From primary school putters to 80-year-old beginners: SA golf club named Australia's best

West Beach Parks’ The Pat GC has been named Australia’s most outstanding metropolitan golf club, facility or place to play as it launches its Short 18, a new course designed to bring even more people into the game. 

The Pat GC - home to Adelaide’s largest public golf park - has received an Excellence Award from Golf Australia in national recognition of its quality, inclusivity and innovation. 

The award comes as The Pat GC prepares to open The Short 18 in November – an 18-hole, time-friendly course designed to make golf more accessible to beginners, juniors, families, social golfers and people who may never have considered themselves golfers. 

The new course expands The Pat GC’s existing 15-hole Short Course, with holes ranging from 95m to 175m. so that golfers can play nine holes when time is limited, while the full 18-hole format will enable 
official handicaps to be recorded. 

The Pat GC’s growing participation numbers demonstrate the impact of its “golf for everyone” approach, with: 

• 80 per cent growth in junior public rounds in 2024-25. 
• Hosting 10 major school tournaments in 2024-25. 
• Short course rounds increasing by 24 per cent to 35,600 in 2024/25. 
• 94,700 rounds played in 2024-25, up 23 per cent from 2022. 
• Playing host to the Beyond Blindness Blind championships and the ISPS Handa Blind Golf Open. 
• A 60 per cent increase in driving range bookings following the introduction of TrackMan technology. 

The Pat GC also runs Buckets & Bubbles and Come & Try clinics for women which is based on one very simple principle - make golf fun before you make it technical. More than 110 women participated the clinics in 2024-25.  

It also has partnerships with schools, veterans and community groups, including Blind Golf SA and senior sessions, as well as introducing an all-terrain powered wheelchair for access across the two courses and the driving range. 

Operated by West Beach Parks, The Pat GC is also set to welcome the new Pat GC Bar & Eatery in October, helping open the golf precinct to the broader community and create a more welcoming destination for people to enjoy golf, food and social connection. 

West Beach Parks CEO Kate Anderson said the future of golf is about creating more opportunities for people to engage with the game in ways that suit them. Our role is to make those opportunities welcoming, accessible and enjoyable from the very first experience, said Ms Anderson.

“The national award recognised The Pat GC’s focus on making the game accessible to everyone and the hard work of the Pat GC team in creating a welcoming, inclusive and modern golf experience. 

“With the renowned Patawalonga Golf Course, TrackMan Driving Range and now The Short 18, we’re growing the game through a fresh and equitable approach to golf. This is a huge win for South Australian golf and recognition of what we’re building. 

“We want people to see golf as something they can enjoy whatever their age, ability, experience or background – from primary school putters to 80-year-old beginners, pro golfers, first-timers and 
families,” she said. 

“The Short 18 is a big part of that. It gives more people a way into golf through a welcoming, time friendly experience and, importantly, a reason to keep coming back.” 

The national recognition follows The Pat GC being named Club, Venue or Facility of the Year at the SA Golf Industry Awards in 2025 and receiving Golf Australia’s inaugural award for environmental sustainability last year for establishing six beehive colonies on the Patawalonga Course to support local pollination.  

For more information visit thepatgc.com.au