Royal Adelaide Golf Club

328 Tapleys Hill Rd,

Seaton, Adelaide, South Australia 5023

  • Office

    +61 (0)8 8356 5511
  • Pro shop

    +61 (0)8 8151 2380
  • Fax

    +61 (0)8 8235 1064
  • Golf pro

    Chris Crocker (PGA, Director of Golf).

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Gently undulating terrain - a few slopes to climb

  • Surroundings:

    Residential setting.

  • Designer:

    Original design by H.L. "Cargie" Rymill and C.L. Gardiner (1904). Substantially redesigned by Dr Alister MacKenzie (1926). Later improvements by Peter Thomson & Mike Wolveridge (1979, 1997).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Metres
6619
6246
5575
Par
73
73
74
SSS or slope
75
72
74

Location

Latitude:

-34.895601

Longitude:

138.513691

How to get there:

9 km NW of Adelaide centre

Royal Adelaide Golf Club

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.

Est. 1892

Royal Adelaide Golf Club: Also commonly known as Seaton, the present Royal Adelaide course was substantially redesigned by Dr. Alister MacKenzie in the mid-1920s. Here is an open, undulating inland links course, built on the Adelaide sandbelt, which presents a wonderfully testing challenge to all golfers.

The understated simplicity of the course design, based on nicely undulating terrain, rolling mounds and a scattering of pine trees, masks some tough challenges ahead. With plenty of sand available, its no surprise to find a wealth of excellent fairway and greenside bunkering; the fiery ring of eight bunkers guarding the par-3 7th's domed green, makes for a classic MacKenzie-inspired hole.

Don't be surprised to see an occasional commuter train trundling along the single-track railway that diagonally bisects the course. The track passes within a few feet of the clubhouse (one imagines it was originally a halt for the trains).

A few precise tee-shots are required, not least at the short, blind and tight par-4 3rd, played up and over a small ridge. Your tee-shot back across the ridge at the par-4 4th is also blind, but this time played to a doglegging fairway. The highest part of the course is home to the 8th and 12th tees, alongside a rotunda look-out. The flatter closing stretch starts at the par-4 13th.

Although following an out-and-back design, the course never strays too far from the clubhouse which is positioned squarely in the centre of this excellently maintained layout. There is no housing on the course, nor too close beside it, just this splendid old links, the subtleties of which will certainly grow on you the more you play it.

List of courses: Around Adelaide

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Private club, with restricted outside visitor play. Overseas and interstate visitors should contact the Club to determine playing possibilities.

Green fees

Overseas visitor fee, 18-holes: A$450. Australian golfer A$350.

Contact club for full details. [Last updated: 2024].

Other information

Non-metal spike facility. Walking permitted at all times. Golf carts available for hire only with a medical certificate.

Practice facilities

Good

Did you know?

The always highly-rated Royal Adelaide, has hosted many top level competitions including nine Australian Opens and numerous Australian Amateur Championships. In 2008 the Eisenhower Trophy was staged here.

Royal Adelaide is one of eight golf clubs in Australia honoured by exercise of the Sovereign's royal prerogative. George V conferred the Royal title on the club in 1923. The eight Australian 'Royals' are (in order of gaining Royal status): Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Adelaide, Hobart, Fremantle, Canberra and Perth.

Published ranking

Australia's 10th best course (Australian Golf Digest, 2022/23).
World's 92nd best public access course (Golf World, 2023). Formerly ranked world's 99th best course (GOLF Magazine, 2013; not in subsequent editions of this ranking).

Where2Stay

  • The Lakes Resort Hotel4-star

    141 Brebner Drive, West Lakes, SA 5021.

    +61 (0)8 8356 4444

    Visit website

    On the banks of the popular West Lakes boating lake, this all-suites resort hotel offers well-appointed guest rooms and private balconies overlooking the water. A free breakfast buffet is served in the lakefront bistro. Other amenities include a fine-dining restaurant, three bars and a beer garden, a gym and a pool.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 10 km:

      Grange; Royal Adelaide; West Lakes; Kooyonga.

    • Golf within 30 km:

      Glenelg.

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

124th US Open: the No.2 Course at Pinehurst once again plays host to this most illustrious championship (June 13-16). Wyndham Clark defends his title, having won at Los Angeles CC in 2023.

79th Women’s US Open: the second women’s major championship of the season gets underway at Lancaster CC in Pennsylvania. It’s the second time the championship has been held here.
(May 30-June 2).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: won the Mizuho Americas Open (May 16-19) at Liberty National GC, continuing her extraordinary form in LPGA events. This was her sixth win in seven starts in 2024.

Xander Schauffele: recorded his first major championship win, and second record-equalling low score of 62 in a major. Only he, Branden Grace, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry have achieved this feat in a men’s major championship.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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