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Huddle Park

Johannesburg - Gauteng

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Golf manager: Grant Fourie
Greenkeeper: Christopher Guest
CRITERIA SUMMARY: Total points 62.8 out of 100
Conditioning12.6 / 20
Playability13.2 / 20
Aesthetics10.2 / 15
Design Variety9.1 / 15
Shot Values8.5 / 15
Memorability9.2 / 15

Course Summary

Four tees / Par 72

Yellow 6706 metres, CR74.1/130
White 6376 metres, CR72.7/127
Blue 6026 metres, CR70.6/126
Red 5463 metres, CR67.2/118
Women’s blue, CR77.0/140
Women’s red, CR73.2/126

Visitor Green Fee

Weekdays
R255 affiliated
R300 non-affiliated
Weekends
R400 & R500 morning
R345 & R445 afternoon

Course designer

Bob Grimsdell 1948

Contact

011 640 4456
www.huddlepark.com

Previous ranking

New to Top 100 in 2025

Annual membership

Fee is R4 941
Join a community of over 600 active golfers and gain access to various activities.

The resurrection of the Blue Course at Huddle Park has been one of the triumphant stories of South African golf. Closed for years, neglected and overgrown, this former championship layout which borders the East Course at Royal Johannesburg was rehabilitated in the last decade by businessmen David Bagg and Gordon Brews.

In 2023, Gordon Brews became the sole owner of Huddle Park. He is a grandson of Sid Brews, the eight-time South African Open champion, also a golf course architect, originally of courses such as Randpark Firethorn, Glenvista, Port Shepstone, Reading, Umdoni Park and Estcourt.

Huddle Park has become not only a popular golfing venue, it has transformed itself into a notable family-friendly asset for the community. The parkland space close to the N3 highway offers trails for cyclists, runners and dog walkers, plus Acro-branch tree top activities.

The clubhouse has been rebuilt, there’s a Crossfit gym, while golfers have a pro shop, driving range and Par-3 course to enjoy. Plus a car wash.

The Blue Course is a Bob Grimsdell design which has been restored to its former status, not given a modern upgrade. New greens and bunkers were built. It’s on undulating terrain, so there is a surprising number of uphill and downhill tree-lined holes which give the layout excellent variety and character.

The downhill 14th is a superb risk-and-reward short par 5 (439m) where a long drive sets golfers up for a second shot over a water hazard to the green.

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

63 by Rourke van der Spuy in 2015 Mauritius Open Qualifier; Jason Froneman, 2016 Big Easy Tour; Danie van Tonder, Anton Haig in 2020 Sunshine Tour Vodacom Championship Reloaded.

62 by Andre van Dyk (10 birdies) in Big Easy Tour event first round August 2023. He won on 18-under 198.

Practice Facility

There is an outstanding public range at the entrance to Huddle Park, with plenty of bays. The resident teaching pro is Steve Hutchinson, the son of SA golfing legend Denis Hutchinson.

COURSE HISTORY

Bob Grimsdell designed 54 holes at the original Huddle Park, which had the Blue, White and Yellow courses. The first was built on land purchased in 1948, the second shortly afterwards, and the third in the late 1950s.

Huddle Park hosted the first non-racial Sunshine Tour event, the November 1971 PGA Championship, where 16 black professionals were allowed to compete alongside American Lee Elder, who became the first black man invited to the Masters in 1975.

Did You Know

1/ The Blue Course is closed on Mondays.

2/ The green fee for the 9-hole Par 3 course is R60 weekdays and R70 weekends.

3/ During the 1970s the three Huddle Park courses were doing over 150 000 rounds of golf a year. The SA PGA Championship was twice held on the Blue Course in 1971 before it moved to the Wanderers in 1972.

4/ Huddle Park is home to the Golf School of Excellence and the Balderstone Sports Institute for soccer and tennis students.

5/ There is a new residential development, The Neighbourhood, and shopping centre, on land adjoining Huddle Park.

6/ Huddle Park hosted the 2017 SuperSport Ladies Challenge won by Kim Williams.

