The Garden Route – A perennial favourite golfing destination
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E – T H E G A R D E N R O U T E
The Garden Route – A perennial favourite golfing destination
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after Hawaii, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
With mild to warm summers and mild to cool winters it is the ideal region in which to play golf. In fact it has the mildest climate in South Africa and the second mildest climate in the world,
This is your ultimate South African golfing road trip, start planning yours now…
he 200 km stretch of coast which connects Mossel Bay to the Storms River Mouth is generally referred to as the Garden Route in reference to its enthralling diversity of wide sandy beaches, lovely lakes and lagoons, shady evergreen forests and Protea-studded slopes. It is also home to 11 golf courses, some of which are amongst the best in the country.
GOOSE VALLEY GOLF CLUB PLETTENBERG BAY COUNTRY CLUB PEZULA CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE KNYSNA GOLF CLUB SIMOLA GOLF & COUNTRY ESTATE GEORGE GOLF CLUB KINGSWOOD GOLF ESTATE FANCOURT oUBAAI GOLF RESORT AND SPA Mosselbay Golf club Pinnacle Point Estate
George 2
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The main gateway to the Garden Route is George, a modern city with an airport that is connected to Cape Town and Johannesburg by regular scheduled flights, and has all the usual car rental agencies. It is also possible to drive along the well-maintained 430 km N2 between Cape Town and George in 4-5 hours.
Knysna Plettenberg Bay
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Stormsriver
Mossel Bay
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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E – T H E G A R D E N R O U T E
Mossel Bay Golf Club
“See the Sea from Every Tee” by Philip Basson. This happened as the result of the vision of a developer, Mr. Urs Windholz, who developed The Mossel Bay Golf Estate on the land surrounding the golf course. His vision included the rebuilding of the golf course and revamping of the club house to create a very upmarket, golfing facility. Further renovations were done to the club house during the course of 2019 and it now of a standard where it can easily hold its own against the best in the country.
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ossel Bay Golf Club was founded in 1905 with the original golf course positioned at the old aerodrome. The land on which the present course was built was made available to the Club by the Mossel Bay Municipality in 1924. The course was designed by Bob Grimsdell and was built over a period of two years. During 1999/2000 the golf course was redesigned by Danie Obermeyer and rebuilt
The club is a people’s place with a strong membership base of 850 active golfers, they do in excess of 45 000 rounds annually which is no surprise as this is a must play course on the Garden Route. It is a challenging yet user friendly par 72 layout with excellent bent grass greens. Springbok and other wildlife are in abundance on the course. Mossel Bay Golf Club is currently home to Martin Vorster and Jordan Duminy, two up and coming golfers who have already represented South Africa on The International stage.
AFTER
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FACILITIES:
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Driving range – Pro for lessons in attendance
Restaurant & Function facilities (150 people)
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Newly upgraded members bar & restaurant
Fully stocked Pro Shop
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Best pizza’s in the Southern Cape
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Chipping & Putting Greens
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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E – T H E G A R D E N R O U T E
Louis Oosthuizen
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- Mossel Bay’s Favourite Son
orn in the small country village of Albertinia (50 klm outside of Mossel Bay) on 19 October 1982, Lodewicus Theodorus “Louis” Oosthuizen came from humble beginnings. Louis grew up on a farm in a tennis-playing family, his father and brother both having achieved at provincial level, but it was golf that ultimately won his heart. At the age of nine, Louis decided golf was his future, often spending his time at Mossel Bay Golf Club.
on the Mossel Bay Golf Club course. This would be a pivotal moment for the rest of his career. Between 2000 and 2002, Louis won several amateur titles, including The World Junior Championship in Jamaica. He won the Open Championship in 2010 and is currently ranked 18th in the world.
