Gauteng

South Africa

Benoni Country Club was originally founded as the Van Ryn Golf Club in 1906 when a 9-hole course was set out as a recreational pursuit for employees of the Van Ryn gold mine. This initial layout was then extended to eighteen holes a short time after.

Down the years, a number of significant improvements have been made to the course including a Bob Grimsdell redesign, bunker and green refurbishment by Christian Robinson and an upgrade carried out by Golf Data.

Benoni has been described as ‘old-school parkland’ and it’s testament to whoever laid out the original holes that the course doesn’t feel cramped or confined, even with the housing that now surrounds the course. There’s a balanced mix of holes here with well-defined greens that offer plenty of interesting pin positions.

Both nines start and end with par fives, all of which measure over 550 yards from the back tees. The pick of these is the 18th, which many consider to be one of the best closing holes in the province of Gauteng. One of the property’s five lakes lies to the left and a densely wooded area to the right of a fairway that leads to a two-tiered home green.

Benoni Country Club

Africa

The Benoni Country Club was originally established as the Van Ryn Golf Club back in 1906 when it was created by employees of the Van Ryn mine.

Free State

Bloemfontein Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs in South Africa, having been founded in 1894, and it moved to its current location next to Schoeman Park Golf Club in 1953, with Bob Grimsdell designing the 18-hole layout. Forty years later, Peter Matkovich was brought in to upgrade the layout with new greens and bunkers.

The putting surfaces on the club’s original course were constructed – like Kimberley’s – from blue-coloured diamondiferous mine tailings, a by-product of the local mining operations, but the new course was built with grass greens, which helped to attract both the SA Open and the SA Amateur championships to the club in 1958.

The club hosted the SA Open again in 1963 and it also staged another three editions of the SA Amateur in 1964, 1968 and 1975. In the last of these prestigious national tournaments, club member Peter Voster won the event 3&2 in the final, having won the title at Humewood ten years earlier by a more convincing 7&6 margin against his opponent in the match play final tie.


Feature holes include par threes at the 8th and 11th, which play in opposite directions across the intimidating spruit that runs through the property. The long, left doglegging par fours at the 9th and 17th (rated stoke index 2 and 1) are the toughest holes on the card but the par three 16th, with a sloping green protected by water on three sides, is another one to watch.

Bloemfontein

Golf in Bloemfontein dates back more than a century but the parkland course in play today at Bloemfontein Golf Club is a Bob Grimsdell layout that was later refashioned by the prolific Peter Matkovich and Dale Hayes.

KwaZulu-Natal

Designed with nine holes and eighteen teeboxes, the once-private course at Bosch Hoek Golf Club in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is an early 1960s Bob Grimsdell layout which has recently been upgraded with bent grass greens by Golf Data.

In the 1960s, the estate was acquired by businessman Punch Barlow, who was a founding member of the private River Club in Johannesburg. Bob Grimsdell was engaged to design that course, on the understanding that he would also lay out the 9-holer on Barlow’s property near Balgowan.

When Barlow died in 1979, his stepson took over and continued to operate the course as a private enterprise until 1990, when he formed the Bosch Hoek Golf Club & Country Estate then subsequently sold the business to the homeowners on the property. They then sold the course to entrepreneur Ivan Clark, who now runs the club as a public facility.

Sean Quinn of Golf Data oversaw the upgrade of the greens and remodelling of the two par fives on the club’s 50th anniversary in 2013. Bosch Hoek dam comes into play on #6 and #7, with water threatening to the left on both these holes, and a round on this parkland beauty concludes with a left doglegging par four that heads back to the home green in front of the clubhouse.

Bosch Hoek

The Country Club course at Durban Country Club is universally considered to be one of the finest layouts in South Africa and has been ranked as one of the World’s Top 100 golf courses. The experience is unforgettable and it has played host to seventeen South African Opens, more than any other golf course in the land.

Dublin-native Fergal O’Leary proved the catch-phrase ‘luck of the Irish’ and became the youngest man in history to play the World’s Top 100 Golf Courses. The 32-year old concluded his quest at the Durban Country Club in South Africa on the 17th August 2015. 

 to read the full story or watch the video below.

Durban is part of Africa's Zulu Kingdom and it’s a bewitching seaside playground in the province known as KwaZulu-Natal. Amidst the hustle and bustle of this cosmopolitan city lies the serenity and calm of Durban Country Club. The Country Club course is set on the edge of the Indian Ocean hidden behind a high ridge of sand dunes and the holes undulate beautifully through lush and intimidating tropical vegetation.

According to the late author and historian, Michael Hobbs, "the original architect was Laurie Waters, in 1920. His course has remained basically little changed although many later architects, including S.V. Hotchkin from 

 and Bob Grimsdell, late in the 1950s, have had a hand in it." Grimsdell altered holes 1, 3 and 9 – 11 due to the boundary changes being made because of road development.

Many believe that the opening five holes at Durban Country Club represent the best start in the world. The 1st hole, a par four measuring 390 metres from the tips is a daunting start to any round and we’re certain that it has struck fears into the hearts of many hardened pros competing in the SA Open.

