97

Jackal Creek

Honeydew - Gauteng

Played this course? Review it now
General manager: Ashley Roestoff
Club captains: Gary Corns & Soraya Pandor
Owner: Elize Bennet (Montagu Property Group)
Greenkeeper: Kleinbooi Masemene (Matko Group)
CRITERIA SUMMARY: Total points 62.1 out of 100
Conditioning13.0 / 20
Playability12.8 / 20
Aesthetics9.4 / 15
Design Variety9.6 / 15
Shot Values8.2 / 15
Memorability9.1 / 15

Course Summary

Four tees / Par 72

Yellow, 6540 metres, CR73.2/141
White, 6178 metres, CR71.3/137
Blue, 5554 metres, CR68.3/122
Red, 5051 metres, CR65.7/113
Women’s blue, CR73.8/137
Women’s red, CR70.8/131

Visitor green fee

R290 weekday affiliated
R430 weekend affiliated
R350 & R490 non-affiliated
Golf cart R430

Course designer

DDV Design Group, 2010
Ashley Roestoff Golf, 2017

Contact

010 880 3999
proshop@jackalcreek.co.za
www.jackalcreek.co.za

Previous ranking

New entry

Jackal Creek is one of Gauteng’s newer courses, opened for play in March 2010 as part of the unique Jackal Creek golf estate in Honeydew which combines modern apartment lockup-and-go living with 164 hectares of open space provided by an 18-hole golf course designed by Douw van der Merwe.

The name of the estate originates from the packs of black-backed jackals to be seen on the property, living at various dens, including one on the 18th. They have always been in the area and come and go as they please. Wits University have studied the jackals and keep regular checks on them.

The course, with bent grass greens and kikuyu fairways, has a unique bushveld feel to it, notably on the back nine. There are numerous elevation changes, rolling fairways, strategic bunkering, water hazards and large greens. Most golfers use carts as it is a difficult walk.

There is quite a discrepancy in length and strength between the two nines. Jackal Creek opens with two long holes, a 558-metre par 5 and 453-metre par 4. With two more par 5s on the front nine, this is a lengthy nine at 3462 metres from the yellow tees (par 37), almost 400 metres longer than a relatively shortish back nine.

The second nine has one par 5, the 537-metre 18th, although this is one of the most challenging holes on the course, a tight drive to a fairway curving right steeply uphill alongside a stream to an elevated green fronted by a water hazard.

From the club white tees, the back nine is only 2846 metres, with five shortish par 4s. There is a 128-metre par 3 (No 7), attractively set in a small quarry, and downhill 203-metre par 3 (No 15).

Upgrades were done by Ashley Roestoff Golf in 2017. Former Sunshine Tour professional Roestoff is the general manager and golf director.

The course was re-routed to provide a better balance of holes. The first six holes remained unchanged, thereafter the sequence was changed to get the ninth hole close to the clubhouse, so that the halfway house could operate out of the clubhouse. Some holes were lengthened, others shortened. There were 21 bunkers removed, leaving 76 in play.

The clubhouse is a contemporary design, unique to South African golf clubs. A restaurant and bar extends on to a balcony overlooking the 18th green with views of the distant Magaliesberg range. There are running trails on the estate, a gym, and squash and tennis courts. The membership has remained steady at 420 for the past five years.

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

69 by Gareth Willing in March 2023 club championships.

Practice Facility

No range, only a short-game area and hitting nets. There is an indoor teaching academy with Flight Scope, including a fitment and repair centre. Junior clinics and group lessons are available.

Accommodation

Blueberry Hill is a boutique business hotel five kilometres drive (adjoining Eagle Canyon golf estate). It offers 65 rooms, conferencing and luxury apartments, with sweeping 360-degree views of the Magaliesberg and Johannesburg skyline.

