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Emfuleni

Vanderbijlpark - Gauteng

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Club captains: Aldo Grobbelaar & Dalene Lategan
Chairman: Andre Brisley
Greenkeeper: Fanyan Motaung
CRITERIA SUMMARY: Total points 62.8 out of 100
Conditioning13.3 / 20
Playability12.4 / 20
Aesthetics10.0 / 15
Design Variety9.8 / 15
Shot Values8.2 / 15
Memorability9.1 / 15

Course Summary

Four tees / Par 72

Yellow 6518 metres, CR72.9/134
White 6204 metres, CR71.5/129
Blue  5642 metres, CR68.4/122
Red 5349 metres, CR66.8/116
Women’s blue, CR74.5/139
Women’s red, CR72.8/134

Visitor Green Fee

Affiliated
R215 Mon-Tues-Thurs
R225 Wed-Friday
R280 Weekend
Non-affiliated
R245 & R280 & R330
Golf cart R400

Course designer

Bob Grimsdell 1948

Contact

016 932 3370
proshop@emfulenigolfestate.com
www.emfulenigolfestate.com

Previous ranking

98 (2023)

Emfuleni is a scenic and enjoyable parkland course near the Vaal River south of Johannesburg which has happily been restored to its former quality after years of neglect by an uncaring owner which forced it to close, even though it was part of a golf estate development.

In 2017 the estate home owners association appointed Timeless Golf to resurface the greens with bent grass, repair the bunkers and generally get the tree-lined course back into a presentable shape.

Iscor built the course for its employees when the industrial Vaal Triangle area was developed after the Second World War, with Bob Grimsdell as the designer. Emfuleni was soon being compared favourably to Maccauvlei 17 kilometres away on the other bank of the Vaal River, and hosted major amateur events in the late 1950s and early 1960s. But while Maccauvlei has beautiful river views, the Vaal is hidden from view at Emfuleni.

In the early years of the new millennium the property was redeveloped as a residential estate, and Golf Data were tasked with building six new holes, three on each nine, and upgrading the other 12.

Sean Quinn was the designer, and he has retained the look and character of the old Emfuleni on an estate where the houses are not intrusive. Modern greens make a difference. The sixth is an excellent par 5, with water fronting a narrow green, and that’s followed by an attractive short par 3 over a pond. There’s a stream on the back nine which comes into play on the dogleg par-5 tenth, the shortish par-4 11th, and par-3 12th.

The Sunshine Tour held the Emfuleni Classic in 2000, won by Des Terblanche.

Read: KATBERG, ORKNEY & EMFULENI JOIN TOP 100

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

62 by Christo Roos (twice) in 2023; Vernon van der Walt in 2021

CLUB CHAMPIONS

2023 Marnus Blignaut
2022 Jacques Marais
2021 Jeandre Pretorius & Olivia Tait
2020 Jaco van Aswegen & Diana Kadwell
2019 Vernon van der Walt

CONSECUTIVE ACES

Former Emfuleni club pro Marthinus van Staden and club member Graham Hardy were partners in a betterball competition on September 24, 1997. Van Staden holed out with a 9-iron on the 146-metre seventh, called The Duckpond, and Hardy’s shot with a wedge followed him in for another ace.

Practice Facility

Range in front of the clubhouse, between the tenth and 18th fairways.

Feature Holes

Emfuleni has several attractive par 3s and par 5s, and strong par 4s. Water is in play on all the short holes. Three have hazards guarding the green, while the 12th has a stream right of the green. There are back-to-back par 5s on 9 and 10, and the round finishes with the 524-metre 18th. The third is a 471-metre par 4 from the back tees.

