Royal Adelaide Golf Club, fairways through the dunes and pines at Seaton, South Australia
Ranked · 10 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Adelaide

Australia's most underrated golf city sits on its own band of sandy coastal soil, with an Alister MacKenzie masterpiece at Royal Adelaide, a cluster of fine metropolitan clubs and wine country day trips to the Barossa and the Fleurieu. Here are the ten courses we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By Morten Andersen, Co-founder · Fact-checked by Fredrik Filipsson · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: The Royal Adelaide Golf Club, via Google

How we chose them

Melbourne's sandbelt gets the headlines, but Adelaide quietly holds some of the best classic golf in the country on its own coastal sand, and at a fraction of the crowding. Royal Adelaide, redesigned by Dr Alister MacKenzie on his celebrated 1926 tour of Australia, is the anchor, a links style course through real duneland and Norfolk Island pines that regularly sits in the nation's top handful. Around it cluster Kooyonga, Glenelg and the two courses at The Grange, a leading group of metropolitan clubs barely fifteen minutes from the airport.

We weighed design pedigree, conditioning, championship history and how naturally the courses combine into one relaxed golf and wine week, which is how Adelaide is best played. The marquee clubs are private members clubs with visitor access at set times, while the Fleurieu and Barossa courses are resort and public layouts open to all. Every designer, year and detail was checked at the time of writing. The order and the verdicts are our editors' view, so reasonable people will reorder the chasing pack. If you want any of these built into a costed trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

01

Royal Adelaide Golf Club

Alister MacKenzie redesign · 1926 · par 72 · Seaton

The headline round and one of Australia's finest, a links style layout that winds through genuine duneland and Norfolk Island pines at Seaton, redesigned by Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1926 and a fixture in the national top ten. The celebrated stretch from the short, treacherous 3rd is MacKenzie at his strategic best, and the whole course rewards thought over power. It sits barely fifteen minutes from the airport, which makes it as convenient as it is great. The clear number one and reason enough to make the trip.

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02

Kooyonga Golf Club

H.L. Rymill · 1923 · par 72 · private

A superb sand belt course laid out by founder H.L. Rymill, mature, beautifully bunkered and consistently rated among the country's best. Quieter and less famous than Royal Adelaide, it is a genuine peer rather than a supporting act, with firm, fast greens and a classical routing that the connoisseurs of Adelaide golf often rate as their favourite. The standard of conditioning is exceptional, and the welcome warm. If Royal Adelaide is the must play, Kooyonga is the round that surprises visitors most.

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03

Glenelg Golf Club

Vern Morcom · par 72 · private

A first rate metropolitan club close to the coast, a Vern Morcom design on sandy soil with excellent greens and a strong championship pedigree. The third of Adelaide's great trio, it is a regular host of state and national events and an enjoyable, well balanced test that completes the leading group. Less heralded than its two neighbours but firmly in their company, Glenelg is the kind of round that confirms just how deep the quality runs on the city's sand belt.

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04

The Grange Golf Club, West Course

Greg Norman revision · par 72 · private

The Grange's stronger course, reworked by Greg Norman into a modern sandbelt test that has hosted Women's Australian Open golf. Bold bunkering and firm, contoured greens give it real championship bite, and it is the pick of the club's two layouts. Paired with the East it gives a group 36 holes of high quality golf at one address, a rare luxury in a leading rota, and a fine addition to any Adelaide itinerary built around the marquee members clubs.

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05

The Grange Golf Club, East Course

par 72 · private

The more traditional of The Grange's two courses, a classic, tree lined sandbelt layout that complements the championship West. A relaxed, enjoyable companion round that lets a group play 36 holes in a day at one welcoming club, it has charm and good greens of its own. Not the test the West is, but a thoroughly worthwhile round and a reminder that The Grange offers as much golf in one place as anywhere in the city.

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06

Mount Osmond Golf Club

Adelaide Hills · par 70 · semi private

An undulating hills course in the Mount Lofty Ranges with sweeping views back over the city and the gulf, a scenic, hilly change of character from the flat sand belt. The terrain gives it variety and a few memorable downhill holes, and the outlook is the best in Adelaide golf. A round here pairs naturally with a day in the Adelaide Hills wine region, and offers a different, breezier kind of golf to the metropolitan clubs below.

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07

Links Lady Bay Golf Resort

Fleurieu Peninsula · par 72 · resort

A coastal links style resort course on the Fleurieu Peninsula about an hour south of the city, with golf and lodging on site. Open, breezy and a touch more rugged than the city parkland, it is the natural base for a southern leg pairing the coast with the McLaren Vale wine region. The on site accommodation makes it an easy overnight stop, and the seaside character adds welcome variety to an itinerary dominated by the metropolitan sand belt.

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08

The Vines Golf Club of Reynella

southern suburbs · par 72 · semi private

A well regarded southern Adelaide course set in the Reynella vineyards, a friendly, accessible round that suits a group looking for good value golf away from the marquee members clubs. The vineyard setting is attractive and the layout enjoyable rather than punishing, which makes it a popular choice for visitors and societies. A relaxed, dependable round on the way south toward the Fleurieu and the McLaren Vale cellar doors.

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09

Tanunda Pines Golf Club

Barossa Valley · par 72 · public

Golf among the gum trees and vines beside the Novotel Barossa Valley Resort, the natural round for a day or two in South Australia's most famous wine region. The setting is the draw, with cellar doors a short drive away and a comfortable resort base on the doorstep, but the course itself is a sound, scenic test. The perfect golf and wine combination and an easy extension to a city based trip into the Barossa.

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10

McCracken Country Club

Victor Harbor · par 72 · resort

A resort course and country club at Victor Harbor on the Fleurieu coast, with accommodation on site and easy access to the seaside towns. A relaxed coastal round and a comfortable southern base, it rounds out the field as the far end of a Fleurieu leg, good enough to enjoy and well placed for a group that wants golf, beaches and whale watching in one trip. The kind of easygoing resort golf that balances a hard week of championship rounds.

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Designers, years and access verified June 2026 from the clubs and leading databases; the marquee clubs are private members clubs with visitor access at set times. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Play the best of Adelaide

Tell us whether you want the sand belt classics around Royal Adelaide, a golf and wine week through the Barossa and the Fleurieu, or a mix of both, and roughly when. One concierge secures the marquee tee times, sorts the lodging and the car, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.

Adelaide golf questions

What is the best golf course in Adelaide?

Royal Adelaide Golf Club at Seaton, redesigned by Dr Alister MacKenzie in 1926 and routed through duneland and Norfolk Island pines, is the best course in Adelaide and one of the finest in Australia. Kooyonga and Glenelg are its closest rivals on the same sandy belt. Reasonable people reorder the chasing pack, but Royal Adelaide leads any serious list of the city's courses.

When is the best time to play golf in Adelaide?

Spring from September to November and autumn from March to May are the most comfortable, with warm, dry days and the sandy courses running fast and firm. South Australian summers are hot and dry, best handled with early tee times, while the mild winters offer the best value of the year. Adelaide plays year round in a Mediterranean climate.

Can visitors play Royal Adelaide and Kooyonga?

Royal Adelaide, Kooyonga, Glenelg and The Grange are private members clubs that welcome visitors at set times, usually midweek and often by arrangement or through a member or accredited tour operator. The resort and public courses on the Fleurieu and in the Barossa are more openly bookable. A golf trip is best arranged in advance so the marquee rounds are secured. Always confirm access and fees directly before booking.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, years and access verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.

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