Woodhill Estate - Gauteng - South Africa

The Woodhill Country Club course was built within a large residential estate that was once a working dairy – indeed, to the right of the fairway at the 14th, golfers will find some old farm buildings – but there’s been no bovine activity on the property for quite some time now.

The eighteen holes are routed through substantial plots of housing with residential units flanking either side of many of the undulating fairways. The anti-clockwise front nine and mainly clockwise back nine both end beside a couple of small lakes in front of the clubhouse.

Some consider the semi-blind 7th hole to be one of the best bunkerless par threes in the country and the tee shot really has to be played “through the eye of the needle” as advised in the yardage book.

Tee shots from the sensational 196-yard 12th plunge from an elevated tee position to a water-protected green way down below and this time the yardage book encourages golfers to “enjoy the hang time” while playing the hole.

The layout only opened at the end of the 1990s but it has already hosted a number of sunshine Tour events, including the prestigious South African PGA Championships.