prise when you reach your ball is that the green is now way to your left, par- tially hidden due to its raised location. Bunkers litter the route to the pin, and the green itself has several levels. 7 GLENDOWER GOLF CLUB JOHANNESBURG, EKURHULENI One of the shorter 4s at this SA Open venue, but at 407 metres it still packs a punch for the club golfer playing their first hole of the day. The fairway land- ing area is guarded by a large bunker to the right, with dense rough and trees to the left. Missing the mown grass turns an already tricky hole into an even more demanding one. The large, slop- ing green is one of the best protected on the course, trees bordering the right side, water to the left, and bunkers to the front and right. Glendower’s other starting hole, No 10, is a Stroke 2 beast of 436 metres, with water fronting the green.
deep bunkers, and would make a good defensive position if you were re-enact- ing a battle from the Boer War. The tree- lined fairway turns to the left off the tee, and bunkers are strategically placed to catch drives which stray slightly to the right. The green has a large putting sur- face, and falls away at the back. PCC’s other starting hole, No 10, is just as dif- ficult, 434 metres dogleg right. 6 ST FRANCIS LINKS ST FRANCIS BAY, EASTERN CAPE Jack Nicklaus was especially creative in designing this special hole, which could have been plucked from the rugged sea- side dunes of Ireland or Scotland. The Links design is unusual in that both the starting holes on each nine are sited away from the clubhouse. This 371-metre par 4 begins with a blind tee shot over a ridge, with a bunker to be avoided in the dune to the left. A sur-
Erinvale’s first green is distinguished by a long green guarded by two large bunkers.
The par-5 first hole at Pezula, with the green in the foreground.
68 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2026
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