Blog 323 – Port Neill

Nomadic_golfer : February 2026 – Port Neill, SA, review

Par 72 5720m Slope 115 $5 – 9 hole course

4 par3s 123-210m, 10 par4s 283-354m, 4 par5s 452-462m

This unassuming little 9 hole sandscrapes course with synthetic tees, on the East Coast of the Eyre Peninsula in SA is something different. From a homely clubhouse perched on a wee hill only 200m from the sea, looking back up the 5th & 9th fairways, down the 1st fairway, over to the 8th fairway, the views on arrival stir the rugged “I love exposure to the elements” golfer within. As you reach the clubhouse and see the wondrous par 3 6th/ 15th nestled up against the beach, you run back for your clubs.

This place is cool. It plays like it is on 2 distinct parcels of land as there is a large patch covered by coastal bush that cuts the course in half. On the north of those bushes are the back half of the 90 degree dogleg left par5 1st, and holes 2,3,4 which all run parallel to each other (see top portion of first photo below). The par5 5th then heads back south with the sea on your left and back into the really interesting golfing land.

The 6-8 stretch (and 15-17 with some slight variations) is fantastic, adrenaline-pumping golf, complete with quirks and change in elevation. 6 (&15) is a 123m par3 from a small built-up tee, snug against the beach on your left, played against the predominant southerly, over a little inlet complete with rickety old bridge to wheel your buggy across. The sand-green (scrape) sits on land tilting left toward the sea, but a good 20m from where the small cliffs begin. I’m sure many a right to left shaped short iron, with the wrong breeze, has ended up on the beach. The 302m 7th then heads back up the hill. From another small built-up tee located right on the edge of the beach, you fire away from the sea, blindly up quite a steep rise, where the scrape sits on flatter territory after a little left to right action. The variation for 16 is that it is shortened to a par3 of 160m from a slightly different angle, still playing over the crest, and blind.

The 8th is a ripper, starting from a very elevated tee. The public road on the left of the hole is OB and cuts into the direct line from tee to green on this 349m par4. Those stark white OB fence posts stare you in the face. There’s nothing subtle about this hole, its all right there in front (and below) of you. How short or long do you want to make this hole, and do you trust your execution?

I don’t reckon too much golf gets played in summer here, though the firm and fast conditions displayed on my visit (there wasn’t any green grass at all to be seen mid February) make it a real treat, even though aesthetically it looks a bit rough.

Its not manicured golf here. It is a microcosm of the local land. It is the Eyre Peninsula in a nutshell – exposed, rugged, seaside, unflappable, leaving the playing field at the mercy of mother nature. I loved it, but not everybody would. And as an epilogue, I saw some photos on Facebook, taken exactly 1 month after we had been there. The Eyre had received some rain and it was a sea of green….

Did I mention that it only costs $5 to play?