208 - Glendower

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Rating: 7.8

As the weather turns in Europe I tend to head down south to Cape Town and en route decided to make a little stop in Johannesburg. A city at 1,700 meters of altitude. My first time playing golf in Gauteng and first experience of the legendary ‘highveld’ where the ball travels a lot further. Beware in the mornings it can still be cold so bring a few extra layers, you won’t need them for long!

My first stop for the week was Glendower Golf Club and big thanks to Ethiopian Airlines for leaving my clubs in Frankfurt. Luckily for me, Glendower have a lovely pro shop and were incredibly accommodating, allowing me to play in my running shoes and lending me a set of clubs.

The golf club has a really nice feel to it, very friendly and a great community atmosphere. Coming out of a dry Jo’burg winter the course was slowly starting to get back into peak condition but like any top South African golf course the fairways, greens and surrounding areas were already looking good! At 6,550 meters off the men’s tees you wouldn’t be out of place thinking why is it so long but your shots really do go 20-30 meters further at altitude.

The course starts with a gentle downhill par 4, not too much trouble apart from the scattering of trees lining the fairways but a tricky approach to the green nestled in behind too generously sized bunkers. One of the main attractions of the course is the use of the water features, wonderfully crafted and trickily placed. The second tee is over a body of water that really shouldn’t come into play but any mishit drive could easily be gobbled up. The third has another stream of water running down the left hand side. A 190 meter par 3 with trouble over the back as well, most would probably bail out well to the right, a tough opening par 3! The theme continues throughout, hole 7 was a lovely downhill par 4 with a stream running short of the green and the 9th has a stunning water feature to the right of the green with the clubhouse in the background.

The second 9 was arguably better in my opinion and had slightly more variety. Beware of the stream in driveable distance on the 11th, I completely missed that on the map only to be left bemused that I’d hit it straight in there.

The club also have a driving range to the left of the clubhouse and putting green in front of the clubhouse. For R880 on a weekday it was a steal, lovely place to come play and can see why it is so highly ranked. The bunkers were really well looked after, a darker type of sand to what you’re used to but still plenty of depth to them and the greens were lovely and smooth. I’d highly recommend Glendower on any trip to Jo’burg.