Club Champions

2025 Michael Brugman & Carolin Hardman
2024 Godwin Ubomba & Aneesah Booysen
2023 Brad Slater & Aneesah Booysen
2022 Michael Brugman & Aneesah Booysen
2021 Michael Brugman & Caron Shamley
2020 Gavin Gunter
2019 Donovan Shan & Trevlyn Boyd

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Course Reviews
Huddle Park is one of Gauteng's most underrated courses, an attractive parkland venue boasting a classic back nine. The strength and character of holes 10 to 18 is remarkable. The championship yellow tees have been reinstated at 6706 metres, and if you wish to play from the tips, you will face three strong par 4s beginning with No 8 at 446 metres, then No 10 (455), and No 18 at 429. The 18th is a fabulous conclusion, uphill towards the clubhouse, framed by tall trees. The green is left of the fairway and has a terrific tilt to it, sloping from left to right. The old Bob Grimsdell greens are a feature, containing the subtlest of slopes, and the par-5 sixth green is another beauty, where putts break sharply towards the front entrance. They are in excellent condition, quite pacy, which is how they should be played. The opening five holes at Huddle Park are underwhelming, other than the par-3 third with its water hazard, and the average quality of this front nine is odd when compared to what awaits on the back nine. The front nine holes are also in a poorer state, with rutted fairways in places. A weakness of the design is the absence of a short 4. From the white club tees the shortest 4 is the 15th at 357, and this is a tricky uphill dogleg which is stroke 2 on the card.
Stuart McLean
10 May 2025
This is old-fashioned golf, not much changed I imagine from when Bob Grimsdell designed it in the late 1940s. It would have been one of Joburg's premier courses through the 1950s to 1970s because it was a championship layout with its 10 long par 4s. It hosted two PGA Championships. Risk-reward is mostly absent though, other than at the downhill par-5 14th which has a wide stream about 30 metres short of the green. The hole is just 439 from the back tee, so a good drive will put many golfers in range of the green with their second shots. It's tempting to take it on, as the green is a wide one. The straightaway opening hole has a nice elevated tee, but this is a low-lying undistinguished area where three par 4s, No 2, No 4 and No 5, run parallel to each other without much distinction between them, even in terms of length. No 2 is 388 white, No 4 377, and No 5 is 383.
Thomas Souness
10 May 2025
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Huddle Park, next door to Royal Johannesburg, continues to improve and provide public access to the game for many golfers in a convenient location. Enjoyable and great value. It's an interesting, well-maintained and solid layout. In impressive condition, with excellent putting surfaces that roll true, ensuring a great putting experience. Tee boxes equally well-maintained, exceptional on most holes. Huddle offers a blend of risk-reward holes. Several present opportunities to attack with a bold approach, but they come with a mix of challenges. The 5s generally offer scoring opportunities, particularly 14 and 16 at 445 and 450 metres respectively from the white tees. I liked the greens complexes. The par-3 17th (160) has a superb complex offering a variety of pins for tournament play. Huddle is a fantastic example of a course making a successful comeback after closing.
Jon James
21 March 2025
What a gem this course is. The greens really impressed me. Huddle Park's maintenance crew is doing some good work. I would love to see the rest of the course improve as much as the greens have. And if there is anything I would love to see get more love it is the range. New mats are needed and rubberised standing platforms. It will make a huge difference if the facility can address this.
Ignis van der Merwe
08 December 2023
The course continues to improve. Fairways are manicured. New and improved tee boxes on many holes to make the course more challenging. However, the lack of investment into general facilities has left a sour note. There is no 19th hole. Poor change rooms and an outdated pro shop. The owners are attempting to make the entire Huddle Park property a family destination offering more than golf. Additional sports and recreation include Padel, 5-a-side soccer, mountain bike, running and walking trails, dog park and Acrobranching.
Louis Blom
27 February 2023
Huddle Park has undergone tremendous improvement in the last two years. New tee boxes have been added while the greens are among the purest in Johannesburg. The course is very playable and can be enjoyed by both newbies and more experienced players. Well worth a visit.
Louis Blom
13 December 2022

Transformation of note! Worthwhile playing as it's a different course to years ago. Still a long way to go, but heading in the right direction. Greens have come a long way.

Sandor Kovacs
18 April 2020
Beautiful course, lots of challenges but fair. Well maintained and friendly staff. I would go back.
Karen Shamash
26 February 2020
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