Excelling as an amateur player on Provincial and National levels, he caught the eye of Ernie Els who from 2000-2002 supported his early career through the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. During his amateur career, on 12 December 2002, Louis shot a round of 57 (15 under par)
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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E – T H E G A R D E N R O U T E
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E – T H E G A R D E N R O U T E
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n designing the Oubaai Golf Club, an 18-hole championship golf course and driving range, Ernie Els and his team have taken full advantage of the spectacular landscape of the Western Cape. They had the support of Nicklaus Design as technical advisors. The Clubhouse has a dramatic location that overlooks the 16th, 17th and 18th greens. Open-air terraces offer panoramic views of the Indian Ocean and the Gwaing River valley. The course itself has been sculpted in accordance with the landscape, ensuring that the surrounding environment is enhanced and not hindered. The Ernie Els golf design philosophy is based on flexibility. In addition, golf courses fairly
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display challenges and hazards while affording players the opportunity to use a full range of shots and plan strategically for individual holes. Links layout where veld grasses line the lush fairways. The course measures 6516m from the pro tee’s which is uniquely long for a Coastal course. Oubaai offers a wonderfully stimulating and enjoyable golfing experience. Oubaai Golf also offers a full service practice facility including driving range, and two practice putting greens. The golf practice facilities at Oubaai are among the best in the Garden Route and include a large driving range, putting green and short-game area, all complimentary with your round of golf.
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Dimension Data Pro-Am 2020
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he Dimension Data Pro-Am ended the European Challenge Tour’s maiden voyage to South Africa. Christiaan Bezuidenhout completed a wire-to-wire victory thanks to a stunning eagle on the 72nd hole at Fancourt Golf Estate.
Fancourt Golf Estate in George in the Western Cape. The tournament is now played on the Montagu, Outeniqua as well as The Links golf courses for the first three rounds, with the final round played on the Montagu golf course.
Fancourt Golf Estate, the venue for the Dimension Data Pro-Am, is Southern Africa’s premier golf and leisure resort, which is set at the foot of the majestic Outeniqua Mountains. Fancourt’s three courses – Montagu, Outeniqua and The Links – were all designed by the legendary Gary Player. The Links is currently ranked as the country’s number one course by Golf Digest South Africa and was described by Player as his greatest ever feat as a course designer.
72-Hole Betterball Medal (Professionals partnering amateurs) Amateurs are teamed with a professional partner and together they compete for the Dimension Data Pro-Am trophy and an additional professional prize fund. They compete using the Betterball Medal scoring system whereby the lowest stroke, by either the pro or the amateur, is recorded for each hole. The amateur handicaps are taken into account.
In the Dimension Data Pro-Am Tournament there are two competitions within the event: 72-Hole Stroke Play (Professionals only) In 2010, the tournament moved to the
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Golf courses Golfers play in teams of two, one professional and one amateur, experiencing three of the finest 18-hole golf courses in the country, the Montagu Golf Course, the Outeniqua Golf Course and Fancourt’s world famous The Links Golf Course.
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R E S U LT S & R A N K I N G S Sunshine Tour Sunshine tour final order of merit 2019/2020 season
1 JC Ritchi RSA 2 Daniel van Tonder RSA 3 Jaco Ahlers RSA 4 George Coetzee RSA 5 Thriston Lawrence RSA 6 Garrick Higgo RSA 7 Christiaan Bezuidenhout RSA 8 Martin Rohwer RSA 9 Louis de Jager RSA 10 MJ Viljoen RSA 11 Jacques Blaauw RSA 12 Keith Horne RSA 13 Hennie du Plessis RSA 14 Jaco Van Zyl RSA 15 Ockie Strydom RSA 16 Hennie Otto RSA 17 Zander Lombard RSA 18 Rhys Enoch WAL 19 Wilco Nienaber RSA 20 Christiaan Basson RSA
