FIVE NEW ENTRIES Jackal Creek and Magalies Park debut in Top 100
There are five new en- tries in the Top 100 rankings, and two courses make their
debut, having never featured before. Gauteng is inundated with good courses, and as a result some newer ones fall under the radar. Jackal Creek , open since 2010, is in that category. It’s part of an unconventional residential golf estate, not far from Eagle Canyon, where there is a mixture of upmarket housing and high-rise apartments. Some residents aren’t familiar with golf, and have been known to use the course for picnics! Areas of the course are sur- prisingly wild and bushy, much loved as a home for their dens by territorial packs of black-backed jackals. They can be quite curious about the appearance of golf balls, the younger ones playing with them on fairways, and shredding the covers with their sharp teeth. Hilly terrain makes for a varied and enjoyable course designed by the late Douw van der Merwe, whose talents weren’t always recognised in earlier years. His courses have improved with maturity, and are climbing up the rank- ings, notably Eagle Canyon, The Lakes at Mount Edgecombe, and Parys (which he co-designed with Cobie Legrange). At Jackal Creek he created beautifully shaped greens and one of the strongest 18th holes in Gauteng, an uphill dogleg right par 5 with a stream guarding the right of the fairway. Former Sunshine Tour star Ashley Roestoff, now general manager at Jack- al Creek, has in recent years smoothed out the course’s rough edges and im- proved its playability. Magalies Park is another first-time entrant which has benefited from steady improvements over the years, mostly by long-serving golf club man- ager William van Mierlo, a PGA profes- sional. The resort course has stunning Aesthetics, built on the lower slopes of the Magaliesberg range in a leafy bush- veld environment, and interesting design variety with its mix of doglegs, uphill and downhill holes. The 15th is a memorable downhill par 5 which typifies some of the more thrilling aspects of playing there.
There’s even back-to-back 3s at 8 and 9, although that wasn’t the original in- tention. No 8 was a par 4 but the devel- opment of a residential estate meant it had to be shortened for safety reasons. It’s a short track, yet tight and challeng- ing from tee to green. It was a qualify- ing venue for the DP World Tour event at nearby Pecanwood in 2022, and the average score was close to 73 even with five par 5s. First-time visitors may be alarmed by extreme slopes on some greens, and two of the five par-3s, Nos 5 and 14, would be much better holes if the
JACKAL CREEK The par-3 seventh hole sits in an old quarry. Left, a jackal rests on a fairway.
greens could be rebuilt. Schoeman Park in Bloemfontein returns to the Top 100 for the first time since 2007, joining its neighbour, the Bloemfontein GC. Another much un- derrated layout, one of a triumvirate of Bob Grimsdell designs in the Free
SCHOEMAN PARK One of the strongest par-4 18th holes in South Africa.
68 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2024
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