Blog 123 – Strathalbyn

Nomadic_golfer : May 2021

Par 72, 5756m, green fee $15, Slope 123

4 par 3s from 130-183m, 10 par 4s from 294-383m, 4 par 5s from 445 to 446

Strathalbyn, or “Strath” to the locals, is an stunning country town of 6.5k people on the Angas River, 60km SE of Adelaide. It possesses a small golf club with a very strong history, and a lot of success from it’s amateur players early in the 20th century.

The course has been in it’s current location, just off the Ashbourne road since 1962, in a magnificent Aussie setting amongst mature gums. It was originally an 18 hole, sand scrape course, but was reduced to 9 holes of grass greens in 2002. The routing of the holes is pretty good, utilising the gentle, natural undulation and a creek, with some subtle turns and dog legs. There aren’t any real weak holes and I really like both the par 3s and both 5s. The weakness is the green complexes, greens and surrounds are all santa-anna, not well defined, and bunkerless. The fairways are santa-anna also, with some really well-covered parts and some large bare patches.

Of those interesting 3s and 5’s, my 2 favourites were: 6 (a picturesque uphill 130m, beautifully set amongst the gums, over a valley with the creek at the bottom); and 7 (a 445m double-twisting par 5 that goes uphill & left off the tee, then back right for the second with the approach needing to negotiate water on the right and a large gum & OB on the left; its a great risk/ reward equation).

Overall, a fun track on a solid layout in a beautiful setting, only held back by the green complexes.

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