19 21 20 6 22 18 5 23 10 23 22 15 13 12 24 21 5 10 6 24
R r R R R R R r r R R R R R R R R r R R
2,162,387.47 2,043,268.06 1,902,195.24 1,722,930.00 1,377,891.41 1,293,595.50 1,140,363.00 1,070,153.80 956,940.50 925,564.65 895,205.66 883,670.00 847,355.00 825,292.71 757,588.00 741,675.20 726,278.94 689,758.00 688,017.00 627,813.51 JC Ritchi
Dawie van der Walt
Korn Ferry tour Korn Ferry Tour order of merit as of 1 March 2020
PGA TOUR PGA Tour order of merit as of 1 MARCH 2020
1 Justin Thomas USA 2 Rory McIlroy NIR 3 Sungjae Im KOR 4 Patrick Reed USA 5 Webb Simpson USA 6 Hideki Matsuyama JPN 7 Lanto Griffin USA 8 Brendon Todd USA 9 Sebastián Muñoz COL 10 Xander Schauffele USA 11 Adam Scott AUS 12 Cameron Smith AUS 13 Kevin Na USA 14 Marc Leishman AUS 15 Tiger Woods USA 16 Joaquin Niemann CHI 17 Bryson DeChambeau USA 18 Jon Rahm SPA 19 Nick Taylor USA 20 Byeong Hun An KOR Other South Africans 55 Dylan Frittelli RSA 76 Louis Oosthuizen RSA 120 Charl Schwartzel RSA
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8 5 13 7 5 10 15 13 14 7 6 10 11 8 3 11 6 5 11 12
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
4,214,477.00 3,501,990.00 3,220,468.00 3,066,106.00 2,751,300.00 2,708,118.00 2,577,789.00 2,442,730.00 2,376,998.00 2,321,707.00 2,086,829.00 2,062,515.00 2,057,622.00 1,982,325.00 1,956,312.00 1,932,504.00 1,906,566.00 1,895,143.00 1,781,422.00 1,772,615.00
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$ $ $
851,639.00 669,187.00 380,638.00
1 Mito Pereira CHI 2 David Koche USA 3 Davis Riley USA 4 Andrew Novak USA 5 Jared Wolfe USA 6 Dylan Wu USA 7 Tommy Gainey USA 8 John Chin USA 9 Ben Kohles USA 10 Roberto Díaz MEX Other South Africans 97 Dawie van der Walt RSA 123 Tyrone Van Aswegen RSA
4 6 6 5 6 6 2 5 6 6
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
181,883.00 149,019.00 147,298.00 136,745.00 126,847.00 115,318.00 108,000.00 106,124.00 99,470.00 94,069.00
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$ 10,271.00 $ 5,864.00
CHAMPIoNS TOUR Champions Tour order of merit as of 1 March 2020 1 Bernhard Langer GER 2 Brett Quigley USA 3 Scott Parel USA 4 Miguel Angel Jiménez SPA 5 Woody Austin USA 6 Fred Couples USA 7 Kevin Sutherland USA 8 Doug Barron USA 9 Stephen Ames CAN 10 Rod Pampling AUS Other South Africans 11 Ernie Els RSA 12 Retief Goosen RSA 59 David Frost RSA
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4 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 3 3
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
515,717.00 469,267.00 419,280.00 408,632.00 320,283.00 291,467.00 233,731.00 230,637.00 213,067.00 194,147.00
2 4 3
$ 180,030.00 $ 169,030.00 $ 23,904.00
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calend A r
Sunshine Tour
DATE EVENT VENUE MARCH 2020 2 - 5 2 - 5
Sunshine Tour Qualifying School Final Vusi Ngubeni Tournament
Houghton GC
APRIL 2020 23 - 26
Zanaco Masters
Lusaka GC
MAY 2020 6 - 9 14 - 17 22 - 24
Investec Royal Swazi Open Zambia Open Lombard Insurance Classic
Royal Swazi Spa CC Nkana GC Arabella CC
Amateur events - Men DATE EVENT VENUE
MARCH 2020 1 3 - 5 5 - 6 7 - 8 8 - 9 13 - 15 19 - 20 20 - 22 22 - 23 23 - 25 26 - 27 29 - 31
Gauteng North Mid-Amateur Open South African Juniors International KZN Senior Classic Border Mid-Amateur Open KZN Senior Open North West Open Cape Winelands Senior Amateur Northern Cape Open WP Senior Masters Nomads Gowrie Farm U15 Challenge Nomads SA Boys U19 Championship Northern Amateur Open Qualifying
Pretoria CC Rondebosch GC Durban CC East London GC Umhlali CC Rustenburg GC Paarl GC Sishen GC Durbanville GC Gowrie Farm GC Modderfontein GC Johannesburg CC
APRIL 2020 1 - 3 4 - 5 5 15 - 17 20 - 24 20 - 24
Northern Amateur Open MP EP/Border Stroke Play Highveld Mid-Amateur Open Boland Amateur Stroke Play Senior/Super Senior IPT - A Sections Senior/Super Senior IPT - B Sections
Johannesburg CC Fish River Resort Middelburg CC Langebaan GC Stellenbosch GC Erinvale GC
CONTAC T DETAILS Boland Golf Union Border Golf Union Central Gauteng Golf Union Eastern Gauteng Golf Union
