Special Places - Leopard Creek

Lee Westwood showed why he has risen to world number one as he lapped a star-studded field in glorious weekend weather at Africa’s Major at Sun City, whilst the California skies rained on Tiger Woods’ parade, as Graeme McDowell and his hot putter overcame a four shot final round deficit to win the Chevron World Challenge in a playoff.

This week we look forward to the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek Country Club in Malelane, Mpumalanga. Last year there was a thrilling finish in this Sunshine Tour event co-sanctioned with the European Tour when Spain’s Pablo Martin outlasted Charl Schwartzel to claim a one shot victory at this most picturesque of venues on the southern border of the Kruger National Park. Designed by Gary Player and opened for play in 1996 Leopard Creek tops the polls for design, beauty and conditioning and is the perennial number one rated course in South Africa.

The parklands style layout meanders through trees, bush and grasslands, and has water in various forms in play on half of the holes. There is an abundance of wildlife on and around the course, including crocodiles, hippos, waterbuck, impala, giraffe and of course leopard. Watching over every tee box is a unique leopard bronze statue by world-renowned South African sculptor Dylan Lewis, who also crafts a special bronze trophy each year for the winner. This superb golf course is complemented by a majestic colonial-style clubhouse that has wonderful views out over the lake to the 9th and 18th greens.

With a length of 6600m and par 72 Leopard Creek’s kikuyu fairways and creeping bentgrass greens offer ample scoring opportunities as all four par 5s are reachable in two shots. The 505m par 5 13th is the signature hole on the course. From the elevated tee a stream bisects the fairway just short of the landing area and runs the length of the left side of the hole. The green is framed against a towering bank of the Crocodile River, with the Kruger Park beyond as a backdrop. From the 15th tee box set high above the fairway, there are spectacular views out over the course and adjacent countryside. The finishing hole is a beautifully designed downhill 495m par 5 with an island green waiting to intimidate the brave hearted.

Leopard Creek is a magnificent golf course that presents an equal measure of challenge and beauty, and offers an amazing golfing experience that is hard to match anywhere else in the world.