Estate Living Digital Publication Issue 5 May 2015 | Page 43

golf course
Bunkers:
No need for miners’ lamps and ladders and they
are beautiful to look at, but they are filled with
silica sand, so beware – it’s rather like standing in a
large bowl of fine sugar! You will need a sand iron
with lots of bounce, or you must lay the face of
your club wide open; otherwise, you might start
to feel like Lawrence of Arabia if you visit more
than one or two of them!
Course character:
A little lacking in this area perhaps, although I
felt that the second nine was more interesting
than the first, but it is still very early days and the
course’s excellent condition and playing surfaces
give a more established feel than is actually the
case. Thousands of trees have been planted, so
the definition will become sharper as these grow.
I did see some nonsense blurb about the course
being spoken of as the ‘Augusta of South Africa’,
which is really premature, and will probably
have made the designer cringe, but I am sure
that thelayout will take its rightful place in South
Africa’s golf course hierarchy in the near future.

Clubhouse:
Surprisingly comfortable for such a smart and
modern building – the lounge area is almost
traditional in feel and a really comfy and
welcoming area. I also liked the undercover
parking, which means not having to go back to
fry an egg on the car’s dashboard after 18 holes!
Golf driving range:
This is terrific; I could happily spend a week out
there and probably need to! There are good
quality golf balls and a mix of artificial and natural
grass surfaces to hit from. The range has clearly
marked targets and distance markers, so no need
to aimlessly pump shots into the blue yonder.
There is also a putting green at the back of the
tee, which means that you can complete your
entire warm-up in one place before going out
onto the golf course. On my visit, I did not see a
chipping/bunker area, but I assume that there
must be one.