Kloof Country Club

Kloof - KwaZulu-Natal

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General manager: Pam Maybery
Golf operations manager & PGA pro: Ryan Welsh
Greenkeeper: Christian Gumede (Matko)
Club captain: Gordon Rechner
Chairman: Steve Ashforth
President: Simon Chetwynd-Palmer

Course Summary

Three tees / Par 70

Yellow 5812 metres, CR70.3/124
White 5634 metres, CR69.6/122
Red 5076 metres, CR66.4/115
Women’s white, CR76.0/129
Women’s red, CR72.3/123

Visitor green fee

Affiliated R440 weekday,
R465 weekend
Non-affiliated R595

Course designer

Tom Field 1926,
Colonel SV Hotchkin 1929

Contact

031 764 1492
golfops@kloofcc.co.za
www.kloofcc.co.za

Kloof Country Club enjoys a beautiful setting inland from Durban in the hills. The rolling terrain makes for one of the hillier courses in KwaZulu-Natal, with major elevation changes throughout the 18 holes. Features of the course include a cricket field adjoining the par-5 17th hole, a par-3 finishing hole in front of the clubhouse, and a par of 70.

The club was founded in 1926 with a 9-holer and was extended into an 18-hole course in 1929 on the strength of a design by the respected English course architect Colonel Stafford Vere Hotchkin, who was visiting South Africa to design a links at Humewood in Port Elizabeth. He was subsequently in such demand that he consulted on redesign work at Kloof and Durban CC, Maccauvlei and Royal Johannesburg, Mowbray and East London.

It’s difficult to know which are original Hotchkin holes, as the club has subsequently used Bob Grimsdell in the 1950s and Peter Matkovich in the 1990s for further alterations and improvements to the layout.

The parkland course begins with an attractive downhill par 4 framed by tall trees, and the front nine, due to the steepness of the terrain, is unusual in only measuring 2 741 metres. There are three par 3s in the first six holes, two uphill par 5s, and two adventurous short par 4s.

The front nine at Kloof invariably produces sub-par golf from good players, and one of the more remarkable rounds took place in July 2006 when Bradley Grant had three consecutive eagles. He holed a bunker shot for 3 at the fifth, aced the sixth with a 6-iron, and then hit an 8-iron close at the uphill par-5 seventh for a tap-in 3.

The back nine has several outstanding holes, beginning with the 441-metre par-4 tenth which doglegs right towards the Kloof Gorge. The last six holes beginning at No 13 are all challenging and varied in design.

The Kloof badge is that of a leopard, which used to be found here in earlier years. Two greens are built close to the edge of the Kloof Gorge, where there’s a sheer 200-metre drop to the valley floor. Being at that height above sea level Kloof has its own microclimate – the course was the first in KZN to have bent grass greens – and it can get cool and misty. There’s a story of a Kloof member playing with a visitor on a misty day, and taking a practice swing on a tee in the direction of the Gorge. After apologising for almost playing out of turn, he said “It’s your tee.” The visitor then proceeded to launch his ball into the depths of the Gorge.

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

64 by club member Mark Cox in 2003
KZN Champion of Champions.

THE CADDIE CONNECTION

Two famous South African caddies have been members of Kloof: Glen Murray, who worked for many years for Sergio Garcia, and Greg Hearmon, who carried Retief Goosen’s bag when he won his first US Open in 2001. Sergio played at Kloof while holidaying with Glen after their 2003 victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City. Murray has donated interesting memorabilia hanging on the walls of the club’s attractive 19th hole.

Club Champions

2021 Michael Sim &
2020 Ruben van der Burg & Sue Hipkin
2019 Malcolm Mitchell & Georgie Nolden

BACK-TO-BACK ACES

When Kloof hosted the Dale Hayes Junior Classic in July 2009, two top KZN juniors, Martin Rohwer and Leorin Pillay, holed out for aces with consecutive shots on the par-3 sixth hole. This is thought to be a first in a tournament in South Africa.

Did You Know

1/ Kloof has been home to the KZN Champion of Champions tournament for 50 years. It’s a gathering of all the men’s and women’s A division club champions from around the province. Originally it was for men only, and the idea for the first tournament in 1972 came from a past Kloof captain, Des Hamilton. David Suddards won a record five titles. The women’s event began in 1977, and Tiffany Avern-Taplin won it eight times in 10 outings from 2004 to 2014. The men’s tournament patron is Tim Clark, who won the title in 1994.

2/ Kloof hosted SA Open Qualifying prior to the 2005 championship at Durban CC. The winning total was 6-under 134 by Alex Baillie. The club hosted the 2015 SA Women’s Amateur won by Carrie Park. Home club member Brittney-Fay Berger had a 68 in qualifying, and reached the semifinals of the matchplay.

3/ Kloof CC is in a nature conservancy area, and the property is a haven for bird watchers. A wide variety of birdlife includes Woolly Necked Storks, African Hoopoes and Crested Barbets.

4/ This is a proper country club, with a cricket oval, tennis and squash courts, and a swimming pool. A popular venue for weddings and functions.

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Course Reviews
Good course even for an inconsistent player. Attractive scenery.
Jonathan Moore
20 January 2024
Challenging and unforgiving off the fairways but oh so beautiful a course.
Andre James
31 January 2023
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Always a pleasure to play here as all aspects of conditioning are generally very good. Course is by modern standards a bit on the short side. But this is compensated for by the clever use of water hazards and the large clusters of trees throughout the course which give it a beautiful park-like setting.
Trevor King
26 January 2022
Course was fairly quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Enjoyed the smart clubhouse facilities. Quaint traditional pub with interesting memorabilia. Beautiful cricket field ringed by trees adds to the attractive aesthetics of the property. A hilly course, though only the uphill par-5 seventh is on the extreme side, and the undulations contribute enormously to the variety and enjoyment of the holes. The front nine played short, but the back nine was a good test. Some of the greens had interesting slopes.
Thomas Souness
20 November 2021
Kloof is a former Top 100 course. It spent nine consecutive years from 2001 to 2009 in the Golf Digest Top 100 rankings (best position was 75), and it remains an enjoyable and interesting course to play, in good condition too. The hilly nature of the layout means you are usually playing downhill or uphill throughout the round. The par-4 first plummets steeply downhill and around a corner to the green, an excellent opener. The par 3s, and there are five of them, are about the only flat holes. The back nine has the best holes, and the tenth, 14th and 16th are outstanding par 4s.
Stuart McLean
07 May 2021
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