For the best part of a century, Glenelg Golf Club has existed in the shadows of its critically acclaimed golfing neighbours Royal Adelaide, Kooyonga and, to a lesser extent, Grange.
Royal Adelaide is the South Australian capital’s undisputed premier course, boasting a world-class design which has been influenced by some of the game’s finest architects, from Dr Alister MacKenzie to Tom Doak. Likewise, impeccably manicured turf and challenging holes are the hallmark of a round at Kooyonga. The West and East Courses at Grange are also highly ranked, while the club has gained global exposure in the past two years as the successful host of the LIV Golf Adelaide tournament.
Interestingly, all of these courses have undergone significant renovations in recent times and their members are now enjoying the benefits of those course improvements.
The Glenelg Golf Club membership will have their time in early 2026. And they have every reason to be excited. Not just because it will be the club’s centenary year, but it will mark the completion of a five-year Irrigation Replacement and Course Enhancement Masterplan which already promises to see the Glenelg layout step out of the shadows and into the spotlight more often. I certainly won’t be surprised if Glenelg surges its highest-ever course ranking within months of all the renovations being completed.
When all the work is done, it will bring into play the fifth edition of the Glenelg layout, which was originally opened for play in 1926. The course, which was spread across a mostly treeless site, had been crafted by Herbert “Cargie” Rymill, who had earlier helped establish Royal Adelaide and was behind the creation of the Kooyonga course.
The expansion of Adelaide Airport after World War II led to the course being redone under the supervision of designer Vern Morcom, who was the head greenkeeper at Kingston Heath for nearly 40 years and a prolific designer of courses throughout Victoria during that time. With the exception of a not-so-wise decades-long practice of regularly planting thousands of trees and some ti-tree, the only significant change to Morcom’s work was the replacement of all of Glenelg’s greens between 1978 and 1984.
By 1998, parts of the course had become overgrown. I can recall playing Glenelg for the first time during the week of the Australian Open that year. The course was beautifully presented, but our group lost a handful of balls in the trees and rough that day, which was not a lot of fun.
In fact, at the time of our round in 1998, the club had already set the wheels in motion to change the course. The club commissioned course architect Neil Crafter – in collaboration with Glenelg life member, top amateur golfer and tournament promoter Bob Tuohy – to redesign the layout and incorporate much of its original links characteristics.
A major feature of the redevelopment wasn’t in a building form, but the removal of trees and bushes, which had, over time, cluttered the layout. One of the goals of the designers was to create a more open, links feel to the course. To that end, vast areas of ti-tree and other bushes were removed, which had the effect of opening up previously unknown views and playing lines on many holes.
The redesign took six years to complete and also included re-routing almost half the course, rebuilding most of the bunkers, improving drainage as well as converting the kikuyu grass fairways and surrounds to Santa Ana couch. The greens were also rebuilt and converted to smooth-rolling bentgrass.
Crafter drew inspiration from the great British links in incorporating a revetted, sod-stacked bunkering style on many holes.
However, nearly two decades on from the completion of that redesign, the club was looking to update and improve its course again. In 2020, Glenelg GC decided to implement a $3.96 million Course Enhancement Plan, which would see greens resurfaced, bunkering rationalised, the replacement of an ageing irrigation system, the adoption of a tree and vegetation program and ultimately better playability.
Crafter and Tuohy were once again commissioned, while former Greg Norman Course Design associate Ryan Van Der Veen was engaged to manage the redesign.
The American-born designer brought a wealth of experience to the project, such as working with Pete Dye on several high-profile developments, including three-time PGA Championship and Ryder Cup host course Whistling Straits. In his 19 years working for Norman, he helped shape and design courses across the globe including Doonbeg (Ireland), Jumeirah Estates (Dubai), The Bluffs (Vietnam) and Emerald Bay (Bahamas).
“The course was in dire need of a new irrigation system,” Van Der Veen said. “It was 50-plus years old … one of those old hydraulic systems and a complete overhaul was needed.
“The club decided if most of the course was going to be dug up for a new irrigation system, then it might be an opportune time to produce an enhancement plan.”
At the time of publication, more than half the course had been renovated and the construction and turfing of three holes – 15, 16 and 17 – had been done. Work is due to start on the 8th and 9th holes in January 2025, and changes to the 6th, 7th and 1st holes will then follow before the “new” course is officially opened in the first quarter of 2026.
While the irrigation system was a top priority, the removal of trees and non-native vegetation was an important aspect of the plan, not just for the betterment of the course but also for player safety.
“One of the key points of this plan has seen the removal of a lot of Casuarina trees,” Van Der Veen said. “The Casuarinas across the course were having an impact on the playing surfaces around them. The roots from these trees are very invasive and not only impacting turf quality, but creating a hazard for players, who can be injured by tripping over an exposed root or by hitting a root with a club during a shot.”
The Casuarinas have been replaced by 250 pine and native pine plantings, while some areas previously where rough was maintained are being replaced by indigenous plants, which will reduce water usage and lower maintenance costs.
