Few know much about the course at the ultra-private Millvale Golf Estate, which is located in the North West Province, near Koster and not far from Rustenburg.
Few know much about the course at the ultra-private Millvale Golf Estate, which is located in the North West Province, near Koster and not far from Rustenburg.
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The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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Top 100 Golf Courses of South Africa – 2014 Top 100 Golf Courses updates its South African rankings Top 100 Golf Courses has been ranking golf courses in South Africa since 2008, but in 2012 we extended the rankings from 50 to 100, this is therefore our second South African Top 100 iteration. Last month we visited the Western Cape and experienced a number of courses along the Garden Route. Our feeling is that South Africa is hard done by in terms of the number of courses listed in World Top 100 ranking lists. We are likely to include more of the Rainbow Nation’s golf courses in our future World Top 100 charts. As we said back in 2012, the Gary Player-designed course at Millvale Golf Estate keeps itself to itself, but things changed when the club hosted the 2013 and 2014 Investec Cup (won by Justin Walters and Trevor Fisher Jnr respectively). Millvale is our highest new entry, straight in at position 14 and while not many people will be lucky enough to walk these exclusive fairways, we can say that this unique golf facility is an entirely worthy highest new entry. Gowrie Farm, Milnerton, Westlake and Magalies Park also debut for the first time in our South African hundred. Leopard Park, Crown Mines, ERPM, Goldfields West and Langebaan made way for the new entries and slip off the national list and onto our Best In Province rankings. With 170 South African courses on our ever-increasing shortlist, there is certainly room for plenty of future change. Producing a universally approved golf course ranking list is an impossible task, as the best golf course rankings are embedded in the head of each and every golfer. No doubt this latest list will raise a few eyebrows, but we make no apology for showcasing South Africa’s best golf courses because many are underrated and truly deserve wider recognition. The Links course at Fancourt, which remains in 2nd place, is one example and a recent reviewer commented as follows: “The first thing to mention is that of the hundreds of courses that I have played around the world, The Links is an instant favourite and straight into my personal Top 5. Manufactured links courses normally at best can be called ‘links like’ – the Links at Fancourt breaks the mould and is good as many of the world greats in GB&I that set the standard.” Arabella Golf Club moves up two positions to 3rd… one reviewer posted as follows: “Gosh, this golf course is good. I've played at most of the Open courses, Pebble Beach and Valderrama, but Arabella is definitely in my top 5 courses for sheer fun.” Another reviewer concurred: “One of the most visually appealing courses I have ever played. Every hole has its own individual character and both nines conclude with truly spectacular stretches alongside the lagoon.” This unique South African ranking list involved gathering, analysing and processing data from a multitude of sources. If you have an opinion and would like to help shape our future rankings please get in touch. If you’ve played any of our featured South African courses, we’ll be delighted to know what you think, so why not contribute now and post a course review or two? Keith Baxter Editor-in-Chief www.top100golfcourses.com Click the link to see the latest South African Top 100 in detail.
Top 100 Golf Courses of South Africa 2012 8th January 2012 Top 100 Golf Courses extends its South African rankings Top 100 Golf Courses (www.top100golfcourses.com), the most informed and dedicated ranking website, presents its 2012 golf course rankings for South Africa. For 2012, Top 100 Golf Courses has extended its South African rankings by 50 new entries to a Top 100. We can't claim to be the first publication to rank South Africa's Top 100 golf courses but we are the first to showcase them all online with detailed independent articles for each course. South Africa boasts around 450 golf courses serving approximately 150,000 registered golfers across the Rainbow Nation, so the new Top 100 represents approximately the top 20% of golf courses in the country. South Africa's top golf courses have been assembled based on detailed research, which utilises a unique process (see the "About Us" page on the Top 100 website for more details). The result is the most authoritative ranking list of South Africa's greatest golf courses, but it's not perfect. There are a number of very exclusive South African facilities that are not only hard to access but also rather secretive. A little like England's Queenwood, the Gary Player-designed course at Millvale Golf Estate keeps itself to itself. We have no doubt that Millvale should feature in the South African course rankings, but we have insufficient experience of the luxury facility. In the few years since we last ranked South Africa's courses, many new, high profile facilities have opened. The signature course at the Legend Golf and Safari Resort is larger than life. The 8,500-yard course is set in an enormous 50,000-acre estate where herds of giraffe, zebra and antelope roam free alongside fairways that weave though open grassland and dense bushveld in two large circuits of nine. Each hole has been assigned its own "signature