Oubaai

Established by the Kuwaiti Kharafi Holdings Company in 2005, this 18-hole golf course on the Oubaai residential estate in the Western Cape is the first signature course designed in South Africa by local golfing hero, Ernie Els.

The Big Easy has his South African home nearby at Herold’s Bay so he is well aware of the strategic importance of this new layout, competing as it does against some of the more modern golfing big hitters in the area such as Pezula and Simola.

Fairways at Oubaai are generally wide with large landing areas but don’t think this makes it an easy course to score on as strategically positioned fairway and greenside bunker complexes deftly increase the degree of playing difficulty.

The signature hole is the par three 17th, played downhill to what, in modern course design parlance, is termed an “infinity green” with the sparkling Indian Ocean as a backdrop. If conditions are kind, it should be relatively straight forward to avoid the four bunkers protecting the green to card a three here, but if the wind is up on such an exposed cliff top, who knows what score might be posted.