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Course Reviews
I have played at Emfuleni for more than 15 years and seen how much the course has improved lately. It is comparable as a pleasant experience to other good courses I have played such as Eye of Africa, Umhlali, The Woods at Mount Edgecombe, Eagle Canyon and Glendower. Its ranking could be better. Emfuleni is top value for its green fee.
Bryan Munro
11 March 2025
Emfuleni has improved so much the past year. New cart paths and a huge amount of work on the gardens. Course is better manicured.
Kim Greeff
04 March 2025
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Conditioning has improved immensely after the rains, looking neat approaching the club championships. Greens roll true, although there is some damage to them. Rough is being maintained again with the better weather and available machinery. New staff in the pro shop, and a course marshall during peak times to ensure good pace of play. Course is becoming busy at weekends, so tee times need to be booked in advance.
Aldo Grobbelaar
26 February 2025
The course is in excellent condition, improving greatly over the past two years. But the tee boxes are a weak link and lacking in comparison with the rest of the facility. And the distances between red, blue and white tees are unacceptable, all being on the same tee box in some cases.
Thinus Steyn
26 February 2025
One of the best parkland courses in the lower part of the rankings. It wouldn't take much extra maintenance work to elevate Emfuleni higher up, because the layout comes with a variety of cleverly designed holes. However, presentation of each hole is not particularly good. How can the club allow the attractive par-3 fourth hole -- I like the varying tee options here -- to be ruined by the ridiculous growth of reeds in the artificial dam before the green. From the right tee box you cannot see the green they are so high. There shouldn't be any vegetation in this dam. It's not a wetland. The rough around some greens is long and untidy. This is a course which could do with knowledgeable attention.
Dieter ten Haag
02 February 2025
Those golfers who remember Bob Grimsdell's original Emfuleni still prefer that 18 to the new estate layout, but this is nevertheless a very good redesign by Golf Data taking into account the wishes of the estate developer. The tree-lined fairways and water hazards retain something of the old look, and this is a terrific challenge for members. The Golf Data greens, with their subtle slopes and ledges, are certainly more interesting than the old ones. Emfuleni is a course where I struggled to find a dull hole, although the par-5 18th (524) might be one in comparison to all the variety before it. It has a featureless long fairway. The rough has been deliberately thickened, particularly close to greens, to increase the difficulty factor, but being kikuyu there was an element of untidiness. The dam fronting the par-5 sixth green has been repaired and cleared of vegetation, and this is the first of three attractive 5s at 6-9-10 which each play the exact same distance from the yellow tees. The range now has undercover bays.
Stuart McLean
26 January 2025
The course has got better and better on my visits the last few years. Every time I get the chance to play Emfuleni, some form of renovation has taken place. Joy to play.
Ethan van Wyk
16 December 2024
Staff are continuously working on the landscape around the course. Cart paths upgraded on every hole. Tee boxes looking good. Friendly and welcoming atmosphere at clubhouse. Locker rooms revamped, and The Iron is a top restaurant/halfway house in clubhouse.
Alheit du Toit
28 November 2023
Emfuleni is back in the Top 100 and a relatively short drive from Johannesburg. The course follows a varied routing in a residential estate. The par 3s are a key feature, with both 7 and 17 fun to play. Scoring opportunities are presented on the par 5s which are short by Highveld standards. In contrast, the par-4 third (stroke 1) is a brute at 471m off the back tees. Other strong holes are encountered on the stretch from 13 to 15, all low stroke tree-lined par 4s. Playing off the back tees (gold) is a good test and yet not overwhelming for the club golfer. The service, atmosphere and offering at the Iron Restaurant in the clubhouse is very good. Emfuleni represents value for money, with good greens and welcoming staff. It is worth taking the time to play this Bob Grimsdell design.
Jon James
08 February 2023
Most heartening to see how Emfuleni continues to flourish since its rehabilitation after years of neglect. It is an excellent layout with a wide variety of interesting holes, and in particularly good condition. Being south of Johannesburg in the Vaal Triangle, you could describe it as a forgotten gem. This is scenic parkland golf within a quiet residential estate, the housing only noticeably intruding when you reach the tee of No 16, a short dogleg left par 4. The back nine is beautifully wooded, and there's a stream that impacts Nos 10, 11 and 12, a superbly designed trio of holes. There's much to like here, in the quality of the greens complexes, the strength of the dangerous par 3s, and the risk-reward element of four differently shaped par 5s. The sixth is a daunting par 5 through an avenue of trees, with water short of the green. There's a striking balance and flow to the course from 1 to 18 which is most appealing.
Stuart McLean
19 December 2022
Enjoy the course which I find an easy layout to play. With smart course management you can score well.
Aldo Grobbelaar
31 March 2022
Emfuleni has recovered from rock bottom to one of the most attractive courses in the southern part of Gauteng. This old course today lies within a golf estate yet for many years was owned by an outside individual who treated its conditioning with contempt. The home owners rescued it five years ago and those who don't know Emfuleni will be surprised at what a gem this is. It contains an abundance of excellent holes and superb design variety between the two nines. Quality greens. The front nine is more open off the tee, while the scenic back nine's holes are framed tightly by tall trees. I liked the par 5s which are all over 500 metres, particularly Nos 9 and 10, a signature hole as it undulates and doglegs left to a hidden green. A stream crosses the fairway and passes the left side of the green. Water hazards feature on all four of the attractive par 3s.
Stuart McLean
18 March 2022
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