GRIMSDELL’S BUSHVELD BEAUTY IS REVIVED IN PHALABORWA
concern at Hans Merensky in those distant days – remember this was when golfers walked with caddies and couldn’t race off to the clubhouse in a golf cart if their lives were threatened – although if there were big cats on the premises play wouldn’t be sanctioned. Numerous “kills” took place on fairways, vividly photographed by former club pro Leon Pappas, whose four sons all became professional golfers. There was a tragic incident in the late 1990s when a German tourist was killed on the course by a bull el- ephant after venturing too close with her camera. Hippos loved the water holes and at night would prowl the fairways browsing away on the lush grass, in front of guests in the self-catering ac- commodation. Former club manager Roy Yates took guests on night drives inside the course, often revealing a pride of lions in an area close to where golfers had passed a few hours earlier. One large tree became famous for the scratch marks on its trunk by a leop- ard which carried its prey into the up- per branches. Giraffes provided some of the best photo opportunities during the day as they strode elegantly about. The Sunshine Tour had an annual tournament there during the 1980s and early 90s, the Palabora Classic, and there were plentiful stories about the players’ interaction with animals on the course. One group were pur- sued by a hippo, and Simon Hobday nonchalantly played a shot near a water hazard with crocodiles close by. The Palabora Classic became the 54- hole Mafunyane Trophy last played in 1998.
The old Hans Merensky 18-holer in Phalaborwa, in better days one of the “bush-
veld jewels” of South African golf, has been resuscitated and re-opened for play as Ba-Phalaborwa, with a new ho- tel and spa on site. The original 1960s Bob Grimsdell layout had deteriorated badly over the past decade under a change of ownership. It was ranked No 12 in the first Golf Digest rankings in 1998, and stayed in the top 20 until 2005, before being removed as “unplayable” after its last appearance in 2016. The reha- bilitation of the property has been un- dertaken by Indalo Hotels & Leisure, in collaboration with Ba-Phalaborwa municipality. The course hasn’t had a design up- grade as such, just intensive mainte- nance work, although Michael Scholz of Bunker Armour rebuilt the bunkers. The cynodon greens are slow. Hans Merensky was on the bound- ary fence of the Kruger National Park, which most animals could slip through, and it was the first course where golfers witnessed sightings of lions, other cats, hippos, crocodiles, elephants and even buffalo. One bel- ligerent buffalo faced a greenkeeper’s vehicle head-on, and the bakkie came off second best. The only member of the Big Five never seen was the rhino. It was a popular destination with golfers, despite a seven-hour drive from Johannesburg, because there was nothing like it involving golf and game. Leopard Creek opened in 1996, and the Waterberg bushveld estates Zebula and Elements arrived a decade after that. Health and safety didn’t seem a
water is stunning, but 18 distinctive holes that seamlessly merge into each other without so much as a nod to weakness. There’s a natural beauty to the landscape, with dark reddish- brown sand in the shapely bunkers, and wavy long grass in out-of-play areas. And Vierra has uncovered much of Grimsdell’s earlier mounding around some greens which had become overgrown. The added adventure of venturing out to play Goldfields West is mastering the tricky transition to chipping and putting on cynodon greens – so rarely encountered today – and discovering which direction the nap is running. Some putts must be treated with cau- tion while others need a solid thump. Vierra has relied on inexperienced young greenkeepers on his limited maintenance budget, and through trial and error they have got the greens in as good a condition as they have ever been. The attention to detail in the clubhouse has been matched out on the course.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 79
MAY 2024
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