Kooyonga Golf Club, Lockleys, South Australia, 5032

Overview

Kooyonga Golf Club

May Terrace

Lockleys, SA, 5032

Australia

Tel:	+61-8-8352-5444
Pro:	08-8443-6162
Web:	Visit the website

Kooyonga Golf Club

Kooyonga Golf Club is a wonderful example of a championship golf course in the rich sandy soiled area just 15 minutes from the central business district of Adelaide. Adelaide is one of the smaller capital cities in Australia yet boasts a wide selection of outstanding golf courses in a relatively small area. In fact within a 10 minute radius of Kooyonga lies a number of other golf gems including the world rated Royal Adelaide Golf Club and highly rated The Grange and Glenelg Golf Clubs.

The Club's history has inevitably been linked with great world events, but perhaps more than any other factor, chance has played the greatest of all parts in shaping the fortunes of Kooyonga.

The origins of Kooyonga Golf Club can be traced back to a day in 1922 when a train strike caused Mr. H.C. (Cargie) Rymill to take a tram rather than a train to Henley Beach. A 'For Sale' sign on a tract of swamp and sand dune country known as May's Paddock prompted him to break that journey and on a closer inspection he knew that he had discovered the ideal site for a magnificent golf course.

Kooyonga enjoys a current Australian ranking of 14 and this is testament to the quality of the golf course. Five Australian Opens and three Australian Amateur Championships have been decided at Kooyonga as well as numerous South Australian Opens and Amateur Championships. Additionally the course has been the host of the US PGA Tour Nationwide Jacob's Creek Open further exposing Kooyonga to the world.

One of the interesting features of Kooyonga are the various elevation changes which exist throughout the 18 holes. From the outside and until you actually play the golf course Kooyonga appears to be built on a relatively flat parcel of land. What is in fact the case is a series of rises and hollows upon which some wonderful golf holes have been constructed. Exacting approach shots are demanded on a number of holes which on the scorecard look relatively short. Par on any of these holes is a good score.

Kooyonga is not a long course—in fact none of the par 4 holes extend over 400 metres but what it lacks in length is more than made up for by its clever design. A number of reachable par 5 holes can help ones scorecard but any errant shot will be punished by the prevalence of native trees flanking most fairways. The greens at Kooyonga are generally small and firm and often framed with bunkers destined to catch an even slightly errant shot.

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Course Information

Par:	72
Length (m):	6160
Architect:	Herbert Lockett Rymill
Design Year:	1924
Top 100:	25

Playing Tips

1	Par 5, Length 495m A gentle dog leg right welcomes the player. A good drive left of centre to avoid fairway bunkering along the right hand side will give longer hitters an opportunity to go for the green in two or lay up with a long iron. The shot to the raised green is hard to judge and, if to the left or long, can leave a difficult up-and-down.
2	Par 5, Length 451m A shortish par 5 where a solid drive will make this hole reachable in 2 shots. A tight line for the second shot to the area between the two bunkers guarding the green offers a definite birdie chance.
3	Par 3, Length 180m A tough par 3 surrounded by bunkers on both sides and two grassy hollows over the back. Club selection is difficult because the tee is protected from the southerly winds that can blow very strongly.
4	Par 4, Length 355m This hole has a blind drive to a narrow fairway with an out of bounds on the left. You can use anything from a long iron to driver to get over the hill. The challenging mid to short iron second shot is to a small green well guarded by bunkers with a dangerous swale on the left side.
5	Par 4, Length 297m A shortish par 4 with two big bunkers down the right hand side. Most players lay up at the neck of the fairway which leaves a short iron into a two tier green divided by a diagonal ridge. Bunkers guard the left side of the green.
6	Par 4, Length 373m Fairway bunkers on the left side catch the long tee shot while the tall gums guarding the right hand side require an accurately placed drive. The blind second shot normally played upwind needs careful club selection. Deep bunkers are positioned front left and right of the green.
7	Par 3, Length 152m A short hole with a green that has three levels. Any shot miss-hit or under-clubbed will end up in the front left bunker or down a deep slope front right of the green. An essential and satisfying green to hit but beware the long putt from the back to the lower level.
8	Par 4, Length 383m The fairway which dog legs left, slopes severely to the right making it hard to hit. You are faced with a blind second shot with a mid to long iron depending on the wind. The green is very small, raised and has two well placed bunkers short left and right.
9	Par 5, Length 467m Longer hitters will land their drives between the left fairway bunkers and the right hand side trees and burn. This will give you the opportunity to go for the green in two. The green is protected by a deep bunker front and a shallow bunker back left.
10	Par 4, Length 397m This is the first of four demanding par 4 holes, and is the hardest hole on the back 9. A well hit accurate drive is needed with trees on both sides of the fairway. A long iron upwind is usually required with bunkers surrounding both sides of the green.
11	Par 4, Length 365m A short par 4 with the tiger tee set up into a sand hill. A driver or three-wood will leave a short to mid iron into the green. One of the flatter greens on the course with a steep slope at the rear and bunkers guarding both sides.
12	Par 4, Length 356m A slight dog leg left where a good tee shot is essential. A precision second shot is required to the elevated green which is small, undulating, and provides many difficult pin positions. Better to err on the short side with the shot, rather than be over the back!
13	Par 4, Length 389m The most straight forward hole on the course and one where a long drive over a rise is well recommended. One of the few greens not built up but watch club selection as there is fairway short of the green you can't see. A bunker short right and grassy hollow over the bunker will catch any wayward shot to the right.
14	Par 3, Length 145m Perhaps the signature hole of Kooyonga. This wind blown par 3 has a sheltered tee, and an exposed green, rendering club selection exquisitely difficult. Deep bunkers surround the green with a steep slope over the back.
15	Par 3, Length 210m One of the hardest par 3's you will ever play. The green is elevated with severe slopes off both sides and at the rear. Two bunkers guard the left side while on the right, bunkers extend back from the green a long way. A par is well earned here.
16	Par 5, Length 507m The most difficult par 5 on the course. A good drive that avoids the left hand bunker will give you a chance to go for the green in two. To lay up on the left side with the second shot will reward the accurate golfer with a short shot to a narrow green, well surrounded by bunkers.
17	Par 4, Length 353m A stunning hole with a gentle dog leg to the left over a rolling hill. A good drive will clear the deep bunker positioned on the left side of the fairway. This will leave a short to mid iron shot with water covering the front right part of the green. Anywhere on the green is acceptable.
18	Par 4, Length 338m A short but tight dog leg to the left, where long hitters can take on the corner bunkers. The reward is a short pitch to a flat green with bunkers left and right. Laying up will leave you with a blind shot with a short or mid iron.