Wedgewood Golf & Country Estate

Members of the Port Elizabeth Jewish community established Wedgewood Park Country Club in 1949 and it was named in honour of British politician Josiah Clement Wedgwood, a strong campaigner for social justice who was also instrumental in saving the lives of many Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Europe in the 1930s.

Bob Grimsdell set out the original course when he fashioned the fairways within a beautiful parkland environment, ensuring the indigenous vegetation and blue gum trees remained intact. The course hosted the international golf tournament called the General Motors Open in the 1960s, during which time Gary Player won his 100th professional tournament here.

The last game of golf on the old Wedgewood Park Country Club course was played in April 2007. The re-design and re-construction of the layout began shortly thereafter but adverse financial circumstances worldwide at that time meant the estate lay dormant until revived by a new developer, re-opening in December 2013.

Sean Quinn of Golf Data designed the course, the sporting focal point of a residential development. Several new lakes have been installed on the front nine to enhance the scenery and raise the strategic challenge. Many of the original playing corridors have been altered on the more undulating back nine, with only the new 12th and 13th (the old 15th and 16th) remaining largely intact.

The course is actually owned by Golf Data, who saw how overgrown the course had become while the estate was in trouble, and decided it needed to be saved before it became too late. It's now a pay-and-play facility and even though it's out in the countryside it has been extremely popular with golfers due to the outstanding quality of its greens