42 CRADOCK Cradock, Eastern Cape
won the Bredasdorp Open in 1997. Some excellent holes, yet also weak ones on flat land below the clubhouse, particularly the two par 3s. A round starts promisingly with a sweeping downhill par 4, but then come five flat holes before a wonderful 479m par 5 presents itself, climbing uphill around trees to a hidden green. No 8/17 is a strong dogleg left 4, followed by an uphill short 4 back to the clubhouse. DOWN 7 • SCORE 37.5/60 Clubhouse 7.5 / Aesthetics 6 / Conditioning 8 / Design Variety 6 / Innovation 5 / Challenge 5 Short (5 469 metres) and friendly Par-70 (three par 3s) designed by Douw van der Merwe in the 1990s, with exceptionally good greens and an enjoyable mix of holes, including a superb short 4 (7 & 16). Opening and closing holes (both par 5s) are on the shores of Hartbeespoort Dam, with five holes inland among a residential estate. Good opening tee shot over water from the edge of a small boat marina. 41 SANDY LANE Hartbeespoort Dam, North West Province
An old club (1897), in recent years the membership has grown to where it now exceeds that of the city’s 18-hole clubs. The fifth/14th is known as the “Monument Hole” due to an obelisk in the fairway which was erected in 1919 following the Great War. 44 HEIDELBERG Heidelberg, Southern Cape NEW ENTRY • SCORE 37/60 Clubhouse 7 / Aesthetics 6 / Conditioning 6.5 / Design Variety 6 / Innovation 5 / Challenge 6.5 The local community and farmers have performed sterling work in improving this 9-holer (new water hole, bunkers) and putting life back in the refurbished clubhouse, which now has a full-time manager. Flat layout on a narrow property between a river and country road. Every hole presents a good challenge, and it is said by the club that Bobby Locke helped design it with Ken Elkin, a club pro and prominent course architect in the 1950s and 60s. Heidelberg is one of three 9-holers worth playing for golfers driving the N2 between Cape Town and Mossel Bay. The others are Swellendam & Riversdale.
DOWN 14 • SCORE 37.2/60 Clubhouse 6.5 / Aesthetics 6 / Conditioning 5.3 / Design Variety 7 / Innovation 5 / Challenge 7.5 Challenging, long layout irrigated by Great Fish River flowing alongside. A canal inside the course acts as a penalty area on several holes. The club, part of the Border Golf Union even though it is closer to Port Elizabeth (250km) than East London (290km), is an old one. Originally there was a sand and oil greens layout before moving to this site in the early 1980s. Big trees line the holes, mainly par 5s and long 4s other than the distinctive dogleg left 8/17, a short 4 where the tee shot needs to carry the canal. 43 WALMER GOLF CLUB Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape DOWN 8 • SCORE 37/60 Clubhouse 8 / Aesthetics 6 / Conditioning 6 / Design Variety 6 / Innovation 5 / Challenge 6 Walmer occupies an attractive site overlooking the Baakens Valley now home to an upmarket residential estate.
NO 45: Malmesbury
122 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026
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