You can hear the Indian Ocean clearly from the tricky par three 2nd, which is perched on the high ground. The small elevated green is guarded ferociously by four bunkers… take your par here and move on to the 3rd tee, an absolutely stunning par five which is set in a valley in the dunes. Play this hole conservatively otherwise you may be looking at a bogey or worse.

The back nine plays across flatter ground than the rollercoaster of a front nine but nevertheless the back is good golf indeed.

A great deal of water has gone under the metaphorical bridge since Laurie Waters and George Waterman laid out Durban Country Club in 1922. Long gone are the days of apartheid and positive change is still happening across the stunning Rainbow Nation. But we take our hat off to Durban Country Club who have unveiled a memorial plaque in recognition of the amazing achievements of legendary Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum, a self-taught cack-hander who, in 1963, became the first coloured golfer to win a professional golf tournament in South Africa.

South African Golf Courses: A Portrait of the Best

 author Stuart McLean writes: “Durban Country Club is much more than just a golf club. The magnificent gabled clubhouse has been a hub of Durban social activity for many years, Peter van Diggelen, secretary from 1955 to 1976, is long remembered with affection by both members and staff.

He had a great influence on the club, not only in an organizational capacity, but in promoting social activities. The club offer others other sporting facilities such as tennis, bowls and squash, and the clubhouse provides ceaseless entertainment for members. The popularity of the club is more than obvious from the fact that it has a lengthy waiting list stretching many years ahead.”

Durban (Country Club)

The Country Club course at Durban Country Club has played host to sixteen South African Opens, more than any other course in the land.

The 18-hole layout on the Emfuleni Golf Estate was built by the Iscor steel company for the recreational use of its employees during the late 1940s, with Bob Grimsdell routing the fairways on the north banks of the Vaal River.

When the property was redeveloped as a residential estate early in the new millennium, Sean Quinn of Golf Data was brought in to fashion six new holes, three on each nine, and refurbish the other twelve holes from the original design.

Unfortunately, the course wasn’t looked after properly and it fell into a state of disrepair, prompting the home owners association to step in and appoint Timeless Golf to upgrade the layout by installing new irrigation, renovating the bunkers and resurfacing the greens.

Today, the course extends to around 6,000 metres from the back tees, playing to a par of 72. Feature holes include the water-laden par threes at the 7th and 17th (where both greens sit behind ponds), and the par five 18th which bends gently right from the tee to the home green.

Emfuleni

The parkland course at Emfuleni Golf Estate is a 1948 design from the prolific Bob Grimsdell, which was recently rejuvenated by Golf Data’s Sean Quinn. Des Terblanche won the Sunshine Tour’s short-lived Emfuleni Classic here in 2000 during the tour’s inaugural season.

North West

The gold-mining town of Carletonville in western Gauteng is one of the richest gold-producing places on earth and the golf course at Goldfields West Golf Club lies around nine miles to the south east of the town in the Wonderfontein Valley.

The golf facility came about during the development of the mine in the late 1940s when the owners called in Bob Grimsdell – former Royal Johannesburg professional – to set out a course with Johnny van der Ness, a mining official, as a recreational pursuit for the workforce.

 author Stuart McLean writes: “Playing the course is more than just a round of golf – it is a delightful stroll in a relaxing, unspoiled environment. The variety of wildlife is a special feature of this golf club; herds of buck roam the course, often galloping across the fairways in front of you, and monkeys play in the trees, Flocks of waterbirds inhabit the dams on the course.

Goldfields West is to all outward appearances a gentle round of golf. It has a strong starting stretch and an equally fierce finishing hole, but for the most part it is not a particularly taxing layout. The fairways are generously wide in most cases and the greens are reasonably large and receptive. Only two par-fours exceed 375 metres; the five par-fives are short by modern standards and are all approximately the same length.”

Holes are routed around a nature reserve and fairways are generally wide and open with water only coming into play between the par four holes at the 3rd and 7th. Two of the one-shotters on the card are found here; the green for the long 4th sits behind a stream whilst the 162-yard 6th sports a large protective dam in front of the putting surface.

On the back nine, a couple of holes take the eye. The 14th is a medium length par four that doglegs left to a green guarded on the left by a large bunker and the 469-yard closing hole is a tough uphill par four that also doglegs left to a green with a large sand trap to the left of the putting surface.

Goldfields West

The course at the Goldfields West Golf Club is set within a nature reserve in the Wonderfontein Valley where a variety of wild animals can be found wandering the fairways.

Limpopo

The former mining town of Phalaborwa is situated on the western edge of the Kruger National Park, a couple of hours drive away from the Mozambique border. The town has reinvented itself as a modern tourist destination and one of its major attractions is the Hans Merensky Golf Estate.

Named after the German mining geologist who came to South Africa in 1904 to make his fortune discovering tin, platinum, diamonds (and more locally, phosphates and copper), the Hans Merensky course was established in 1967 as the place “where golf meets African wildlife.”

