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Kyalami

Midrand - Gauteng

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General manager: Fred Fensham
Operations manager: Fonz Jardim
Club pro: Kyle Puttick
Greenkeeper: Etienne Coetzee (Golf Data)
Club captain: Terence van Straaten
Chairman: Dave Rappoport
CRITERIA SUMMARY: Total points 74 out of 100
Conditioning14.1 / 20
Playability15.3 / 20
Aesthetics12.5 / 15
Design Variety10.9 / 15
Shot Values10.7 / 15
Memorability10.5 / 15

Course Summary

Four tees / Par 72

Yellow 6631 metres, CR74.7/138
White 6369 metres, CR73.4/136
Blue 5761 metres, CR69.8/134
Red 5334 metres, CR67.2/130
Women’s blue, CR76.1/145
Women’s red, CR73.5/135

Visitor green fee

R300 Monday
R400 Tuesday to Friday
R625 Weekend & holidays

Course designer

Arthur Tomsett,
Koos de Beer 1955

Contact

010 594 0034
www.kyalamigolf.co.za

Previous ranking

26 (2023), 21 (2022) & 23 (2021)

Playing golf at Kyalami CC in the heart of Gauteng is a proper escape from the busy city areas into the countryside, 18 kilometres from Sandton City. It’s a rural retreat, although still substantially populated with attractive large homes. No busy roads, no sounds of traffic on the golf course, just the quiet ambience of the country air.

But Kyalami owes its high ranking not only to its attractive Aesthetics but its strong qualities as a well-designed and challenging golf course. It’s not many that can boast 18 good golf holes. Kyalami certainly does not have a weak one.

That wasn’t always the case. The course had no significant pedigree until it was upgraded in the early 1990s under the supervision of club stalwarts Brian Wilson and George Adelaine. Improvements continued throughout the next two decades, with the greens being rebuilt in 2011. In the new millennium the club committee had the vision to invest in their water storage facilities. The existing dams on the course were substantially enlarged, deepened and cleaned out. Today they provide the club with nearly 30 million litres of water.

This also brought more of these water hazards into play for golfers, which today means that water is a factor to consider on nine of the 18 holes. But the course’s true strength lies in its superb variety of testing par 4s. On the gently undulating terrain of the property, every par 4 has a unique look to it. Six of them exceed 400 metres, and two other holes, 5 and 10, play much longer than the distance on the card.

On the official opening day of the course on January 29, 1955, there was a hole-in-one by N Esra. On January 15, 1956, Bobby Locke and Australian Peter Thomson played an exhibition match as part of their SA series.

Read: BIRDLIFE FLOURISHES AT KYALAMI

Additional Course Facts

Course Record

65, Michael Faasen
Mark Hartness had a 62 in July 1987 with eight birdies and an eagle 3 on 18.

Feature Holes

Kyalami has four excellent par 3s, and few in Gauteng can be as daunting as the 186-metre third and 200m 17th. From a slightly elevated tee the third asks for a long carry over water to the green, with a bail-out area into bunkers on the right. The 17th plays longer than its distance, and has a large dam protecting the entire left side of the hole. The 560m ninth is a proper 3-shot par 5 from the back tee, where a further challenge still awaits on the sloping green.

Practice Facility

Spacious range next to clubhouse, and a large practice putting green.

Club Champions

2023 Chris Corna & Amy Fusedale

2022 Lindile Nojontsholo & Leigh Rose
2021 Stuart Elliot & Leigh Rose
2020 Chris Corna & Samantha Henry
2019 Terence van Straaten & Jo Anna Webb

Did You Know

1/ Kyalami has one of the strongest course ratings in the country, 74.7 off its back tees and 73.4 off the white club tees for men. It was a rural country club when first established, and today is situated in the equestrian heartland of Gauteng, rubbing shoulders with the horsey crowd. Bridal paths flank the course. The famous SA Lipizzaners centre is close by.

2/ Kyalami has always been a Top 50 course. No 21 is the highest it has achieved.

3/ Kyalami hosted the inaugural 4 Nation’s Cup in September 2022 between four-man teams from the PGAs of Canada (winners), Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It hosted the SA Women’s Open from 1996 to 1998, won by Laurette Maritz, Mandy Adamson and Barbara Pestana.

4/ A welcome touch in the car park is the shade cloth covering to protect vehicles from the sun.

5/ The 2020 Central Gauteng Open was won by Yurav Premlall with a 54-hole total of 16-under 200. Five players shot 66: Premlall, Werner Deyzel, Casey Jarvis, Kieron van Wyk and Josh de Aguiar.

6/ Kyalami hosted its first Sunshine Tour event in August 2024, the 54-hole Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge won by Daniel van Tonder on 14-under 202 (70-66-66). The lowest rounds were 63s by Altin van der Merwe (6 consecutive birdies from 4-9) and Lyle Rowe.

