said: “The design collaboration of our two firms will bring an amazing depth of experience and knowledge to the process at Royal Perth. It is an exciting prospect, and we look forward to working with this historic club for improving the golf on its sand-based golfing land. It is tight by modern standards so every centimetre will count as we plan and work from boundary to boundary. Royal Perth can be a great example of how well-designed golf does not necessarily need to be bigger to be better.”