golf holes which gobble up golf balls. Hundreds of thousands may have been lost here. Today, Pinnacle Point has become the bucket-list course of choice for for- eign golfers who since Covid have been visiting in greater numbers. It helps that Pinnacle Point is in the Garden Route, our No 1 golfing destination, and has a fabulous clubhouse, recently revamped to become even more luxu- rious. Nonetheless it has been averag- ing 2000 visitor rounds a month this summer at a peak season green fee of R3 000. Many of these punters clearly enjoy the experience so much they can- not say no to coming back for more. Public access modern courses with jaw-dropping views like Pinnacle, Pe- zula and Simola are doing a great job in attracting these foreign golfers to our shores during the height of the summer season, and when they find out about the other cheaper, walkable courses
PARKVIEW NO 33 Autumn colours enhance the par-4 fourth hole, known as Waller’s and the stroke 1.
make this course a joy to play in favour- able conditions. This is not a course where you should tee up in strong winds, unless you possess a “stinger” long iron shot to match that of Tiger Woods. I personally count 13 outstand- ing holes on this roller-coaster ride of a cart course that delight whenever I
SOUTHBROOM NO 94 A view of the Indian Ocean from the par-5 18th green at this South Coast club.
and enhancing the playing experience throughout the year. Today, its Condi- tioning mark of 15.5 is one of the best at a coastal course within sight of the sea, beaten only by Arabella and St Francis Links. Pinnacle Point has its share of weaker holes, notably to start each nine on an uphill slope, and its Memorability score of 11.7 likely reflects that. But Matkov- ich, as befits his talent of working with the land, has given us some distinctly memorable and sensual holes that
that we have in the Garden Route, like George, Kingswood, Mossel Bay, Knys- na, Plettenberg Bay and Goose Valley, they are hooked into returning. Where Pinnacle Point has gained points to progress up the rankings is in vastly improved Conditioning. When No 20 in 2021, it had a Condi- tioning mark of 14.1 out of 20. Pinnacle sourced two former Sun City employees in golf director Quintin Byleveldt and accomplished greenkeeper Konrad Suhr, and the focus was on improving
PEZULA NO 18 An early morning golf cart on the par-4 tenth hole at the Knysna estate.
68 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2025
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