1. q-tip | Rated | 20 Oct 2011 | Add A Review

Time for an update…still measures 6267m Par 71 with four par 3s ranging from 144-202m, eleven par 4s ranging from 301-430m and three par 5s ranging from 460-496m.

Course has lush green Santa Ana couch fairways with mostly pine tree-lined fairways with medium-to-large sized penncross bent grass greens. Just to clear up: the layout is entirely sand-based with 11 water hazards mostly coming into play on the back nine. The rye/couch grass rough is well-maintained and kept thick around some of the greens and fairway bunkers. As you’d expect from the top courses every hole is bunkered with around 90-95 bunkers on the course.

I know the rankings of Australia’s courses are an imperfect way of measuring architectural merit, as Australian Golf Digest (March 2010) ranks Glenelg #45 in Australia and #3 in the state (behind only Royal Adelaide and Kooyonga), but they are a reasonable guide to use…

Course opens with the shortest par 4 on the course followed by the longest and most difficult: the 418m slight dogleg left 2nd (index 1) with pine trees on the left dogleg corner with a fairway bunker on the right from the tee to a green guarded by 2 shortside bunkers. The 202m Par 3 3rd (index 7) with 5 bunkers is a beauty followed by the short but heavily bunkered 315m 4th (index 15) with a pot bunker middle of the fairway off the tee with 5 more fairway bunkers to a green surrounded by 5 bunkers. This is followed by the most heavily bunkered par 5, the 490m slight dogleg left 5th (index 14) with 2 bunkers left at the dogleg corner and a water hazard on the right off the tee with 3 bunkers 20-50m short right of the green which is guarded by 3 bunkers. Next comes the most bunkered hole on the course: the 430m slight dogleg left 6th (index 3) with 6 bunkers at the dogleg corner off the tee to avoid, a bunker 50m short right on the fairway and a green with 5 bunkers. There is no respite with the 394m slight dogleg right 7th (index 8) with 3 bunkers at the dogleg corner off the tee to a green with 2 shortside bunkers. Then you cross the roadway to play the 407m gentle dogleg right 8th (index 4) with a pot bunker on the left from the tee with a water hazard on the left beyond the pot bunker to a green with a huge leftside bunker. You close your outward nine on the 376m straight 9th (index 9) with a pot bunker on the left 230m from the tee to a green with a short rightside bunker.

The front nine is the most bunkered, longest and challenging part of the course with 3 par 4s over 400m in length and 5 flags not visible from the teebox. Despite its heavy bunkering the back nine has much more water than the front nine and mostly all holes have gentle doglegs with the flags not visible from the teebox. The back nine is somewhat more open with less mature pine trees than the front nine.

Back nine highlights include: the 168m slightly uphill 11th (index 2) with 3 large bunkers; the 369m slight dogleg right 13th (index 11) with tall pine trees on the right and 2 bunkers on the right dogleg corner to a green with water hazard and pot bunker along the left edge of the green which also has 3 rightside bunkers; and the 365m slight dogleg right 15th (index 6) with 5 bunkers both sides on the dogleg corner to a bunkerless green.

The closing 4 holes are quite varied and challenging: the 144m 16th (index 12) to a green with a pot bunker right and water over the right edge and over the back; the 386m slight dogleg left 17th (index 5) with a vast wetland swamp on the left with 2 fairway bunkers at the dogleg bend to a green with 2 bunkers short left and back right; and the longest hole on the course, the 496m gentle dogleg left 18th (index 13) with 2 ponds on the far right and a deep pot bunker on the left off the tee with 3 fairway bunkers 50-120m short of the green on the left with a roadway crossing the fairway about 100m short of the green which is guarded by a bunker and water hazard along the left edge and 2 bunkers on the rightside.
Played here 28/09/2011 with $150 visitor/interstate green fees. Located in the inner south-western suburb of Novar Gardens, Glenelg Golf Club is unquestionably one of the best conditioned and challenging layouts in the state.

A highly recommended golfing destination which I rate as a 5-star "golf at its absolute best" rating which I rarely give.

2. Bunny | Rated | 28 Dec 2007 | Add A Review

Having only played public courses, it was a real eye-opener to receive an invitation to play Glenelg. It is a truly beautiful course, and makes the game all the more enjoyable. Dangers and large bunkers on some fairways either force conservative play, or invite you to try and go long. Quality of the playing surface is the best I have ever played on, and is right up there with any other SA course, I would imagine. If you ever get the chance to play here, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

PROS

• Beautiful course.
• Perfectly maintained fairways, greens and bunkers.
• Everything you could ask for in terms of facilities.
• The practice area grass is even better than most courses I play on.

Cons

• Membership costs a bundle.

3. gregmenn | Rated | 17 Dec 2007 | Add A Review

Given the current dry conditions in SA the course is in excellent condition. Green are very true and course is pretty and requires thought on every shot. Everytime I play there the course has undergone some new improvement since the previous time which is a credit to Glenelg

4. sonata99 | Rated | 13 Mar 2006 | Add A Review

I found Genelg to be a very good test of golf. The course was very well presented with greens and fairways in excellent condition. The layout is very challenging and puts a premium on accuracy. The rough in parts is fairly harsh with even slightly offline shots often being severley punished. Member facilities are excellent. Overall a great golfing experience.

5. whallop | Rated | 26 Sep 2003 | Add A Review

Glenelg gets a bit of a rough press; certainly it is not Royal Adelaide, but it is a great course. A little bi-polar perhaps, the western side is sandbelt, the eastern half a little resorty in appearance, but a bloody good course.

Much improved since they started getting rid of the Kikuyu. All they need now is some more interesting greens and they would be right.