Club Champions

2023 Gareth Willing & Soraya Pandor
2022 Henri Kruger & R Mokgatle
2021 Pieter Nel & S Rice
2020 Stefano Marchetti & R Hodgkin
2019 Stefano Marchetti & Retha Poorter

Course and Facilities Rating
blankConditioning Ratings
Greensblankblankblankblankblank
Bunkersblankblankblankblankblank
Teesblankblankblankblankblank
Fairwaysblankblankblankblankblank
Presentationblankblankblankblankblank
Overall Conditioningblankblankblankblankblank
blankFacility Ratings
Pace of Playblankblankblankblankblank
Practice Facilityblankblankblankblankblank
Halfway Houseblankblankblankblankblank
Pro Shopblankblankblankblankblank
Serviceblankblankblankblankblank
Locker Roomblankblankblankblankblank
19th Holeblankblankblankblankblank
Course Etiquetteblankblankblankblankblank
Course Reviews
Amazing course and great presentation. Really enjoyed playing here.
Lunga Zonke
27 March 2024
Enjoyable and testing layout. Course management is important as well as putting on quick sloping greens. Bunkers could use work, but fairways and greens are lovely. Fantastic service and a relaxing atmosphere at the 19th.
Jeandre Ludick
19 February 2024
blank
View more reviews
My first round here was a pleasant surprise with the course in excellent shape and greens rolling true. Many interesting holes with varied greens complexes. We enjoyed the fun short holes. The par 3s make excellent use of the natural undulating terrain and reward accuracy and placement over brute strength. Jackal Creek is not a bombers paradise which is a welcome change for Gauteng. We often took irons off the tee. The course has been opened up to enhance playability and I enjoyed the risk-reward nature of the holes. The opening and closing holes are longish par 5s which get your attention. Demanding off the tee and with well-guarded greens they memorably bookend the course. Jackal Creek should be knocking on the Top 100 door, with conditioning and design variety to match many in Gauteng.
Jon James
05 February 2024
Jackal Creek is an adventurous and fun kind of course which should be more widely recognised. It's in an attractive bushveld setting, and once you get through the opening par 5 you never feel as if you're playing within a large residential estate. There's ample trees, bush and vegetation around to conceal the wildlife. I've been disappointed never to have seen any of the jackals which have dens on the property. The hilly terrain (cart course) means an interesting variety of highly playable holes. The start has a tough stretch through No 4, so I was surprised at the number of shortish 4s off the white tees (6178 metres) on the back nine where I hit wedge approaches at 10-11-13-17 and would have done at 16 (305) but for laying up with an iron off the tee. The greens are an impressive feature of the layout, superbly designed and sizeable most of them. However, they were not built to USGA specs, and some areas have subsided, limiting pin positions. Great finishing hole. An uphill 518m par 5 with a hazard guarding the right side of the fairway and then crossing in front of the green.
Stuart McLean
05 January 2024
Jackal Creek is a hidden gem in Gauteng.
Michael Rosenmann
25 May 2023
Jackal Creek, thanks to improved maintenance in the last two years with its outsourcing to Matkovich Group, is a vastly more pleasant layout to play. The Matko team have cleared out bushy areas and exposed more of the rocks and granite that are part of the rugged landscape. I like undulating terrain on a course and this delivers prodigiously in that department. There is not one flat hole; all 18 have an elevation change from tee to green. This can mean some awkward sloping lies, so it is a course at which low-handicaps will feel more comfortable. Happily, the downhill holes outnumber the uphill holes. It is part of a large residential estate, yet from the seventh hole onwards you move into attractive bushveld surroundings, and it stays that way until 17 and 18. Playability has been improved with the removal of more than 20 bunkers that cramped tee shots.
Stuart McLean
23 May 2023
Submit Your Review & Ratings

HAVE YOU PLAYED Jackal Creek RECENTLY?

If you've played this course recently, why not tell us all about it? Follow the link to our review section, complete our grading criteria and give us some details on your experience. If selected, your review will appear amongst the course’s collection of player reviews.

Course Location