The Australian Open got underway this week (Image: Getty)
star Cameron Smith hasn’t held back with his criticism for the Australian Open golf clubs, blasting the ‘bulls**t excuse’ given for the courses’ slow set-up.
Smith has been doing the rounds at the Aussie courses in preparation for the Australian Open, which kicks off in Melbourne later this week.
He also partnered with former Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the Pro-Am tournament on Wednesday.
But Smith, who joined LIV Golf in 2022, wasn’t best pleased with how the course was playing.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Open, he stated: “It seems there’s been lot of water and it’s not exactly what I was expecting.
“The course(s) are in great condition but playing so much different to how they’re designed and how they’re meant to be played, which is pretty disappointing. I had been keeping an eye on the weather here and I was really excited to play a firm and fast Sandbelt.
“It’s something that my [LIV Golf] teammates and I spoke about. We love coming down here and playing these events because the golf courses (are firm and fast) and it’s just not going to play like that. It’s going to play more like an American golf course, kind of target golf.”
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Cameron Smith got his Australian Open campaign underway despite complaints about the course (Image: Getty)
Rain showers hit Melbourne across the week, but according to Smith, that wasn’t enough to fix the course.
The 31-year-old added: “The weather down here the last couple of weeks has been pretty good, I know they got some rain over the weekend and again this morning, but I’ve played down here in rain before and it’s still been like that the next day.
“So, I think that’s a bulls*** excuse, to be honest. I think it’s been prepared like this for a reason and it’s not how these golf courses are meant to be played.”
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Reminiscing on a previous visit, he said: “I played down here at Kingston Heath in [the 2013] Aussie Masters, and I’ve told this story a lot actually, where I was allowing 25-30 metres of run out with a pitching wedge which is a lot.
“Usually around the world you’re trying to take spin off, make sure it doesn’t spin back too much.
“I think when you get a place like this, where it’s meant to play like that, you have to create spin and create shots to get close to pins which is what everyone really loves.”
The action got underway down under on Thursday morning local time and runs until Sunday evening.