When the rankings of golf courses began in the late 1990s there was just one course in South Africa that acknowledged itself as a links, and that was Humewood.
This year there are three links designs in the Top 10, with St Francis Links slotting in between Fancourt and Humewood. Other courses proud to have added the Links name to their titles are Atlantic Beach in the Cape and Ebotse in Benoni. While the purists might blanch at a golf course on the Highveld being described as a links, the design at Ebotse does capture the natural linksy style which is in vogue around the world.
Big moves for Sishen and Elements: The Top 20 sees the return of two remote courses that once occupied higher positions in the rankings, Sishen in the Northern Cape, and Elements in Limpopo. Getting to either course is an undertaking not to be taken lightly. Sishen, in the town of Kathu, is 460 kilometers away from another Top 100 layout (Bloemfontein). It’s a six-hour drive from Gauteng, double that from the Cape. Elements are closer to Gauteng, but the dirt road to the Waterberg estate is an arduous one, although worthwhile.
Sishen, one of Bob Grimsdell’s last designs, and one of his best, jump 8 places to No 13 from its previous position of No 21, while Elements, by Peter Matkovich, is a 12-place improver to No 17. Both these courses have reached these heady heights before. Sishen was No 12 in early rankings, while Elements briefly had a stint in the Top 10 soon after its opening in 2009-2010.
Their remoteness undeniably makes them beautiful places to play, having been built in areas of great natural beauty. Both can be described as bushveld courses. Sishen may be on the edge of a bustling town but is ensconced within a remarkable forest of Kameeldoring trees which played a huge strategic part in Grimsdell’s design of the holes. They are often referred to as sky bunkers.
Grimsdell was brought to the remote Kalahari in the late 1970s by the management of the Kumba mine when he was 80 years old, and he left a wonderful legacy, a design that speaks volumes for his routing and creative talents. The original brief was for 9 holes, but he realised it had to be 18 on such a special site. Original Grimsdell greens were plain in shape, but at Sishen, he built elevated and sloping greens of a kind you rarely see in South Africa.
Sishen is in an arid part of South Africa – the contrast between the terrain outside Kathu and that within where there is irrigation is astonishing. The biggest surprise is finding a golf course almost as magnificently manicured as Fancourt. The bent grass greens were resurfaced two years ago by Southern Turf Management, who maintain the layout, and they are awesome in every respect. In fact, the greens now rank No 4 in South Africa behind Fancourt Montagu, St Francis Links, and Blair Atholl.
This isolated golf course on the edge of the Kalahari Desert is one of the world’s least played golfing gems. It majestically reposes in a forest of ancient Kameeldoring trees that are a dominant feature of the layout and add character to every hole. Playing golf there is tranquil beyond measure and the course has been kept in outstanding condition for the last 40 years. The town of Kathu is built within a Kameeldoring (camel thorn) forest and is known as “The town under trees”. The 4000-hectare forest, with trees that are hundreds of years old, has been registered as a natural heritage site. The town originated in the late 1960s when iron ore was first mined in the Kalahari. Kathu had one of the world’s largest open-cast iron ore mines. In the boom years, it had a population of 40 000. Trains take the ore to Saldanha Bay nearly 1000 kilometers away.
There’s not a weak hole to be found at Sishen. Each one has its own individual strategy, and the taller Kameeldoring trees provide aerial hazards for golfers far more effective than bunkers or water hazards. Some even stand in the middle of fairways, and so impenetrable they can dent the impact of a well-struck drive like casually swatting a fly. The golf ball comes off second best!
Sishen today has a modern clubhouse and houses have been built among the holes as part of the Kalahari Country Club estate developed by former Springbok rugby coach Andre Markgraaff. The course nevertheless retains a tranquil atmosphere. Springbok and impala roam the fairways.
Did You Know
1/ Sishen Golf Club is part of the Kalahari Country Club, which offers a variety of sports and leisure pursuits. There is a state-of-the-art gym on site.
2/ Sishen is remote. The nearest 18-hole course is at Upington, 214 kilometers away; the nearest Top 100 course is 460km, Bloemfontein.
3/ Golf director Theunis Spangenberg, who holds the course record, won the 2011 Zimbabwe Open on Sunshine Tour, and nearly won the 2016 Vodacom Origins at Sishen, losing a playoff to Jacques Blaauw after they had tied on 10-under-par 206.
4/ The Sunshine Tour regularly visits, and the lowest tournament round has been 63, by Jean Hugo and Ulrich van den Berg in the 2010 Vodacom Origins.
The 13th place goes to Sishen, Kathu, Northern Cape – Northern Cape & Free State. General manager: Philip Adamson. Golf director: Theunis Spangenberg. Greenkeeper: Franco Vermeulen (Southern Turf Management). Chairman: John Langeveldt. Club captain: Tommie Pearson.
Course Summary: Four tees / Par 72; Yellow 6657 meters, CR74.8/143; White 6421 meters, CR73.3/142; Blue 5714 meters, CR70.2/131; Red 5384 meters, CR68.2/126; Women’s blue, CR77.0/146 and Women’s red, CR74.4/140.
Visitor green fee: Affiliated R350, Non-affiliated R500, and Golf cart R240.
Course designer: Bob Grimsdell 1979.
Contact details: 053 050 5727, www.sishengolfclub.co.za
To view the 2021 rankings: https://satop100courses.com/the-top-100-by-ranking/
Source: Stuart McLean