designer", starting with Trevor Immelman at the 1st and ending with Retief Goosen at the 18th. This gargantuan 18-holer pales into near insignificance when compared to the gimmick that is the Extreme 19th – a par three played from the top of nearby Hanglip Peak, 470 yards above the level of a massive green that's contoured in the shape of the African continent. According to Peter Matkovich – the architect behind one of our highest new entries, Pinnacle Point – this is: "The most dramatic golf course site I've ever encountered anywhere in the world!" The prolific Zimbabwean architect is also the man behind Zebula Golf Estate, Elements Private Golf Reserve and Ebotse Golf & Country Estate which are debutants in our new 2012 South African Top 100. The Jack Nicklaus-designed St Francis Links is our second highest new entry, which offers as links-like a game of golf as you will experience anywhere on the continent of Africa. The Golden Bear's Masai Mara course at the Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate burst into the limelight in November 2011 when it hosted the South African Open (which Hennie Otto won) and it's another of our new entries. Our highest new entry is Gary Player's Blair Atholl, which measures a staggering 8,300 yards from the tips. Blair Atholl was Gary Player's home for almost a 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. This unique South African ranking list involved gathering, analysing and processing data from a multitude of sources. So, until a definitive description as to what constitutes a great golf course has been defined, the belief is that nobody does it better than Top 100 Golf Courses. Feedback is genuinely welcome, in fact it's actively encouraged. So please tell us what you think about the latest list of Top South African Golf Courses. We won't ever claim to be "definitive" but we are the most "informed" golf course rankings in the business. If you've played any of our featured South African courses, we'd be delighted to know what you think, so why not contribute and post a course review or two? Keith Baxter Editor www.top100golfcourses.com Click here to see the detailed South African Top 100 list.
A good halfway house can turn a great round of golf into a memorable one. It might be a cold beer on a Scottish links, a burger with a spectacular view or a hot drink to warm you up before the back nine. Whatever is on offer, the best halfway houses give golfers a chance to forget about the scorecard for a few minutes and enjoy the experience. We recently asked the Top100 Golf Courses community to share their favourite halfway houses, uncovering plenty of memorable stops around the world. We've picked five of their recommendations, alongside five more renowned halfway houses that are well worth knowing about. What is a Halfway House? A halfway house is a food and drink stop positioned around the turn of a golf course, usually between the ninth and 10th holes. Some are little more than a hut serving snacks and drinks, while others have become destinations in their own right, offering everything from full meals and cocktails to fires, views and plenty of local character. Five Halfway Houses Chosen by the Top100 Community Sunningdale Golf Club (England) There is a reason the halfway hut at Sunningdale has become one of the most famous refreshment stops in golf. The small Swiss-chalet-style building has been in place since 1903, sitting where the ninth holes of both the Old and New Courses meet their respective 10th holes. But the building itself isn't the main attraction. That would be the sausage sandwich. Sunningdale's legendary hut serves a simple sausage on buttered bread, with other food and refreshments available alongside it. The hut has become such an established part of the experience that the club's own tradition says everybody stops, but does so speedily. It's not fancy, and that's rather the point. After nine holes of heather-lined fairways, a hot sausage sandwich and a cup of tea can feel like exactly what golf ordered. Nairn Golf Club - The Bothy at Nairn (Scotland) The Bothy at Nairn has a history that goes well beyond golf. Built in 1877, the stone building and neighbouring icehouse formed part of the Easter Delnies Fishing Station, one of five salmon fisheries operating along the coast between Nairn and the mouth of the Findhorn. In a good season, the fishery could catch up to 5,000 salmon, with ice collected from local rivers and a specially made pond and stored in the icehouse to keep the catch fresh. The buildings have since been given a new lease of life, with the Bothy converted into a halfway house where golfers can stop for snacks and refreshments at the turn. On a cold day beside the Moray Firth, there's also a fireplace to warm up beside. The historic stone building, Highland setting and views across the course provide plenty of atmosphere. One of our community members put it rather simply: a dram of whisky and a fire are hard to beat. Hard to argue with that. Turnberry Ailsa (Scotland) Turnberry's halfway house is about as far removed from the traditional golf hut as you can get. The Ailsa's ninth hole now finishes beside the famous Turnberry Lighthouse, which doubles as a halfway house for golfers. The lighthouse itself dates back to 1873, while the golf course's dramatic ninth was redesigned as part of the Ailsa's major renovation. Inside, golfers can stop for food and drink before heading to the 10th, but the real attraction is outside. From the lighthouse, there are views across the Firth of Clyde towards the Isle of Arran and Ailsa Craig. It's