The course was designed by Bob Grimsdell and it’s considered one of his best layouts. It hosted a Sunshine Tour event in the 1980s which saw regular confrontations between golfers and animals. The Palaboro Classic tournament was played in the middle of summer, when the heat was often quite unbearable, with the winner awarded a rather unique trophy of an elephant’s head sculpted from tamboti wood with ivory tusks fashioned from warthog tusks.

 author Stuart McLean writes: “Bob Grimsdell designed 18 classic holes on this land which used to belong to the National Parks Board. Alterations have been made in recent years but the course has stood the test of time remarkably well.

Preparing the site was a massive task as the holes had to be carved out of the rugged bushveld, and the planting of Retief grass on the fairways and Florida grass on the greens were all done by hand. Before work could begin, beaters had to drive the animals out of the area and fences were erected to keep them from returning.”

For golfers who choose to stay here, there are thatch-roofed chalets discreetly positioned beside the 11th and 12th fairways. The four par fives on the scorecard are all very good holes, particularly the 16th where a pulled or hooked drive will end up in the Park next door!

Don’t be surprised to see elephants, antelopes, giraffes, monkeys and baboons in and around the perimeter of fairways, whilst hippos and crocs can be found at some of the water hazards. Cameras are not mandatory equipment at Hans Merensky but they are highly recommended!

Hans Merensky

Don’t be surprised to see elephants, antelopes, giraffes, monkeys and baboons in and around the perimeter of Hans Merensky's fairways, whilst hippos and crocs can be found at some water hazards!

The Huddle Park Golf & Recreation course is laid out within one of Johannesburg’s largest parks and it’s part of a grassland, woodland and wetland property extending to five hundred acres beside the suburbs of Linsfield and Orange Grove.

Bob Grimsdell designed the 54-hole complex at the original Huddle Park between 1948 and the late 1950s, fashioning the Blue, White and Yellow 18-hole courses. By the 1970s, the three municipal layouts were collectively attracting more than 150,000 rounds a year. Sadly, the golf facility closed and the holes then fell into disrepair.

On 1 November 2013, the Blue course re-opened again as a pay-and-play operation, with new greens and bunkers in operation after a comprehensive restoration by Golf Data. Notable holes include the shortest of the four par threes at the 154-yard, pond-protected 4th and the par five 14th in the most northerly part of the property, which plays to another water-fronted green.

The South African PGA Championship was held here twice during the calendar year in 1971 (February and November) with Tierie Britz winning both events. The second of those competitions was also the first non-racial Sunshine Tour event, where sixteen black professionals competed alongside American Lee Elder, who became the first black man invited to the Masters in 1975.

Huddle Park

The course at Irene Country Club dates back to 1912 when Laurie Waters, the professional at Orange Grove Golf Club and designer of 

, brought an elementary nine holes into play. This layout was then expanded a decade later to a full 18-hole course by Bob Grimsdell and his brother.

In 2007, Phil Jacobs – who was senior designer for Gary Player Design when he laid out the courses at 

 – was called in to upgrade the Irene course in time for the club’s centenary celebrations.

He remodeled all the green complexes, rebuilt the tees then added and remodeled the fairway bunkers. As Phil says, “in the design process, I tried to use old time shapes and concepts to try and keep the golf course as an old style golf course that is fun to play for all golfers”.

The standout hole on the front nine is the 151-yard par three 7th, named “The Pulpit”. Indeed, it’s the signature hole at Irene, requiring golfers to play a thrilling tee shot from an elevated position across the Hennops River to a distant green below.

The 480-yard, par four 14th hole (“van der Byl”) is the toughest hole on the back nine. With out of bounds to the right and trees to the left of the fairway, the green is guarded with a dam to the front and another water hazard at the back. Sensible golfers lay up with their second shot then try to pitch and single putt for a par.

Irene

The 18-hole parkland golf course at Irene Country Club dates back to 1912 but it was remodelled in more recent times by Phil Jacobs Design.

Northern Cape

Diamonds were discovered in the city of Kimberley in the late 19th century and it’s reckoned between 1871 and 1914 miners used nothing other than picks and shovels to dig the “Big Hole” and excavate 2,720 kilograms of precious gems. The mine is now 460 metres wide and 240 metres deep, with recent efforts made to have it registered as a World Heritage Site.

Kimberley Golf Club was founded on 3rd July 1890, with the original golf course located around four kilometres south of the Big Hole. Two years after its formation, the club instigated a week-long South African Tournament, with the main event comprising The Championship of South Africa match play event for non-professional players.

This was the first of four South African Amateur championships hosted by the club – and it also held the South African Open during two of those SA Tournaments, in 1907 and 1913 – so the initial Kimberley course was a historically important site. Famed for its “Blue” putting surfaces which were made from diamondiferous mine tailings, the course closed in 1960.

Bob Grimsdell designed the club’s new layout when it relocated ten kilometres north to a site close to Kamfers Dam (with its fabulous flamingo flamboyance) and holes are still composed of indigenous Elliot grass from tee to green, though the encroachment of kikuyu is a constant threat. Tony Jacklin claimed an early professional win here in 1964, as did Ernie Els in 1990.

