Kambaku

If you don’t have the budget to play Leopard Creek but would love a round in similar bushveld terrain, then view elephants and hippo from the clubhouse deck, you should head along the N4 from Malelane to the unique Kambaku course, in the railway town of Komatipoort, on the border with Mozambique. It’s 450 kilometres from Johannesburg.

Kambaku opened in 2006 as a 9-hole course, but today has evolved into a hybrid layout where golfers can enjoy 14 different holes with 11 separate greens. The new routing will take effect on October 14 2023. One green will in future be used as a par 4 (No 4) and later as a par 3 (No 14), golfers approaching it from different directions. Another green is shared between a dogleg left par 4 (No 7) and later a dogleg right par 5 (No 16).

There are only four holes which look and play similarly on each of the two nines. One of them is a spectacular new short par 4 with an island green on the banks of the Crocodile River, designed and built by Harry van Dyk. It has quickly become one of Kambaku’s signature holes after opening in 2023. It is the penultimate hole on each nine, and has one of the biggest teeing areas in Africa, some 65 metres long. And raised high above the river.

Kambaku has a fabulous clubhouse to complement the course, with an outside deck looking down on the wide reaches of the Crocodile River, where you can enjoy a plate of Tiger prawns with your chilled bottle of white wine.

The course is in a forest of impressively sturdy and imposing bushveld trees, which feature prominently in the design of each hole. It is in magnificent condition for what is essentially a country layout – cynodon grass from tee to green, a beautiful lush playing surface.

Kambaku lies on the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati rivers, and several holes overlook water, offering frequent sightings of wildlife. The hybrid layout has five par 5s, five par 3s, and eight par 4s. Three of the par 3s are only played once. The exception is Kambaku’s closing hole, a 150-metre par 3 which serves as No 9 and No 18.

Inland from the rivers the club created a signature tee box which enhances the Kambaku experience for golfers. On the highest point of the property an extra-high tee was built in reinforced concrete, where golfers overlook the forest canopy and the Komati River. From this outlook you first play to the green of the par-3 third, and the second time around tee off in another direction, downhill to the short par-4 12th, with tall trees as hazards in the middle of the fairway.

Winter is the best time to visit Kambaku, as it is remains warm and ideal for golf without the summer humidity. The club’s annual tournament takes place in July.