PAUSE BUTTON ON ZIMBALI LAKES
Zimbali Lakes, the new Ernie Els design opened for play on the KZN North Coast a year ago, was not considered for inclusion in the Golf Digest Top 100 rankings. New courses have always had to serve a waiting period of between two and three years, and this is a worldwide standard. Rushing a course into the rankings early has too many pitfalls. It doesn’t give raters enough time to properly evaluate a course by playing it on multiple occasions. A first visit can often leave an incor- rect impression. It also allows the course itself to mature and evolve. Teething problems can be fixed, and in the case of a residential estate like Zimbali Lakes, the land- scape can change significantly. A lot of disruptive construction work is still taking place there. LEGEND RESORT BACK IN BUSINESS Legend Golf & Safari Resort in Limpopo, which closed its doors during Covid, re-opened its 18- hole course for play in early May, and the resort is again in busi- ness. Plus, the Extreme 19th is again in operation. A helicopter would fly a group to the top of Hanglip Mountain, where they would hit off a vertiginous tee to a green 400 metres below shaped like a map of Africa. The rehabilitation of the resort is being led by former owner and founder of the Legend Hospital- ity Group, Peet Cilliers. Dave Riddle, who has returned to Legend as golf director, said the course, one of the longest in South Africa, had deteriorated badly over the past five years, as no maintenance had been done during that time. Work began a year ago on restoring the holes, a difficult project undertaken by Servest. The greens, formerly bent grass, have been replanted with Royal Blue cynodon. The Par-3 Tribute course is also re-opening.
THREE NEW ENTRIES
SOMERSETWESTCOUNTRY Club is a rare first-time entrant to the Golf Digest Top 100,
ner of the dogleg right 18th, fell down years ago, and this strong 4 hasn’t been the same since. Plans are underway to make it a par 5. Somerset West is the fifth shortest layout in the Top 100, at 5665 metres, and known for its short 4s, six of 330 metres or less. No 10 is a tricky dogleg left, and there’s an even more abrupt dogleg right at No 8 which tempts long hitters to aim straight for the green. Benoni CC returns at No 88 on the back of improved conditioning, and a bunker upgrade which has given every hole an improved aesthetic appeal. It’s an impressive parkland layout, having numerous holes isolated among thick stands of bluegum forests. Two features stand out – relatively small, contoured greens, and four especially challenging and well-designed par 5s which book- mark the start and finish of both nines. The return of Bosch Hoek means there are two 9-holers in the Top 100 for the first time, alongside Kambaku. Bosch Hoek has amped up the overall experience and conditioning at this KZN Midlands venue. It’s a sensory thrill to play here, starting with the long driveway to the clubhouse.
among three new entries, the others being Benoni Country Club and Bosch Hoek. SWCC is one of the oldest clubs in the Western Cape (1908), but its course – which in days gone by used to involve golfers having to walk across both a rail- way line and a highway – only started attracting attention from raters when Peter Matkovich designed and built eight new holes in 2018. Matkovich was given a treeless tract of land on the other side of the railway line from the clubhouse and decided to adopt a links-style theme for the area, creating artificial dunes and wetland features. They have matured into at- tractive and characterful holes which have delighted members and visitors at this busy club. Never mind that the rest of the course is parkland, the contrast works because they exist separately. Somerset West’s older holes are a mixed bag, with holes 5 to 9 the most impressive rout- ed around a forest of giant pines. One strategic pine, towering over the cor-
BOSCH HOEK A stream runs through this parkland layout.
72 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2026
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