The course extends to 6,613 yards from the back markers, playing to a par of 72, configured as two returning nines. Notable holes include the 170-yard par three 4th (next to the railway line in the southern corner of the property); the left doglegging 444-yard par four 16th (rated stroke index 1); and the 513-yard par five 18th, which offers a late birdie opportunity.

Kimberley

Bob Grimsdell designed Kimberley Golf Club’s new layout when it relocated to a site close to Kamfers Dam in 1960. Tony Jacklin claimed an early professional win here in 1964, as did Ernie Els in 1990.

In 1926, a 9-hole course was established at Kloof with members playing on ground leased from the landowner, Tom Field. It’s thought that SV Hotchin extended the original layout into an 18-holer a short time after this, when he visited the country to work on other courses such as 

A road was run through the course in the late 1940s which resulted in the loss of several holes so this meant some more of Mr Field’s land was used by Bob Grimsdell to replace the lost fairways. Peter Matkovich then remodeled the course again in the mid 1990s when he created five new holes and re-laid all the greens to USGA standard.

Arranged in two returning loops of nine, the tree-lined fairways at Kloof stretch out over an undulating landscape that’s known to locals as Kwazulu-Natal’s “mist belt.” Some criticise the course for being too short by modern day standards though golfers playing the 485-yard 10th might take exception to this comment at that par four, at least.

Best holes here include the short par four 3rd, played to a water-protected two-tier green and the spectacular long par four 14th (“Space Ride”), where the fairway sweeps down to a green placed on the edge of a big escarpment.

Kloof

The course at Kloof Country Club dates back to the “Golden Age” of architecture and was extended to 18 holes in 1929 by Woodhall Spa's Colonel SV Hotchkin...

Formed in 1900, Krugersdorp Golf Club lies in the western suburbs of Rant-En-Dal – translated from Afrikaans, it means “hills and valleys” – and the tree-lined fairways of the course are certainly laid out on hilly terrain.

The club had something of a nomadic existence in its early years, moving several times before Bob Grimsdell established an 18-hole course in 1938. Fifty years later, Grimsdell’s associate Bill Kerr re-routed some holes and designed a new par three hole to accommodate a motorway that now runs through part of the original layout.

The quartet of par threes here (at the 4th, 6th, 11th and 14th) are all excellent short holes and the best of these is probably hole 6, measuring 151 yards from the regular tees. Played slightly downhill, the green is guarded to the front and right by water, with sand also protecting the putting surface to the front and left of the hole.

The three closing par fours truly separate the strong from the weak in a very demanding finish to the round. The 16th measures over 450 yards with a stroke index of 3. It’s followed by a tough hole that doglegs sharply left before the 18th then doglegs right to a green that sits behind a rather menacing water hazard.

Krugersdorp

Formed in 1900, Krugersdorp Golf Club lies in the western suburbs of Rant-En-Dal, which translated from Afrikaans means “hills and valleys”.

Mpumalanga

The city of Nelspruit is situated in the fertile flood plain of the Crocodile River in the province of Mpumalanga and it’s home to around half a million people. Nelspruit Golf Club was founded in 1928, moving to its current location eleven years later. Bob Grimsdell was tasked with marking out the original 9-hole bushveld course and this remained in play until he returned in 1968 to expand the layout to eighteen holes.

Thirty years later, Johnnic Properties acquired land adjacent to the course from the city council in order to develop a residential estate. As part of the purchase arrangement, Johnnic agreed to renovate the clubhouse, construct eighteen new bent grass greens and install new bunkers. Peter Matkovich carried out this upgrade work on the course, rerouting three holes in the process to accommodate the housing element of the project.

It’s a rather intimidating start at Nelspruit, where the opening hole is a really strong par four measuring all of 475 yards from the back tees but the front nine ends with a couple of benign two shotters, the second of which features a rather ornate water feature to the right of the green. On the back nine, the par five 14th is real feature hole. It’s reachable in two shots for big hitters but trees to the left and a ditch to the right of the fairway will catch overly wayward shots en route to the green.

Nelspruit changed its name to Mbombela Golf Club in 2017 and the club hosts an annual competition called the “Jock of the Bushveld Festival of Golf,” and this event attracts amateur golfers from all over the country. Started the same year that the course was extended to 18 holes, when a couple of members decided to organise a tournament for ordinary (as opposed to elite) golfers, the “Jock” now sees around eight hundred golfers play something like two thousand rounds at Nelspruit during one week in May of every year.

Mbombela

The Mbombela Golf Club, formerly Nelspruit, hosts an annual competition called the “Jock of the Bushveld Festival of Golf,” and this event attracts amateur golfers from all over the country.

Western Cape

Mossel Bay is a lovely seaside town on the Garden Route of the Western Cape Province with a climate said to be the second mildest in the world after Hawaii – which is great for all-year golf, but a little hard on the golf club’s water bill for irrigation!

The Mossel Bay course lies on pleasantly undulating cliff tops with fairly open fairways which – as the club are proud to tell you – have ocean views from each and every one of them, especially at the 4th and 10th holes.

The club, like so many other South African golf clubs in recent times, decided in 1999 to take advantage of the boom in residential golf estate development and they entered into a partnership with property developer Urs Windholz to build houses around some of the fairways, as well as upgrade the course and clubhouse.

