Green 6710 metres, CR73.9/146
White 6123 metres, CR70.5/139
Blue 5897 metres, CR69.3/135
Red 4930 metres, CR63.7/119
Women’s blue, CR75.7/147
Women’s red, CR69.8/134
Affiliated
R800 Tues-Thurs: R1 140 Friday-Sunday
Non-affiliated
R1 130 Tues-Thurs: R1 400 Friday-Sunday
Includes share of a golf cart and halfway house meal
Course closed Mondays
*Affiliated golfers who book accommodation through Highland Gate Accommodation will get 15% off green fees.
Ernie Els 2011
087 287 4652 or 087 287 4653
www.highlandgate.co.za
21 (2023), 18 (2022) & 16 (2021)
Highland Gate is one of South Africa’s newest courses, a spectacular one too which fully embraces the beautiful landscape of our country. It occupies a unique setting in a scenic mountain valley in the Drakensberg escarpment of Mpumalanga. The Ernie Els signature design provides adrenalin-pumping high altitude golf away from the beaten track.
At a height of some 2000 metres above sea level it is thought to be the highest Top 100 course in South Africa. Nearby Dullstroom is regarded as the highest town at 2076 metres.
It’s a destination that for a long time looked as if it might never happen. With the golf estate industry in decline in 2010, this residential development did not look promising. It was in the remote highveld, 18 kilometres from Dullstroom, at the end of a bumpy farm road that could only be described as torturous in any vehicle barring a bakkie. But then came along Ernie Els and his team to design and build a fabulous course, followed by Century Property Developments buying Highland Gate, building a superb tar access road, and relaunching it in 2015 as a getaway destination for outdoor enthusiasts. It is 2½ hours on good roads from both O R Tambo Airport and Pretoria.
Highland Gate has glorious views, bracing mountain air, and a golf course that is fun to play with generously wide fairways. With one exception though. The par-5 14th, one of Ernie’s signature holes, is the tightest driving hole on the course, with a stream running down the right side of the hole, and thick veld grass guarding the left side. It’s an expansive and creative design, with continuous changes in elevation, providing a rich variety of holes to enjoy. The first nine returns to the clubhouse, and ends with a special downhill par 4 which doglegs left around a large dam.
The topography means that nearly all golfers use carts. Most of the course is walkable, but there is a long climb on the back nine from the 14th green up to the par-3 15th tee, and then again to the 16th tee.
65, Jared Harvey, 2022 Vodacom Origins
One of the best vistas on the course comes early in the round, at the beautiful par-4 fourth, 404 metres from the club tees. Mountain views abound as you tee off high above a green fairway which doglegs to the left. The back nine has some great risk-and-reward holes, starting with the par-5 11th where the fairway plunges steeply downhill to a narrow green fronted by a stream. The green of the 298m par-4 12th is in reach for most golfers, being played from a tee high on a ridge, but trouble lurks around the green.
Excellent wide and spacious uphill range close to first tee.
Highland Gate Lodge and Greenside Manor inside the estate, plus houses to rent. See Highland Gate website. Other options in Dullstroom, 18 kilometres away.
1/ Course designer Ernie Els first visited the site in 2005 and he loves the location. “It reminds me of Gleneagles in the Scottish Highlands. The expansive views seem to go on forever.”
2/ There are three flyfishing dams on the Highland Gate estate. Charming Dullstroom, the highest town in South Africa at 2100 metres, is known as South Africa’s premier flyfishing destination, with a good selection of well-stocked dams and natural flyfishing on the Waterfalls River.
3/ The double-storey clubhouse overlooking the par-5 18th green and its water hazard has the Flycatcher Restaurant. There’s a lounge and TV bar.
4/ The 700-hectare estate, of which only 30 percent will be developed, offers a variety of mountain bike trails, plus hiking, bird watching and trout fishing.
2023 Willoughby Bloem
2022 Henco Marais
2021 Tiekie du Plessis
2020 Henco Marais
2019 Marcel Scholtz
Conditioning RatingsFacility RatingsHighland Gate is in consistently good condition from my experiences over the years, and the course is a joy to play. There was a big group there the day I played, so obtaining golf carts were a challenge, but the staff made a plan. The only weak hole I find is the par-3 17th, which doesn't match the other short holes.
A great getaway venue for groups who can stay on the estate at one of the houses in the Highland Gate rental pool. Golfers will appreciate the excellent, well-conditioned rolling nature of the course, and get to choose tee box variations that offer a challenge to all handicaps.
Playing Highland Gate, you think you are in the Highlands of Scotland. A gem of a course that was much needed in this area between Gauteng and the Lowveld of Mpumalanga. Spectacular vistas and superb conditioning. I was most impressed with the course marshall Ferdi Kukard, whose job cannot be easy keeping golfers happy and maintaining a good pace of play. People like Ferdi make a difference to the enjoyment of golfers when it comes to the total golf experience.
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