South Africa Golf Guide: Hans Merensky Estate & Golf Club

The resort

Accommodation:
Set in the Valley of the Olifants and bordering Kruger National Park, the Hans Merensky Estate is an oasis of both adventure and elegance. Its cool ambience is created by beautifully landscaped gardens, large trees, traditional thatching and gorgeous water features. The estate is home to the world's largest thatched property which is designed in keeping with the original bushveld theme. There are strict eco-guidelines to prevent introduction of alien plants and to ensure that the lodges blend aesthetically into their surrounds.

The estate offers a wonderful range of accommodation to complete your wildlife experience. There are fifteen rooms in the main hotel, all facing the pool, and twenty delightfully designed Garden Rooms, also close to the main hotel. Around the 1st tee and 18th holes are the chalets - large rooms with luxury facilities designed purposefully to blend into their environment and complement the landscape. If you want to push the boat out, stay in one of the Estate Lodges, beautiful and opulent thatched properties with up to four en-suite bedrooms, kitchen, a huge lounge and their own private pool and deck - perfect for an evening braii (barbecue).

You can also stay at Olifants River Bush Lodge, the estate's private game lodge, about 20 to 30 minutes from the estate by jeep. On the edge of the Olifants River, the lodge offers five private huts for two guests. They are well designed but there is no television and you won't get a signal on your cell phone. This is tranquility personified - a beautiful spot to watch the sunset with the sound and smell of a traditional Afrikaans braii crackling in the background. Meals are prepared on an open fire in a traditional boma (enclosure). The raised desk overlooking the river is the ideal place to have your sundown drinks whilst watching the sunset and crowds of wild animals quenching their thirst. On a good evening you can see any number of the "Big Five" as well as a host of other smaller inquisitive animals. Your guide is Greg Austin, a fantastic character who has a vast knowledge of the bush and many fascinating stories.

A giraffe strolls along the fairway on the Hans Merensky Course

Background to the course

Architect:
Bob Grimsdell, 1967

Type: Bushveld

Landscape:
Covers a vast area of indigenous bush interspersed with tranquil pools and velvet greens.

Club House:
The 19th hole at Hans Merensky is more tree-house than clubhouse, and it's all built in wood. It's a great spot for lunch or a cocktail or two.

Pro Shop:
When you get to the Pro Shop, ask for Sean Pappas, the Director of Golf. He is a mine of knowledge and will help you with any of your golfing needs. The shop is well stocked with all the latest gear.

Course Facts:
- Originally established by the Phalaborwa Mining Company, this "safari" course has the lure of bumping into any of the 'Big Five', right on the golf course. Fortunately, your chances of running in to a lion, hippo, buffalo, elephant or leopard are slim, as the experienced rangers check the golf course every morning to ensure that the more dangerous visitors have slipped quietly back to their sanctuary in the Kruger National Park. Of course there is a good chance that certain water loving mammals will observe your approach to Hippo Hollow on the 17th. The course is also home to an abundance of more timid wildlife such as giraffe, zebra, impala, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, alpacas and a wide variety of birds, which can be seen on the edge of the fairways.
- The club has been dominated by one family for the last three decades. The Pappas are all exceptional golfers, especially Merensky's Director of Golf, Sean Pappas - a former US PGA Tour player. His two brothers still compete on the PGA tour. Sean became known as 'Mr 59', following an astounding round in Kentucky in 1989. His father, Leon, who ran the club before him, is also a talented golfer and legendary raconteur who has hundreds of stories and photographs of encounters with the animals at Hans Merensky.

Playing the course

Hans Merensky offers the adventure golfer a unique experience, with the emphasis on adventure. There's some pretty wild things in residence on the course. There are water hazards, full of crocodiles and hippos, that you really should not try to fish your ball from, and bush that you should think twice about before venturing in to find any wayward balls.

At 6,164 meters, this is a championship course to test the accuracy and course management skills of any golfer. Currently rated 18th in South Africa, this course was built with conservation in mind using the existing topography and bush growth. This results in ten holes having a dog-leg shape, to varying degrees.

There are up hill and down hill holes, but none have a particularly steep gradient. Apart from playing in the searing mid day heat, the only danger in expending too much energy here is running away (not recommended by the rangers) from any wild animals that may take umbrage to a hooked shot entering their hang out within this beautiful course.

Course view (click for enlargement)

Score card

Address:
Club Road, Phalaborwa, 1390, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Phone number:
00 27 15 781 3931

Website:
www.hansmerensky.com

Course and length:
One 18-hole course (6127 meters, Par 72 from the Championship Tees)

Dress code:
Shorts allowed with socks above the ankle. Players must have a collared shirt.

Tee times:
6am to 4pm

Handicap:
Certificate required

Green fees:
9 holes: R200 ($35), 18 holes R350 ($61)

Other costs:
Caddies are R50 ($9) for 9 holes, R85 ($15) for 18 holes. Buggies are R100 ($17) for 9 holes, R180 ($31) for 18 holes.

Facilities:
There's plenty of car parking around the hotel and lodges have their own driveways and garages. There is a main hotel swimming pool and bar. Larger lodges have their own swimming pools. The Leadwood Restaurant, open for breakfast and dinner, serves excellent food.

Location:
By road, the estate is well signed from Phalaborwa Airport two miles away, which offers daily flights to Johannesburg International Airport with SA Airlink. The estate offers complimentary transfers for up to seven guests. It will take 5 ½ hours for the more scenic road option driving from Jo'burg. Drive north on Route 1 from Jo'burg to Polokwane. From there, head east to Phalaborwa.

More information

Adventure Golf: South Africa