The original course at Mossel Bay was located at the local aerodrome but moved to the present site in the 1920s when Robert Grimsdell routed the 18-hole cliff top course. Danie Obermeyer and Philip Basson were given the task of revamping the course in 1999 and this was done over a period of two years, completed well in time for the club’s centenary celebrations in 2005.

More recently, Obermeyer was brought back to work on two problem holes, the 15th and 16th. The par three 15th was changed, with a new green laid out 20 yards further back and to the right of the old putting surface and the short, uphill, par four 16th was totally revamped by removing the left dogleg, adding half a dozen fairway bunkers and elevating the green.

The outcome of all these developments has seen the transformation of a long established, though relatively impoverished, backwater course into a top class golf facility or, as one commentator has put it, the club has gone “from sleepy hollow to bustling business”.

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay lies on pleasantly undulating cliff tops with fairly open fairways which have ocean views from each and every one of them...

Situated just outside the mining town of Welkom, which lies around 140 kilometres northeast of provincial capital Bloemfontein, the course at Oppenheimer Park Golf Club is set on the edge of a large dam where thousands of pink flamingos congregate. It’s a veritable green oasis in a landscape marred by thousands of acres of spoil from the large-scale mining operations.

Established in 1948, the course is a Bob Grimsdell design that has changed little in over seventy years of operation. The South African Amateur championship has been held here three times, with David Frost losing in the 1981 final and Ernie Els also finishing as runner-up in 1988. Englishman David Dixon won the 2001 event with a narrow 1-up victory.

 author Stuart McLean writes: “Few South African golf courses are named after famous people, but it is appropriate in this instance as Oppenheimer Park Golf Club is owned and subsidized by the Anglo-American corporation, which was founded by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer.

, which is more locally known as the Ou Volk lizard. During construction they were found in abundance around the course. The ‘Thursday Club’ members are known as 

The tree-lined holes are laid out as two returning nines, each of which measure in excess of 3,000 metres, and both circuits open with challenging par fours, rated stroke index 3 and 2 respectively. Feature holes include the par three 3rd, which plays across an inlet in the dam, and the par four 15th, located in the northernmost portion of the property.

Oppenheimer Park

Established in 1948, the course at Oppenheimer Park Golf Club is a Bob Grimsdell design that features water hazards on six of the holes.

Laid out on the northern bank of the Vaal River, the course at Orkney Golf Club began life as a 9-holer in 1939 when Bob Grimsdell marked out the fairways. This basic layout was then expanded to a full eighteen holes a few years later.

In 1992, the course underwent a significant upgrade when Mark Muller and Robbie Marshall from Golf Data replaced all the greens and bunkers, added three lakes and redesigned holes 10 to 16.

Many prefer the back nine to the outward half at Orkney. The 10th is a super par five with a green that’s closely guarded by water and it’s followed by the longest par four on the card, a testing two-shotter that runs alongside the river. At the short 15th, a tree in the fairway, close to the green, gives golfers plenty to think about as they survey the hole from the tee.

Orkney

Laid out on the northern bank of the Vaal River, the 18-hole layout at Orkney Golf Club began life as a 9-holer in 1939 before it was expanded to a full course a few years later.

Established in 1903, Oudtshoorn Golf Club is the oldest club on the Garden Route, though its location in the arid Little Karoo region – one hour’s drive inland (through the Outeniqua Pass) from George – affords golfers a totally different golf experience to that found on the other coastal tracks.

Bob Grimsdell redesigned the tree-lined layout on the eastern outskirts of Oudtshoorn in the late 1950s and it now plays to a par of 72 over a length of 6,210 metres. Holes are set out as two returning nines, with two par threes and two par fives on each circuit.

Highlight holes include the “Horseshoe” sequence at the northern end of the property. This begins with a tight drive through trees at the par four 11th; followed by a short par three over water at the 12th; then a right doglegging par five around water at the 13th, with a stand of four big trees in the fairway to negotiate along the way.

Oudtshoorn

Founded in 1903, Oudtshoorn is the oldest golf club within the Garden Route and the course in play today is yet another creation from the prolific Bob Grimsdell who created a memorable layout within the barren Klein (Little) Karoo.

Eastern Cape

Founded in 1890, Port Elizabeth Golf Club quickly established itself as one of the leading lights in South African golf. Following the inception of the South African Tournament at Kimberley in 1892, Port Elizabeth then hosted the next three editions of the event before the club relocated to its present location in 1902.

The following year, the SA Tournament returned to Port Elizabeth for the fifth time and it included not only the Amateur Championship but the Open Championship, with four professionals and six amateurs competing in the event. Johannesburg-based pro Laurie Waters won the inaugural Open, posting a 36-hole aggregate score that beat his nearest rival by three strokes.

By 1934, Port Elizabeth had hosted eight Amateurs, five Opens, three Women’s Amateurs and three PGA Championships. In later years, the Amateur returned in 1974 and 1990, with the Women’s Amateur also taking place in 1979, 1998 and 2010. Twenty-four national titles decided during a 130-year history is good going for a rather unassuming club that lies in the shadow of nearby Humewood.