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(021) 873 6828 (043) 740 3899 (011) 485 4251 (011) 425 5316
Freestate and Northern Cape Golf Union Gauteng North Golf Union Karoo Golf Union Sunshine Tour
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(057) 899 1724 (012) 667 1087 (054) 332 3323 (021) 850 6500
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calend A r
events calendar
march,apr & may 2020 Amateur events - Men (continued)
DATE EVENT VENUE
APRIL 2020 - CONTINUED 20 - 22 Western Province Amateur Qualifying 23 - 25 Western Province Amateur MP 26 - 27 Free State Mid-Amateur Open 29 Apr - 1 May SA Mid-Amateur Stroke Play
King David Mowbray GC King David Mowbray GC Maccauvlei GC Devonvale GE
MAY 2020 2 - 3 11 - 15 22 - 24 28 - 29 30 - 31 31 May - 1 Jun
Maccauvlei GC Katberg Eco G & CC Selborne GC Fancourt Wedgewood GC George GC
Vaal Senior Open SA Country Districts KZN Open Stroke Play Fancourt Senior Open Eastern Province Mid-Amateur Open Southern Cape Senior Open
Amateur events - Women
DATE EVENT VENUE
MARCH 2020 3 - 5 8 - 10 11 - 14 16 - 17 22 - 28 23 24 - 25 29 Mar - 3 Apr
South African Juniors International KZN Championship Investec Women’s Open Nomads SA Girl’s Rose Bowl Stroke Play Championship All Africa Junior Golf Challenge WP Women’s Amateur Championship WP Women’s Amateur Matchplay Championship All Africa Challenge Trophy
APRIL 2020 4 - 5 Free State Open, Closed, Mid-Am & Junior Championship 26 - 27 WGSA 72 Hole Teams Championship MAY 2020 3 - 4 Gauteng Open, Junior, Mid-Am & Senior Championships 16 - 17 Northern Cape Open, Junior & Mid-Am Championship 31 May - 3 Jun Senior Womens SA Nationals
Rondebosch GC Durban CC Westlake GC Kloof CC Egypt Steenberg GC Steenberg GC Namibia Parys GC Plettenberg Bay CC Randpark GC Magersfontein Memorial GC San Lameer CC
CONTAC T DETAILS KZN Golf Union Mpumalanga Golf Union Limpopo Golf Union North-West Province Golf Union
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(031) 202 7636 (013) 692 3002 (015) 295 4118 (044) 533 3507
Southern Cape Golf Union Eastern Cape Golf Union Western Province Golf Union Sunshine Tour (Joanne)
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(044) 873 5823 (043) 735 4443 (021) 686 1668 (021) 850 6500
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R E S U LT S & R A N K I N G S EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR
EUROPEAN TOUR European Tour Order of merit as of 1 March 2020
1 Patrick Reed USA 2 Lee Westwood ENG 3 Lucas Herbert AUS 4 Graeme McDowell NIR 5 Tommy Fleetwood ENG 6 Erik Van Rooyen RSA 7 Victor Perez FRA 8 Christiaan Bezuidenhout RSA 9 Branden Grace RSA 10 Matthew Fitzpatrick ENG 11 Louis Oosthuizen RSA 12 Pablo Larrazábal SPA 13 Sami Valimaki FIN 14 Jon Rahm SPA 15 Min Woo Lee AUS 16 Rasmus Hojgaard DEN 17 Adam Scott AUS 18 Brandon Stone RSA 19 Gavin Green MAL 20 Ross Fisher ENG Other South Africans 24 Shaun Norris RSA 29 Dean Burmester RSA 33 Zander Lombard RSA 43 Justin Harding RSA 52 George Coetzee RSA 69 Charl Schwartzel RSA 85 Louis De Jager RSA 104 Justin Walters RSA 108 JC Ritchie RSA 115 Haydn Porteous RSA 126 Hennie du Plessis RSA 128 Thriston Lawrence RSA
2 4 6 3 3 5 4 7 4 3 4 6 5 1 5 7 2 7 5 5
€ € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € € €
1,500,000.00 1281.800.00 829.900.00 728.400.00 702,000.00 667,000.00 638.700.00 637,300.00 618,400.00 608,600.00 604,700.00 554,100.00 522,500.00 507,500.00 449,800.00 425,20000 424,100.00 417,200.00 393,000.00 390,400.00
5 7 8 8 6 3 6 7 3 6 3 3
€ € € € € € € € € € € €
352,000.00 300,600.00 267,100.00 215,500.00 179,100.00 141,600.00 110,500.00 740,00.00 71.600.00 68.100.00 52.800.00 52.400.00
EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR European Challenge Tour Race to Mallorca points as of 1 March 2020
1 RITCHIE, JC RSA 2 KARLSSON, Anton SWE 3 NIENABER, Wilco RSA 4 HIGGO, Garrick RSA 5 KRUYSWIJK, Jacques RSA 6 TARRIO, Santiago SPA 7 TREE, Toby ENG 8 DE JAGER, Louis RSA 9 DU PLESSIS, Hennie RSA 10 ELLIS, Harry ENG Other South Africans 11 FICHARDT, Darren RSA 21 ROOS, Jake RSA 23 LAWRENCE, Thriston RSA 31 SCHIETEKAT, Neil RSA 34 BLAAUW, Jacques RSA 46 AHLERS, Jaco RSA 47 GERMISHUYS, Deo RSA 49 ROHWER, Martin RSA 50 FISHER JNR, Trevor RSA 56 NAIDOO, Dylan RSA 59 VAN DER SPUY, Rourk RSA 59 EASTON, Bryce RSA 59 MICHAEL, Anthony RSA 64 SCHAPER, Jayden Trey RSA 68 ALBERTSE, Louis RSA 68 BARKER, Kyle RSA
