1. q-tip | Rated | 17 Oct 2011 | Add A Review

Balaklava measures 5987m Par 72 with four par 3s ranging from 133-196m, ten par 4s ranging from 291-387m and four par 5s ranging from 440-492m.

Course has small and slowish bent grass greens with some couch and rye grass around its green surrounds. The short-to-medium sized tree-lined fairway layout has no bunkers. The kikuyu fairways are dry and mostly yellow with thinly covered soil. Despite this Balaklava is one of three grass green courses north of the Adelaide plains to Port Augusta – the others being Clare and Burra.

Despite the flags being visible from the tee mounds on 10 holes some highlights include: the 384m straight 4th (index 3) with OOB fence on the left; the 490m straight 7th (index 6) with a blind teeshot over a crest; the 387m straight 11th (index 1) with a right-sloping fairway to the OOB fence and long grass in the leftside rough to avoid; the 359m straight 12th (index 10) plays slightly uphill from the bottom of the gully which is 150m to the green; the 196m 15th (index 5) with an elevated teeshot downhill to the bunkerless green; the 291m 17th (index 13) which doglegs 60 degrees right from 200m off the tee with 20m tall pine trees on the dogleg corner right and longish rye grass rough around the back of the green; and the 351m straight 18th (index 4) with a pine tree-lined right-sloping fairway.

The front nine is somewhat flatter and less varied when compared to the back nine. I feel the back nine has the course’s best attributes with sharper doglegs, taller trees and more undulating fairways. Good finishing holes and not too bad for a volunteer-run course.

Played here on 30/09/2011 in steady light showers with cool, gusty southerly winds. Reasonable $20 green fees. Balaklava is a small town of around 1650 people about 25km east of Port Wakefield and about 90km north of the Adelaide CBD. Clubhouse access is 3km east of the town on the northern side of the Wakefield River.