At a time when public golf has taken some criticism, an Adelaide course has thrown open its gates to children in the cause of finding more golfers.

North Adelaide golf course in inner-city Adelaide hosted more than 450 children at its driving range and the north course on Wednesday afternoon for free.

“The aim of the event was simple: get golf clubs in the hands of anyone under 18,” said Shaun Coulls, commercial operations manager for Adelaide City Council.

“As a sport we need to improve our engagement with youth and remove all deterrence for getting into golf.”

North Adelaide is the club where a five-year-old Adam Scott played his first game of golf.

Coulls said the success of the day could be mirrored anywhere.

“The role public facilities play is so important for the health of the game as we are focussed on being accessible not exclusive and providing a pathway for long term engagement and participation,” he said.

“If the game wants to be better at engaging youth, then I’d encourage all courses to think about events like this. If courses across Australia ran one event per year and had the success we did then up to half a million additional kids and parents would be holding a golf club each year."

North Adelaide is already a participant in Golf Australia's youth participation program, MyGolf.