Unlike its illustrious neighbour on the coast, “The Hill” as it’s known locally, is a parkland layout with a variety of trees dotted around the property. Bob Grimsdell upgraded the course in 1952 then Danie Obermeyer and Philip Basson from Golfscape carried out a major renovation at the start of the new millennium, rebuilding greens and bunkers as well as replacing two holes.

Feature holes include right doglegging par fives at the 8th and 13th (with greenside water hazards affecting the approach shot to both holes); the heavily-bunkered short par four 16th; and the left doglegged 18th (rated stoke index 18) which offers an ideal opportunity to walk away from the home green having secured a birdie (or better) on the final hole.

Port Elizabeth

Founded in 1890, Port Elizabeth is the second oldest golf club in South Africa and it marked 125 years as a golfing institution by hosting the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship​ in 2015.

Established in 1910 by shooting lodge owner Julius Jeppe, Pretoria Country Club has long been a focal point in the city for many sporting pursuits, expanding its provision over a century from croquet, shooting and fishing to squash, tennis, bowls and, of course, golf.

Laid out in the affluent Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof, this 18-hole parkland course was extensively renovated by Gary Player in 2004. His design company upgraded a number of features on the course, including greens, water hazards and tree plantations.

Above all changes made by the Black Knight, the most pronounced was the introduction of no fewer than 95 sand traps around the course – all of them revetted, deep pot bunkers which stiffened the golfing challenge immensely. Many of these sand hazards have been either removed, or softened, making them less penal for member play.

The back nine are remembered by many visiting golfers primarily for the many beautiful willow trees that line the fairways but also for the tough stretch of five holes between 13 and 17 where water comes into play at each one of these. The 18th is also a stern test, played uphill towards the home green with fourteen of the aforementioned bunkers between the tee and the final putting surface.

In 2015, Pretoria Country Club hosted the third staging of the Tshwane Open, which was previously held at the nearby Els Club – Copperleaf. Local hero George Coetzee won the tournament almost two decades after the South African won his first junior competition at Pretoria, aged ten. There was also a course record score of 61 by Jacques Blaauw in the final round of this event. The following year, Charl Schwartzel claimed the trophy with an aggregate score of 264, sixteen under par.

Dean Burmester won the event in 2017 then George Coetzee claimed his second title the following year. In October 2018, the European Tour released its 2019 schedule and it was noted with dismay that the Tshwane Open was no longer a co-sanctioned event, with no indication of the competition’s future status by the Sunshine Tour.


Pretoria Country Club

Pretoria Country Club put itself on the map after a 2004 Gary Player redesign. Pot bunkers are now the order of the day as are new and re-fashioned water hazards.

Located in the northwest suburbs of Johannesburg, Windsor Park was the original name of the club that was formed in the early 1940s.

Twelve holes were established initially and these were extended to a full 18-hole layout by 1948. Robert Grimsdell then redesigned the course four years later and it is his routing that has remained intact for over half a century since.

The course is typical of many older courses in Johannesburg where tree-lined fairways and water hazards dictate the playing strategy. Such classic parkland courses seem to improve with age as trees mature and add greater definition around the property.

Over time, the Windsor Park course was overtaken by the Randpark (now called Firethorn) layout as the premier 18 holes on the property but the situation is changing following a 2.5 million Rand modernisation programme that completed in March 2012. The work was extensive and included reconstructing all bunkers, reversing the nines and various changes to greens and tees. The new and updated course is now called Bushwillow and we’re sure it will continue to progress upwards in the South African national rankings.

Randpark Golf Club hosted the 2019 South African Open for the first time in eighteen years. The first two rounds, prior to the cut, were staged on both the Firethorn and Bushwillow courses before rounds three and four were concluded on the Firethorn. For the first time in his career, national hero Louis Oosthuizen emotionally claimed the SA Open title.

Randpark (Bushwillow)

The Windsor Park course (renamed Bushwillow in 2012) at Randpark Golf Club, is typical of many older golf courses in Johannesburg where tree-lined fairways and water hazards dictate the playing strategy.

Described by one commentator as “one of the grand old dames of South African golf,” Rondebosch Golf Club celebrated its centenary in 2011. The club moved around the local area during its first fifteen years of existence before finally settling in its current location, where Bob Grimsdell set out the original course.

This layout has changed a number of times down the years, most notably in the 1950s when roadworks were carried out for the Kromboom Parkway then in 1995 when Black River was widened on the other side of the course. Recent modifications have brought water into play at several holes, most notably on the short par four 16th.

Well-manicured kikuyu fairways and small, subtly contoured poa annua greens characterize the course here, where the prevailing South Easter wind can present a real challenge when it blows. The club has hosted several Sunshine Tour competitions, two Ladies European Tour events and the Women’s Masters for amateur golfers in 2017.

Rondebosch

Located less than a ten-minute drive from Cape Town’s city centre, Rondebosch Golf Club has been described as “one of the grand old dames of South African golf" and has held several Sunshine Tour events down the years.

