The course & your visit
A round on Coober Pedy’s desert ground
Coober Pedy Opal Fields Golf Club takes the game across desert flats and gibber hills. The club describes white fairways and black putting surfaces, a striking setting for a round in the opal town. Much of the interest lies in how local golfers have adapted their course to this ground.
Sources: Club & desert course overview
What you are putting on
The club’s history explains the surfaces. Artificial turf tops the tees, and the putting areas are called scrapes: local quarry dust mixed with waste oil, according to that account. It describes fairways maintained with local white sandstone and small squares of artificial grass used beneath the ball on the fairway.
Those details are worth understanding before playing. Ask the club how to use the hitting mat and what to do on a scrape, including how to leave the surface for the next group. The account also describes local rock relief, so get the current local rules before taking your first shot.
Sources: Club history: surfaces & local rules
Built by golfers in an opal town
The club dates its formation to 1976, when players began around the racing-club grounds and used its shed as a clubhouse. Extensions opened in 1996, bringing the course to eighteen holes. The club credits those extensions to professional golfer and former opal miner Dennis Ingram.
That backstory makes the course more than an unusual photograph. The playing surfaces and local rules grew out of people finding ways to keep a golf club going on rocky desert ground. For a visitor, learning how the course works is part of the experience.
Sources: Club formation & course extensions
Join the club’s playing rhythm
The club’s About page describes Sunday golf through winter and occasional night-golf sessions during the year. If night golf is the attraction, ask the club about the next scheduled session before building a visit around it.
For an independent round, the homepage directs visitors to pay green fees at OPALIOS on Hutchison Street. Confirm the arrangements before heading to the course, especially if you need equipment or an introduction to playing on scrapes. The club identifies its location off Rowe Drive; use its current directions when planning the visit.
Sources: Winter golf, night sessions & location · Visitor payment arrangements
Researched from club-published material on 17 October 2026. Surface construction and early course development are described in the club’s history.