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3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3
€ € € € € € € € € €
49,167.90 38,266.400 27,965.500 26,793.70 18,124.60 17,419.30 15,751.70 13,971.50 12,608.10 11,313.30
2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2
€ € € € € € € € € € € € € € € €
9,464.50 6,988.00 6,876.40 5,673.10 5,345.20 4,268.00 4,188.60 3,915.90 3,821.80 2,749.20 2,548.90 2,548.90 2,548.90 2,451.70 2,185.80 2,185.80
First tournament 14th May 2020.
LPGA TOUR Ladies European Tour Order of merit as of 1 MARCH 2020
1 Inbee Park KOR 2 Madelene Sagstrom SWE 3 Nasa Hataoka JPN 4 Gaby Lopez MEX 5 Hee Young Park KOR 6 Celine Boutier FRA 7 Danielle Kang USA 8 Sei Young Kim KOR 9 Amy Olson USA 10 Brooke M. Henderson CAN Other South Africans 71 Ashleigh Buhai RSA
4 3 2 2 3 4 2 2 3 2
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
327,163.00 323,095.00 313,272.00 180,000.00 175,666.00 175,540.00 161,280.00 126,778.00 118,382.00 102,169.00
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$
17,629.00
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR Ladies European Tour Order of merit as of 1 MARCH 2020
1 Julia Engstrom SWE 2 Manon De Roey BEL 3 Linnea Strom SWE 4 Gemma Dryburgh SCO 5 Camilla Lennarth SWE 6 Aditi Ashok IND 7 Kylie Henry SCO 8 Anne Van Dam NED 9 Pia Babnik SLV 10 Esther Henseleit GER No other South Africans
2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2
€ € € € € € € € € €
38,580.00 24,900.00 21,600.00 17,991.00 12,600.00 11,577.00 9,750.00 9,720.00 9,435.00 9,134.00
World Golf rankings as of 1 MARCH 2020 1 Rory McIlroy NIR 2 Jon Rahm ESP 3 Brooks Koepka USA 4 Justin Thomas USA 5 Dustin Johnson USA 6 Patrick Cantlay USA 7 Adam Scott AUS 8 Webb Simpson USA 9 Patrick Reed USA 10 Tommy Fleetwood ENG Other South Africans 18 Louis Oosthuizen RSA 42 Erik van Rooyen RSA 49 Christiaan Bezuidenhout RSA 72 Branden Grace RSA 99 Justin Harding RSA 120 Dylan Frittelli RSA 121 JC Ritchie RSA 155 George Coetzee RSA 160 Brandon Stone RSA 167 Dean Burmester RSA 176 Richard Sterne RSA 182 Jaco Ahlers RSA 194 Garrick Higgo RSA 195 Charl Schwartzel RSA 197 Zander Lombard RSA
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9.31 8.74 8.23 7.66 6.73 6.07 5.99 5.91 5.87 5.78
48 48 44 46 42 43 43 45 52 52
4.28 2.64 2.34 1.86 1.54 1.30 1.29 1.08 1.05 1.00 0.96 0.92 0.86 0.85 0.85
48 52 52 52 52 52 42 52 52 52 45 41 40 40 52
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he Garden Route on South Africa’s south-eastern coast is, undoubtedly, one of the most breathtaking regions in the country. Known for its lush, green forests surrounding the coastal towns that are artfully scattered along the coastline, and a plethora of indigenous fauna and flora, the sheer natural beauty of the region is unmistakable. It’s here where you’ll find the equally gorgeous and awe-inspiring Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa and it’s Championship Golf Course in the picturesque seaside town of Knysna. Whether you are a golf aficionado or not, you’ll be able to appreciate the stunning, Championship course at Pezula Golf Club. Hailed by many as one of the most beautiful golf courses in the Western Cape, Pezula Championship Golf Course has also been named among the Top 20 South African Golf Courses for 2020 by Golfer’s Digest. With accolades pouring in, it seems that 2020 will truly be a special year for Pezula Golf Club. The club is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and with it, offering members and non-members some seriously special packages. The popular stay-and-play packages are specifically designed to cater to those looking for a luxury getaway and round or two (or three?) on the spectacular Pezula Championship Golf Course. While it is the in-your-face, jaw-dropping beauty of the Championship Course that first grabs your attention, the course is, so to speak, not just a pretty face. Elevated high on the Eastern Head of Knysna, the course offers challenging holes with strongly contoured greens and ample bunkers.