Modern day members of Royal Cape Golf Club are very proud to belong to the oldest golfing society in South Africa (formed in 1885) where founding members first played their golf at Wynberg Military Camp and then Rondebosch Common before moving in 1906 to the present location at Ottery.

The original course was set out by J.W. Stewart, the club’s professional, assisted by several members. Additional land then became available, allowing another member named Dr. Charles Murray – who went on to design other courses such as Clovelly, George and Westlake – to redesign the layout in the late 1920s.

A number of architects have had a say in the design of the course down the years, most notably S.V. Hotchkin who made suggestions in 1929, then Bob Grimsdell who submitted further recommendations in the 1960s. Peter Matkovich and Phil Jacobs also had input during the 1990s, before the greens were rebuilt to USGA standards in 2000.

The true test of any course that is called “championship” is the number of top flight tournaments that have been held on it and Royal Cape is well endowed in that regard, having hosted the national Amateur Championship eight times and the South African Open ten times (the last in 1996 when Ernie Els won). For several years, in November, the club has hosted the Cape Town Open on the Sunshine Tour.

Basically, Royal Cape is a classic parkland course, laid out on pretty flat terrain, where fairways are narrow, causing wayward shots to be severely punished by the bordering trees. Ponds and creeks come into play at a number of holes on each nine (holes 3 to 6 and 13 to 16) and inaccuracy here will be dealt with harshly by the water hazards.

One of the toughest holes in the whole country is found at the 440-yard, par four, 14th, sandwiched between two par threes. It’s a right dogleg, normally played into the prevailing wind, with water protecting the front right hand side of the green – not too many golfers walk off here with a par score on their card.

Royal Cape

Royal Cape is South Africa's oldest golf club and has played host to no fewer than ten South African Opens.

Durban Golf Club dates back to 1892 when a course was laid out inside the rails of the city’s Greyville horse racing track.

In the late 1920s, the layout often became waterlogged and this led to the installation of a drainage system, which feeds into a small canal that runs through the middle of the property, and this storm drain now separates some holes but has to be crossed at others.

Around the same time, Bob Grimsdell redesigned a new 18-hole course on land that was now no longer subject to regular flooding and so, in 1932, a new chapter began in the club’s history when a new clubhouse was built and King George V granted a Royal prefix.

Fairways are relatively flat here but don’t be fooled by the benign topography as there are plenty of subtle undulations, small water hazards, palm trees and strategically positioned greenside bunkers to maintain interest in the layout.

The routing is configured in two returning 9-hole loops and, interestingly, a road that bisects the course – Durban Light Infantry Avenue – has to be crossed during a round.

 author Stuart McLean writes: “The club is entered through a historical gateway which stands as a memorial to those members who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars. The clubhouse is a distinguished piece of architecture, with a long veranda which overlooks the course.

The front nine take in the perimeter of the course, bordering the racetrack in an anti-clockwise direction. It does not pay to slice the ball as the out-of-bounds area looms on the right-hands side of the course for most of the front nine. On the back nine it is a relief to play in the middle of the course and the three par-fives help improve scores.”

The 468-yard 7th is a long par four (converted from a par five) that many golfers consider to be the toughest on the course, even though the preceding hole is ranked stroke index 1. The short par four 9th is another fine hole, with a green located close to the racetrack rails.

On the back nine, five bunkers protect the green of the 153-yard 11th and the other par three at the 15th plays to a two-tier putting surface. Ranked the hardest hole on the inward half, the 17th is often played into a prevailing wind to a narrow, unyielding green.

The old clubhouse at Royal Durban Golf Club is famed for its hospitality and visitors are always welcome to mix with members to discuss how they got on when they walk in from the 18th green.

In December 2012 the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship was held at the Royal Durban Golf Club. It was the first event on the European Tour’s 2013 Race to Dubai calendar but sadly poor weather resulted in the tournament being cut to 36 holes and the course reduced to a par of 65 due to waterlogged fairways. However, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson took full advantage, winning the title and recording his maiden European Tour win.

Royal Durban

In 1932, Durban Golf Club was given permission to use the “Royal” prefix forty years after its formation. Interestingly, the club’s 18-hole course lies in the middle of a horseracing track.

It came as something of a shock to the system when Royal Johannesburg and Kensington golf clubs merged in 1998 to form the one club – after all, had both clubs not been established more than 100 years before?

Proceeds from the sale of the Kensington property went towards upgrading the clubhouse and the two courses on the Johannesburg site, allowing the amalgamated club to face up to the new golfing challenges that await in the new millennium.

 is the shorter of the two courses (though they each measure in excess of 7,000 yards) and both are fine examples of metropolitan parkland layouts. The East is the tougher of the two (hosting the South African Open seven times between 1946 and 1986) and it was completed in 1935 by Robert Grimsdell, probably South Africa’s most prominent golf course architect and resident pro at “the Royal” for over twenty years.

The club’s centenary book, published in 1990, indicates C. H. Alison was consulted on a few occasions, firstly in 1935 when he was designing the course at 

. In 1948, the book says the club “had found that Alison was living in Durban. The old man had emphysema and his doctor had advised he spend time in a warm climate. A new commission was quickly arranged and for 200 guineas a report on both courses was promised”.

