IT IS ironic that one of the biggest problems Stephen Connor faced when he bought the golf course at Mount Compass was that nobody knew where it was.
So the first thing he had to do was change the name from Fleurieu Golf Club to the less exotic but location-specific Mount Compass. The course nestles on rolling terrain on the outskirts of the quaint South Australian country town (population 1,500) on the road to Victor Harbor. It was originally named after the French explorer who discovered the beautiful Australian coastline and land that is now known as the Fleurieu Peninsula.
“The first thing I had to do was re-badge the place,” says Connor, a golf enthusiast and successful town planner and project manager in Adelaide. “Nobody could spell or pronounce the old name. They knew there was a golf course here somewhere, but that was about it,” he says.
Indeed, Connor stumbled upon the 72-hectare property about an hour’s drive south of Adelaide’s CBD almost by chance after a friend told him of the pending sale about 18 months ago. He knew enough about golf to realise the layout had “great bones”, due in no small way to the original design by respected golf course architect Neil Crafter and his late father, Brian. An added bonus for Connor is that he and Neil Crafter have been friends for 30 years and often played golf together growing up.
“The place was on it knees when I picked it up and it needed a significant amount of capital injected into it,” Connor says. “It had been unloved for a number of years and needed a lot of attention. We are starting to draw back the curtains and slowly seeing the benefits.”
Connor poached Philip Tripodi from Royal Adelaide and appointed him the course superintendent. Tripodi and his small team have done a superb job in the short time they have been there. Vegetation has been cut back, tree branches lopped and most of the 89 bunkers have been renovated. The ground staff has been helped by the good microclimate in the area, the beautiful sandy base and natural undulating topography of the land.
The 6,116-metre, par-72 course is a delight to play. The condition of the fairways and greens leaves many more highly rated courses in its wake. And it is a genuinely good design. It’s short but not easy and there are multiple shot options on many holes where you have to stop and consider how to play them. It is a strategic golf course that rewards the well-placed shot but punishes a poor drive or errant approach.
The fairways are generous for the average player but once you get in the rough you’re in trouble. The greens are large, fast and very true while the fairways are almost like carpet. Multiple tees make it playable for high and low markers.
The 173-metre, par-3 12th is probably the signature hole. For the low marker, the tee shot is due north across a dam all the way to a generous green. Alternatively, you can lay up to the left and play safe. Earlier, the 353-metre sixth hole is very challenging off the tee. Good players can opt to go over the trees while the more conservative will bail out to the left, taking a two-shot approach to the dogleg par 4.
The course was originally the brainchild of local man Alan Bennetts, owner of the land and the adjacent sand mine. Bennetts built the course as part of a housing development. Designer Neil Crafter says the golf course was constructed on a budget of just $1.5 million. “We did the first nine together before Dad passed away and I completed the other nine,” Crafter says. “I am really happy we did it together. Dad was a teaching golf pro but loved to dabble with course design at home on the kitchen table after dinner.”
Connor is delighted with the progress to date.
“Over the past 20 years, some of the vegetation has overgrown and we are in the process of peeling it back to get a more open windswept feel about it. The course is in good nick but it needs a lot of love after 20 years without it.”
Mount Compass has a Scottish links feel. “I like the model of Barnbougle and I’ve been there many times to gain inspiration,” Connor says. “I suppose I am aiming to attract the international and interstate golf tourists and locals.
“We have a great catchment here. We are on the road to Victor Harbor, where many Adelaide people holiday in summer – similar to the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne. Then there’s the proximity to the world-famous McLaren Vale wine-growing region and easy access to Kangaroo Island,” Connor says.
“I just want to put this place back on the map. A lot of people did not even know it was here. I feel it is slowly nudging into the top-four golf courses in the state along with Kooyonga, Royal Adelaide and Glenelg. I think the course has the potential to go further than that but it takes time and money. We have still got a fair way to go.”
In the long term, Connor is aiming to host a major four-round professional tournament at Mount Compass. Early discussions with the relevant bodies have already taken place.
THE DETAILS
Mount Compass Golf Course
George Francis Drive, Mount Compass SA 5210
(08) 8556 8500
www.mcgc.com.au
