Aussie course no.2 for 2026. Global 470th: Port Lincoln, SA
The greens of 16 & 13, the 2 par5s on the back 9 which share a greenside bunker
Nomadic_golfer : January 2026 – Port Lincoln, SA, review
Par 72 5770m Slope 119 $30
4 par3s 119-158m, 10 par4s 288-363m, 4 par5s 428-522m
This 18 holer in the iconic fishing-port-town at the bottom of South Australia’s somewhat remote Eyre Peninsula is a fun, short-ish track built on the side of a moderate hill with lots of up and down, rather than side-hill holes. It is a lovely setting with great views of surrounding farmlands and lake.
The defining characteristics here are narrow fairways, small bent greens, and tree-lined fairways with built-in escapes. Bent greens are the highlight of the playing surfaces, albeit the green designs are generally quite bland – small and of one gradient, ie. flat or tilted without many lumps or bumps. Fairways consist predominantly of kikuyu and couch, though due to gradient I assume it would typically play firm and fast. The watered portion of fairways is typically a thin strip, with another 10m either side un-watered but mown, before the trees come into play. Mostly pines, with some gums – and cleared at the base to allow low recovery shots on almost every hole.
Hazards consist of 11 bunkers including 2 fairway bunkers, a large dam in play on the last 2 holes (particularly the bank of it on left of 17), and OB on 3 or 4 holes but out quite wide. While it appears a little tight, and the slopes make the fairways play even tighter, it probably makes sense to swing away with the driver on almost every hole here, despite the fact there are no long par 4s (longest is the 3rd at 360m). There are no big penalties for missing fairways, and almost always some bump recovery available. You shouldn’t make worse than bogey!!
Highlights are: the steeply downhill, left to right 290m first, with the tee almost under the verandah of the clubhouse. The first 200m is very steep, then flattens out for last 90-100. Could almost get a putter to within 100m – provides the opportunity for a very gentle handshake to start, or you can take on the trees down either side and get it up close to the green; the 120m uphill par3 6th with deep front bunkers on either side; 520m par5 7th, down the hill and moves slightly right off the tee, then slightly left on the approach, fairway tilts left and very fast, to a green set beautifully in front of 2 large pines amid tight, quick surrounds; the 158m par3 12th, from elevated tee to elevated green with bunkers both sides and drop-offs all around, most severe right and long; and 14 (my favourite of the mid-length 4s), which moves right after a semi-blind tee shot to a crest, then plays downhill for the approach before flattening at a longer, narrow green with bank on the left side and drop-off on the right leading down to an OB fence and view of the neighbouring lake.
There are a couple of cool green surrounds/ complexes – the shared greenside bunker in between the 2 par5 greens (13 & 16), the bunkers on the high side of the downhill par4 11th – where the hole doglegs hard right before the surrounds are tilted left with bunkers right presenting risk for anyone seeking the pin; and the 15th green which sits at you reverse-redan style, short left to long right with a guarding back bank, only a couple of feet high but quite steep, running the entire back side, wrapping around to the right side.
Port Lincoln GC is fun, with much more ‘carrot’ than ‘stick’ here and enough little quirks to keep a smile on your face. There are numerous elevated tees enticing you to give it a rip, and while landing areas (both greens and fairways) are small, playing surfaces are quite good. It’s well worth a hit if you are traveling the Eyre Peninsula.