A special meeting was called when the report was produced and a resolution passed to the effect that “the courses be altered exactly in the way the report specified.” Alison came to the club and stayed with the club secretary Charles Coetzer at his house on the property. “Each day Coetzer drove him wherever he wanted to go on the courses.” When asked why he wanted to fill in a fairway bunker, Alison replied: “The bunker doesn’t work hard enough. Bunkers must work and earn their keep, for they are costly to maintain.”


The East is famed for its fearsome start to the inward half, with back-to-back par fours over 500 yards in length at the 10th and 11th holes. The latter, in particular, is regarded as one of the hardest holes in South Africa. Played downhill from the tee, the fairway doglegs smartly to the right where the approach has to carry across water before making it to the safety of a distant green.

Host venue to the Joburg Open since 2007, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club was able to lay claim (for a couple of years) to being the only golf club visited by the European Tour where more than one course was used for a single event. The Joburg Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship were the only two events on the European Tour International Schedule where two or more courses were used and the Alfred Dunhill Championship is spread across three separate clubs – 

. However, in 2010 the Singapore Open joined the party, where the event was played across 

The East course at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington reopened in January 2018 after an upgrade by Golf Data which was overseen by Robbie Marshall in collaboration with Royal CEO Chris Bentley, superintendent Shaun Brits and club officials Alan Field and Gordon Ogden. The East now measures 7,592 yards from the tips, making it one of the longest courses on the European Tour. The West course measures a more modest 7,237 yards!


Stuart McLean, former editor of Golf Digest South Africa, told us: “Those expecting to see radical changes to the East Course when it was reopened may have been disappointed. Traditionalists will be relieved that Bob Grimsdell’s design masterpiece has not been messed around with. All changes are subtle ones. Instead, what we see with this upgrade is an entirely new vision of Royal East. It’s the attention to detail and many attractive 'little things' that have transformed the layout.

Who would have thought that pruning the many large trees on the parkland property would have made such a difference in opening up the beautiful undulating vistas around the East Course? Golf Data have always been brilliant with their bunkering design, yet the quality of the new bunkers – moved further away from the tees to catch the long hitters – is exceptional, even by their standards.

The bunkering on the East Course had been criticised in recent years, golfers citing poor sand quality, so the bunkers were a priority on this project. Expensive construction techniques were paid for to improve drainage, reduce contamination, and retain the colour of the sand. The presentation of the experience at Royal J&K has been raised several notches, and it will be raised further in 2018 when a similar upgrade is completed on the West Course.

I have visited some of the world’s best courses with Golf Digest, and unhesitatingly I would say that the new-look Royal is now up there with the best of them. The club exudes class on and off its courses, from the entrance walkway to the locker rooms to its entertainment areas. It’s the kind of class you only experience at proper golf clubs. The clubhouse is still a clubhouse, not a boutique hotel."

Royal Johannesburg & Kensington (East)

The East course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington is famed for its fearsome start to the inward half, with back-to-back par fours over 500 yards in length at the 10th and 11th holes.

For over a hundred years, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington golf clubs each went their separate ways until 1998 when they amalgamated to form a new club. The Kensington property was sold and the money used to upgrading the clubhouse and the two courses on the Johannesburg site, thus ensuring the new club would be fit for purpose at the start of a new century.

 is the longer of the two courses (though they each measure in excess of 7,000 yards) and both are fine examples of classic suburban parkland layouts that rely heavily on trees and water to protect par.

The West course was the original layout used by the Johannesburg members when they first moved to their current location in 1909. It was designed by Scotsman Laurie Waters, four-time winner of the South African Open, who also laid out the course at 

 and at clubs in the Belgian Congo, Nyasaland, and both Northern and Southern Rhodesia.

Bob Grimsdell carried out some revisions in the early 1930s then Harry Colt’s design associate C. H. Alison advised on further improvements in the late 1940s. Alison came to the club and stayed with the club secretary Charles Coetzer at his house on the property. Coetzer then drove him around the course to wherever he wanted to go. When questioned about filling in a particular fairway bunker, Alison replied: “The bunker doesn’t work hard enough. Bunkers must work and earn their keep, for they are costly to maintain.”


The four par threes on the scorecard are all feature holes on the West course (especially the downhill 16th, played over water) but many regard the 372-yard 4th as the signature hole. A tributary of the Jukskei River runs down the left of a narrow fairway with trees on the right hand side. A stream cutting in front of the putting surface, with greenside bunkers awaiting any pulled shots to the left then hampers the approach.

Host venue to the Joburg Open since 2007, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club were able to lay claim (for a couple of years) to being the only golf club visited by the European Tour where more than one course is used for a single event. The Joburg Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship were the only two events on the European Tour International Schedule where two or more courses were used and the Alfred Dunhill Championship is spread across three separate clubs – 

Royal Johannesburg & Kensington (West)

After World War II, Grimsdell became a full-time golf course architect based in Scottburgh, South Africa. Over the next 30 years he established himself as the leading designer in South Africa and surrounding nations. Geoff Cornish and Ron Whitten