The town of Balaklava (population 2048, postcode 5461) is located in South Australia, 92 kilometres north of Adelaide in the Mid North region. It is on the south bank of the Wakefield River, 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Port Wakefield. It is named after the Battle of Balaklava that took place during the Crimean War, the battle being most famous for the Charge of the Light Brigade. So, Sunday 5th August saw the annual playing of the Balaklava Open. Some of the chaps from my golf club were going and they reckoned a good day was to be had and that I should go. A 6:00 am start from Adelaide saw me at the Balaklava Golf Club about 7:30 for a 8:00 am hit off. Apart from the gale warning, threatened rain, hail and low single figure temperature it promised to be a great day. My first drive went straight down the middle and I managed to make par, at the second I missed a short putt for birdie but made par. That folks were the highlights of the day, the next 25 holes were challenging. The wind was unbelievable, hitting into it required an extra two or three clubs, plus all the usual nonsense of the wind catching slices and hooks and carrying them into the scrub etc. The members of the Balaklava club were very friendly, the golf course was in great nick, the food was great and I had a fantastic day. If you are in the area when the open is on, or you just want to play golf, I recommend you give it a go. I don't know who won what, oh and the photo was taken on another day when the weather was clement.