in the magnificent views around you. And while the golf course certainly contends to be a scene-stealer on the Pezula Estate, the equally gorgeous Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa shines brightly in its own right. The beautiful, all-suite hotel encompasses the beauty of the surrounding nature from every angle. From the lush, green gardens that surround the hotel, to the on-site nursery, Koi fish ponds and Kol Kol bath; Pezula perfectly orchestrates the harmonious marriage of nature and luxury. With an award-winning spa, Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa offers utter relaxation at its finest. Specially designed, African-inspired treatments will leave any person taking a turn at the spa in a complete state of tranquillity. Zachary’s Bistro, Pezula’s on-site, gourmet restaurant, specialises in creating mouthwatering dishes inspired by the area and prides itself on using only the freshest, local produce - some even grown in Pezula’s own nurseries. However, it’s not just the on-site activities that make a trip to Pezula oh-so-worth-it. Knysna and the surrounding towns are a hub of exciting activities, from fine dining hotspots (did someone say Knysna oysters?!) to enlightening cultural experiences and drop-dead gorgeous beaches - including the famed and mystical Noetzie Beach. In essence, Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa and the beautiful Pezula Championship Golf Course is not only a feast for the eyes but a place to rejuvenate, re-energise and excite the soul.
Challenging, yet rewarding, the Pezula Championship course will be a dream to play for players of any level - even if it’s just to take
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Africa’s first Jack Nicklaus designed golf course
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Indulge in five-star, luxury accommodation, warm service and great golfing in Knysna, at the heart of South Africa’s Garden Route. Simola Hotel Country Club and Spa is the ultimate leisure, golfing and residential destination. Surrounded by breathtakingly natural beauty, the uniquely elegant Simola Hotel Country Club and Spa stands sentinel over the town of Knysna. Offering discerning guests sophisticated accommodation and contemporary comfort, the hotel and restaurant overlook the Simola Golf and Country Estate and the exclusive Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, the first in Africa to be designed by the Golden Bear himself. Aside from jaw-dropping views from just about every hole, the golf course features spacious changing rooms, chipping and putting green, driving range, pro-shop, golf carts and halfway house. Attractions on the 325 hectare estate include the Simola Hotel, Country Club & Spa, our 18-hole, par-72, Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, and our exclusive
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River Club –where home-owners and guests enjoy swimming, paddling, fishing and birding on the peaceful Knysna River, and in the indigenous Knysna forests. On the border of the Knysna forest, Simola is less than 7km from the centre of town and the world renowned Knysna estuary. Its convenient location makes it the ideal base from which to explore the rest of the Garden Route. An 1,800 hectare lagoon, kilometre after kilometre of sandy beaches, the brooding Outeniqua Mountains, the famous – and mysterious – Knysna forests, and the 160,000 hectare Garden Route National Park (the only unfenced national park in South Africa). Knysna has many other attractions to offer, too: excellent dining, trendy shopping, probably the top contemporary art gallery in the country, and a rich and varied selection of events and festivals that celebrate culture, sport, and the good life. The area also offers unique animal sightings and experiences, a multitude of outdoor and adventure activities and, of course some of the continent’s best golfing.
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