Aussie course no.1 for 2026. Global 469th: Morgan Cadell, SA
The tricky par3 4th/ 13th
Nomadic_golfer : January 2026 – Morgan Cadell, SA, review
Par 70 5583m Slope ? $5 – 10 hole course
5 par3s 110-164m, 10 par4s 328-399m, 3 par5s 429-438m
This is a 10 hole (black) sand-scrape course 5 minutes out of the historic Murray River port town of Morgan. Although it is playable in Summer (it is not overgrown), it would be pretty much a winter course.
Set on old river-flats with a very (red) sandy base, the routing starts with a first tee shot from the clubhouse, up the only hill on the course and utilises that side of the hill for the 3rd tee and 18th green, while the 7th green and 8th tee are at the foot of it also. Everything else is pretty flat. The running fairways are tree-lined, typically 10-15m high. Density of those trees varies, there are a couple of holes where you can just let it rip, find it, and bunt a low runner up to the scrape, and a couple where missing the fairway would result in a lost ball or big trouble. Most are somewhere in between.
There is nothing green on show here in summer other than the leaves of the gums and the small square synthetic tee-blocks, and it will come as no surprise from the pictures, that you get a bit of value out of a well struck drive. It is a barren joint but there are enough points of interest and little quirks to ensure you enjoy your round and have a chuckle every now and then. The 165m par3 4th is a challenge, and something a little different – you need to navigate your 160m club through narrow gaps in the trees, and over some other trees before being greeted with a sizeable tree immediately short right of the green. There is a slight step up to the putting surface, then everything slopes away from you, and drops off and continues to run away from you beyond the green. The 360m par4 3rd is a quirky little animal also – a row of trees and OB running down the left, the hole appears dead straight from the tee, but the fairway ends with trees in a green-like circular setting, then moves 45 degrees right where the green is set right in amongst a copse of trees. The pin had been left out on my visit so it was even tougher to find. The 18th hole (a completely separate hole from the par3 9th, and hence the 10-hole course) is a very tough finisher. 383m, it swings hard left to right and uphill at about the 200m mark and that last 170m also has a severe left to right camber.
They don’t take their golf too seriously out here, but they have a lot of fun and it is always fun to experience these quirky little low-budget scrapes courses. For a $5 honesty box green-fee, you get some good exercise and the opportunity to hit a lot of different shots!!
