Cameron Smith has called the heavy rain which has lashed Melbourne in recent days a “bulls*** excuse” for Kingston Heath not playing firm and fast ahead of the Australian Open starting Thursday.

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Smith is chasing his first national open crown and headed to Melbourne expecting the dry conditions the Sandbelt is famous for, but has been left disappointed by what he experienced during Wednesday morning’s pro-am.

Before torrential downpours swept through Kingston Heath, Smith played with former Prime Minister Scott Morrison – who he said “has a little bit of work to do” on his golf swing – and then arrived at his pre-tournament press conference with steam coming out of his ears after being welcomed by a “soft and slow” golf course akin to America.

“I’ve played down here at Kingston Heath in an 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,” Smith recalled.

“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 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 now how these golf courses are meant to be played.”

Behind the scenes, Smith has been critical of the move to a mixed gender format at the Australian Open which involves men, women and All Abilities tournaments being played on the same course at the same time, but in different groups from separate tees.

Without going as far as saying so explicity, it was the biggest public swipe the 2022 British Open champion has taken at the format after expressing his belief, to tournament organisers and his fellow players during the first edition of the new format in Melbourne two years ago, that the national opens should be played separately under tougher conditions.

Smith expects the sort of dry, windy and lightning fast course that he won his major championship on at St Andrews when the national open comes to Melbourne, and did not hold back in his judgment of how the course has been set up.

“It’s actually quite disappointing. I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather down here and was really quite excited to get down here with the weather they had last week, the hot temperatures,” he said.

“I was really quite excited to play a firm and fast, Sandbelt (course) but it seems like there’s been a lot of water on there and not really what I was expecting.

“The courses are in great condition, don’t get me wrong, but they are going to play so much different from how they’re meant to be played.

“It seems like it’s been left this way for a reason and I think it’s going to continue to be like that. This is probably the softest and slowest I’ve seen a Sandbelt golf course which is not ideal. Particularly for Aussies that love to come down here and be creative.

“It’s something that my teammates and I this year have spoken about, and we love coming down here and playing these events because of the golf courses. But it’s going to play more like an American golf course where you can play target golf where you aim at the pin and fire away, which is not the reason we love golf down here.

“We love it because it’s firm and fast, and it’s hard, and you have to be creative thinking about shot shapes, and that’s why everyone loves it and it’s not going to play like that at all.

“The best golfer is still going to win but it’s not how it’s meant to be.”

Smith’s passion for the Australian Open also was evident when he talked about how he would hold a maiden triumph on Sunday in extremely high regard.

With the LIV Golf season finishing roughly three months ago, Smith took the time to come home early and prepare for a shot at the storied trophy which has eluded him by playing three lead-up events.

He finished runner-up to his former scholarship recipient Elvis Smylie at the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane last week after a tied second behind Ripper GC teammate Lucas Herbert at the NSW Open and a tied third at the Queensland PGA.

The results mean he is tracking nicely to enter the winners circle for the first time this year, and this week in Melbourne he has viewed as his “grand final”.

“To be ready for this week (has been a priority) and to get what I haven’t been able to do yet. I think I’ve done all the right steps. I’ve prepared really well,” Smith said.

“The last three weeks have been really solid. Just haven’t been able to get over the line. If I was going to pick one, this would be the one.

“If I thought about tournaments that I wanted to win that I haven’t it’s probably this one and The Masters are the top two.

“Hopefully I can knock them both off shortly. That would be the dream.”