Blog 118 – Echunga

Nomadic_golfer : April 2021

Par 70, 5352m, green fee $30, Slope 116

4 par 3s from 125-169m, 12 par 4s from 272-374m, 2 par 5s from 429-483m

This course is situated in a very picturesque native setting at the base of the Adelaide Hills, full of gums and native birds. The course was a flat 9-holer when I was growing up. They added a further 9 (which is now the front 9) on slightly more undulating terrain in the mid 90’s and moved to a new clubhouse in 1997. They must have done a lot of things right here as membership has grown to over 500 and its seems busy.

The gums are the course’s main defence with only a handful of bunkers and a small number of hazards. There are a lot of tight, acute doglegs so the driver doesn’t get a lot of free swings. Kikuyu fairways were in pretty good condition in mid-Autumn and were generally quite narrow. Greens are small and the bentgrass had a good even cover, were quite soft and medium paced.

The first is probably my favourite hole here; 374m with one of the more generous fairways, OB up the left all the way and a small hazard at driving length. The trees narrow in around the approach so even though there is some leeway off the tee, the second is far easier playing from the cut stuff. The 170m 7th is also a ripper, trees left suggest a draw with a mid to long iron is the shot here, but you need to be accurate as the small green is protected by a bunker short right.

Overall, this is a real pleasant walk with lovely views. It is a shotmaker’s golf course with lots of draws and fades required to negotiate the tight fairways, chutes off tees and doglegs. There are lots of birdies up for offer, but plenty of trees to ensure poor tee shots result in plenty of bogeys too.

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