Benoni Country Club - 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.