Blair Atholl Golf Estate

Situated just outside the Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservatory to the north of Johannesburg, Blair Atholl was Gary Player’s home for almost quarter of a century before developer Robbie Wray helped transform the property into a low density residential estate with a championship golf course as its focal point.

Measuring an incredible 8,300 yards from the back markers, Blair Atholl is one of the longest golf courses in the world and the fairways are routed in a large anti-clockwise loop with only the opening and closing holes running adjacent to each other.

The Crocodile River runs parallel to holes 4 - 6 and alongside holes 8 and 16 whilst a 150-year-old canal flows behind the 8th green and beside the 9th tee on its way to feeding the main dam in front of the 17th green.

There’s a really tough finish to the round at Blair Atholl, starting at the 14th, and this hole is the first of three consecutive par fours that each measure in excess of 500 yards from the championship tees.

After a breathless full-carry tee shot across water to the well-bunkered 17th, the slightly left doglegged home hole plays uphill towards a green protected by a small creek to the front.

The Blair Atholl club has a close association with the private Champions Retreat club in Augusta and they compete annually for the Atlantic Cup, a competition where both 12-man teams play each other over five rounds of better ball, greensomes and singles matches.