The financial commitment of maintaining the bunkering was also examined; the revetted face bunkering will be constructed with artificial turf. With turf revetting to bunker faces needing to be replaced every five to eight years, the 20-year lifespan of artificial turf revetting was a more economically sound choice and the finished look is no different.
The redesign has also seen bunker numbers reduced from 91 to 64, while some larger fairway traps are now a hybrid of Glenelg’s traditional revetted faces combined with natural flash face which blend into fescue edges and sandy rough surrounds.
“While the footprint is small, the impact on course strategy is still great,” Van Der Veen said. “You look at great courses like Muirfield and Carnoustie in Scotland and a pot bunker is much smaller than the mown area around it, which has also been shaped to gather and feed balls into the sand.”
This is by far my favourite aspect of the redesigned Glenelg course. The holes which have already been finished under the Enhancement Plan feel considerably wider and more open than they did even after the 2004 redesign. While these holes may be wider, they certainly aren’t any easier, and the strategic risk-and-reward puzzle of each “new” hole adds greatly to the fun of a round here.
One of the finest examples of this can be found on the par-5 5th hole, where two pot bunkers lie on the inside of the slight right-to-left dogleg. A third bath-shaped bunker is cut into the slope on the far side of the fairway. Any player driving too close to these sandy hazards risks the chance of playing from sand for their second shot. Another pot bunker to the right of a good lay-up distance from the green will capture slightly miscued shots venturing within five to 10 metres of its edges. During reconstruction, this hole was shortened by 30-odd metres, but I would argue it is far more challenging to play these days, as are two par-4s which now play starring roles on the inward half.
The back nine opens with a 382-metre journey over the crest of a hill, past a recently completed pot-flash face hybrid bunker which has replaced a nest of three bunkers cut into a hill to the right. Some towering pine trees and scrub were removed from right of the fairway, but there are tall timbers still to the left of the fairway which slopes gently down from right-to-left. Beyond the crest, the now-wider fairway gradually descends to the pear-shaped green which is protected by four pot bunkers – two pinching into the putting surface at the front and two through the back – with tightly trimmed surrounds.
The par-4 13th hole has been transformed into one of Glenelg’s finest risk-and-reward holes and is the most improved hole on the course in my opinion. The dogleg right hole has been lengthened to 365 metres and often plays into the prevailing wind. The tee shot is played through a chute of sleepers and heathland to one of the widest fairways on the course. In fact, it feels nearly twice as wide as previous incarnations, as numerous pine trees have been removed from its edges left and right. The brave will try to find the right half of the fairway to leave the shortest and easiest approach shot into the green, which is set into the base of a huge sand dune, known as Pine Hill. There is also a pot bunker short right and a pond to the left of the angled green. The one complication of the “hard” tee shot into the right half of the fairway is a small coffin-shaped bunker, with its menacingly large surrounding area of slopes and swales ready to funnel your ball into the grave. Take on the coffin if you’re game.
The golfing experience isn’t the only positive to come out of the implementation of the Course Enhancement Plan. Glenelg has become one of Australian golf’s leaders in the areas of environmental sustainability and biodiversity.
Glenelg’s biodiversity manager, Monina Gilbey, has won numerous awards in recent years through her environmental work at the club, including plastic reduction practices, habitat planting to attract a near-extinct butterfly as well as planting Slender Cypress Pines to not only provide screening and course safety, but also create a habitat for small birds, such as the Yellow Thornbill and Yellow-Rumped Thornbills which call the course home.
In golfing terms though, the biggest reward may be yet to come. Glenelg is currently listed in the top-40 courses in Australia, but once the curtain is drawn on the renovations, I expect this superb layout to make a significant move up the national rankings.
FACT FILE
LOCATION: James Melrose Rd, Novar Gardens.
CONTACT: (08) 8350 3200.
WEBSITE: www.glenelggolf.com
DESIGNERS: Herbert “Cargie” Rymill (1926); Vern Morcom (1948); Neil Crafter – Crafter & Mogford Golf Strategies – with Bob Tuohy (1998-2004); Neil Crafter – Crafter & Mogford Golf Strategies – with Ryan Van Der Veen and Bob Tuohy (2020-2026).
PLAYING SURFACES: Santa Ana couch (fairways and tees), bentgrass (greens).
COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Tim Warren.
PGA PROFESSIONALS: Shane Robinson, David Rice, Cameron Scott, Ryan Reavley, Sarah Douglass-Norris, Gareth Jones, Sarah King, Connor Chant and Adam Bland.
GREEN FEES: Glenelg is a private club but visitors from interstate and overseas can seek a tee-time via the general manager. $320 (non-introduced visitor), $120 (member-introduced visitor).
MEMBERSHIP: Glenelg has a range of memberships – including traditional and introductory options – with payment options available for entrance fees and annual subscriptions. For further information contact the Membership team on (08) 8350 3200 or visit the website.
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