a halfway stop that feels more like a destination than a quick pit stop. When your halfway house is a historic lighthouse overlooking one of Scotland's most spectacular stretches of coastline, you've got a pretty good excuse to take your time. Ardglass Golf Club (Northern Ireland) At Ardglass, the halfway-house experience is wonderfully straightforward: have a Guinness and enjoy the view. The course's old cottage halfway house at the back of the 7th green has become one of its most memorable features, with golfers able to stop for a pint before continuing their round. A recent visitor described it as a gorgeous cottage with Guinness, while another praised the combination of a Guinness, sausage roll and views over the Irish Sea. It fits Ardglass perfectly. The County Down links is already one of the most dramatic places to play golf in Northern Ireland, with the Irish Sea never far away. Add a pint of Guinness just before the turn and you've got a halfway house that feels distinctly of its surroundings. Sometimes you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Blair Atholl Golf Estate (South Africa) Blair Atholl might have been one of the less obvious names to appear among the community recommendations, but the descriptions made it impossible to leave out. The halfway stop sounds less like a quick break and more like an event. One golfer highlighted the chicken burger, a chef cooking a barbecue beneath the trees and a deck sitting beneath a stream. Another mentioned silver-service high tea. That's quite the halfway-house menu. It's also a good example of why the best stops aren't necessarily the most famous. A halfway house can become memorable because of the food, the setting or simply the feeling that you're being looked after rather than rushed back onto the course. Five More Renowned Halfway Houses St Andrews Links - The Old Course (Scotland) If we're talking about halfway houses, it makes sense to visit the place that has a claim to starting the tradition. In the 19th century, David "Old Da" Anderson sold ginger beer and other refreshments from a cart on the Old Course at St Andrews. It has been described as golf's first refreshment stand. The modern version sits behind the ninth green and keeps the tradition going, albeit with a rather more substantial menu. The pork and haggis sausage roll is a popular choice, while the club's own Tom Morris 1821 Lager provides a suitably Scottish accompaniment. It's difficult to think of a more fitting place for a halfway stop. The Old Course is steeped in golfing history, and even the break between nines has a story of its own. Pine Valley Golf Club (New Jersey, United States) Pine Valley's halfway house is memorable before you've even ordered anything. Rather than a conventional hut, it is built into the base of an old water tower, which golfers encounter around the eighth hole and again near the 12th tee. It's an appropriately unusual feature for one of the world's most unconventional golf courses. The tower doubles as a stop for drinks and snacks, giving golfers a chance to take a breather before continuing around Pine Valley. It even boasts an impressive collection of golf balls from around the world. There aren't many halfway houses that can claim to be built inside a water tower. Quivira Golf Club (Baja California Sur, Mexico) Quivira has taken the halfway-house concept and spread it across the entire round. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course has multiple all-inclusive comfort stations, each offering golfers food and drinks as they make their way around the Cabo San Lucas layout. The most spectacular is The Cliffs, perched almost 300 feet above the Pacific, where golfers can stop for a breakfast burrito and take in the views over the ocean. Then there's The Oasis, the main halfway house near the ninth green. Here, the emphasis is on the food, with freshly prepared Baja cuisine including tacos and tostadas, alongside a full tequila bar. A final stop, Cañada, sits near the 16th tee, while another comfort station beside the oceanfront practice facility offers snacks and cold drinks before golfers even reach the first tee. The food and refreshments are included in the green fee, making Quivira's comfort stations much more than somewhere to grab a quick drink. Tacos, tequila and spectacular Pacific Ocean views make the breaks almost as memorable as the golf. Whistling Rock Country Club (South Korea) At Whistling Rock, there isn't just one halfway house to look forward to. The South Korean club is made up of three nine-hole loops, each with its own themed tea house: Cocoon, Temple and Cloud. The three buildings are each distinctly different. One is a rounded structure between a lake and forest, another is a formal wood-and-glass building, while the Cloud tea house sits high among the trees. The result is a halfway-house experience that feels distinctly different depending on which nine you're playing, with each tea house adding another layer to the Whistling Rock experience. Royal Dornoch Golf Club (Scotland) Royal Dornoch's halfway house is proof that sometimes the best idea is a simple one. The stop sits behind the ninth green of the Championship Course, with views back across the links towards the Dornoch Firth. And then there's the traditional order: hot chocolate with Bailey's Irish Cream, a combination that makes considerably more sense when you're standing on a Scottish links in a North Sea wind. It's a small detail, but one that has become part of the Royal Dornoch experience and exactly the sort of halfway-house tradition golfers remember.
