Situated in Lower Houghton and surrounded by the leafy suburb of Norwood, Houghton Golf Club has hosted the South African Open eight times since 1951. The European Tour used the venue for the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and this is one of Johannesburg’s outstanding golf courses.

In 1926, Mr. A. M. Copland, the club’s first professional, did a fantastic job of designing and laying out the course on a densely treed, undulating piece of land. Ponds and dams are features of the course and an abundance of flowering shrubs, exotic plantlife, indigenous trees and all kinds of birdlife provide great variety and colour that make your round an extremely pleasing visual experience.

At lengths of 6542 metres from the championship tees and a more friendly 6135 metres from the club tees, Houghton offers a tough but fair challenge to players of all levels. AÂ mouthwatering selection of four par fives, ten par fours and four picturesque par threes await the discerning golfer who is fortunate enough to play this stunning championship layout. Perfectly manicured fairways, shaped by bands of kikuyu semi and fescue rough are framed by tall and majestic trees which make accuracy from the tee an absolute must if golfers are to safely navigate their way around this fine parkland golf course. Straight hitting will be rewarded with the chance to hit everything from metal wood, long, medium and short irons into well guarded targets with water being a major factor on quite a few of these already challenging holes. Once there, the large, fast and undulating USGA Spec Bentgrass greens require good reading skills and an extremely smooth putting stroke.

Always rated in the top ten courses of South Africa, Houghton is a great test of golf, and its comfortable clubhouse with excellent bar, restaurant and conference facilities is serviced by a highly efficient and friendly staff who like to see their guests enjoying long cold sundowners in the clubhouse or on the outdoor patio which offers stunning views of the golf course in idyllic, tranquil settings and creates the perfect ambience for a tough, challenging but ultimately satisfying nineteenth hole!

Review by William Wilson of Egoli Golf