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Course Reviews
Played with club stalwart and honorary life member George Adelaine, who this year celebrates 60 years as a Kyalami member. He's served the club as captain, chairman and president. When he joined in 1964 there was hardly a tree on the course (opened 1955), and it was a long drive from his home near Johannesburg city centre on dirt roads. George estimates that he has seen to the planting of 6000 trees on the course. Those mature trees certainly add to the scenic beauty of the layout today, and the challenges. Once in the trees, best to take your medicine and play back to the fairway. Kyalami, surprisingly for a property with numerous dams and pools, has had its issues with water this past summer which has impacted on the conditioning of fairways and rough, exceptionally dry and bare. The irrigation system is antiquated, and I'm told that Kyalami is curiously in an area which receives much less rainfall than courses further south closer to Joburg.
Stuart McLean
05 June 2024
Kyalami is one of the few Gauteng courses which provides a true reflection of your handicap. It tests every part of your game and shows how good you really are as a golfer.
Melusi Moloi
15 May 2024
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One of my favourite Gauteng courses. At Kyalami you can be forgiven for thinking you are out in the country rather than close to urban areas. Several holes have greens fronted by water, and these are a pleasure to play as they are as challenging as they are scenic. Two that come to mind are the par-3 third and par-4 15th. All aspects of conditioning were up to their normal high standard.
Trevor King
01 February 2024
I often play at Kyalami. A true parkland layout that rewards hitting fairways and punishes those missing them. Not particularly long but miss a fairway and you are behind a tree. Pros: Undercover parking for the most part; friendly service; well-organised between check-in, starter and marshall. Opportunity: Tees are not well defined (perimeter cut); and bunkers can do with more sand. A great course I always recommend, with excellent service.
Ignis van der Merwe
23 November 2023
A feature of Kyalami which might go unnoticed by visitors is the abundance of tee boxes positioned throughout the course. They add to the variety of clever ways in which each hole can be set up. The golf director could have fun with a composite layout now and again. The par 3s are particularly blessed with choice, tees spaced so far apart that you approach greens from vastly contrasting angles. At No 3 with its large water hazard left of the green the normal tee has ample bailout right. But there's a tee on the left where you go directly over the water to the pin. The same applies at No 17. And No 14 has tees approaching the green from 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock. As the course firms up during winter the sloping fairways take greater effect, and present challenges as the ball bounces towards trouble. The greens are outstanding and running at a superb pace. Thankfully slower than the practice green with its treacherous slopes.
Stuart McLean
28 June 2023
Kyalami is a good test of accuracy off the tee. The tree-lined fairways are narrow by Gauteng standards – so bombing away is not a sensible option. Taking an iron off the tee is often the smart choice, with position preferred over length. The par 4s are demanding with strokes 1 (No 5) and 3 (No 8) well-shaped. The putting surfaces were excellent and running at 11 on the stimp. The bunkers have received attention and were consistent. The finishing stretch from 15-18 offers great design variety. The par-3 17th is a demanding hole with water lurking left. The finishing par 5 should present a birdie opportunity but needs to be navigated with caution as trouble lurks off the tee and for the approach. The 19th has excellent service and a relaxed setting away from the bustle of Johannesburg. Worth a weekday visit when pace of play is acceptable and the country setting idyllic.
Jon James
26 May 2023
Impossible that this course ranks so high. There are many better courses in Gauteng. We played on February 26 and the conditioning was average. Fairways must have just been cut, grass was all over the fairways. Bunkers were dismal, greens were par.
Craig Louw
08 March 2023
Kyalami is demanding off the tee. Many of the landing areas are narrow and well-guarded, with the par-4 16th a good example of how accuracy is key due to the fairway bunkers. Kyalami has seen a steady improvement in its ranking, so the expectations and benchmark is now set at that level. Unfortunately, the basics appear to have slipped, with poor tee boxes, attention to detail lacking, and the greens not running true when I played. The course is not in the condition you would expect from a Top 25 layout.
Jon James
10 January 2023
Kyalami is in great condition. The course staff had set some alternate tee placements on the feature par 3s. These tees completely change the angle to the greens at 3, 6, 14 and 16, making them almost feel like different holes. The course played well, fairways and greens were consistent and the service at the club is friendly and good. Pace of play was slow with some groups not sticking to the general timing. The marshalls were supportive though and we played through two groups at halfway.
Chris Wood
14 December 2022
There's an abundance of water at Kyalami. This course must be green all year round. It was gushing through the course on the day I played, flowing strongly from one sizeable dam to another. It's an attractive feature of what is an especially scenic parkland layout. Even with all this aqua though there are more holes without it than with it. While most of the hazards are in view, where I didn't see one was right of 18. It's up against the edge of the green, about the size of a large bunker, and not visible from the fairway on an uphill approach. It makes this par 5 a different proposition to the way it looks back in the fairway. Memorable for me were the number of excellent 4s, nothing bland about any of them. No 16 was my favourite, with the fairway bunkers squeezed close together, and a long green.
Dieter ten Haag
07 November 2022
Kyalami is a great test irrespective of the season. The layout hasn’t changed much over the years relative to other top Gauteng courses, which in comparison has resulted in a bit of stagnation. Kyalami favours placement over length on most holes and a solid short game. The greens are consistent if not excellent.
Chris Wood
28 January 2022
The day before playing Kyalami there was a deluge of rain and I was certain the course would be closed. To its credit the rain though damaging didn’t stop play. There were areas of runoff water in the low lying areas but none were on the playing surfaces. Greens and fairways were good, bunkers reasonable and well drained, but taking over five hours for 18 holes was a bit much even for a course that always plays tough and long. The marshall seems to have been overwhelmed. Chaos on the first tee was surpassed by the fact we took almost 3 hours for nine holes and halfway house. Despite reserved times everyone was doing their thing on the first tee and the marshall didn’t have the capacity to deal with it. On the stroke 1 (No 5) two groups were waiting on the tee, with other groups on the green and fairway. It says a lot for Kyalami's popularity there was so much traffic on a Tuesday afternoon. Kyalami is a course where accuracy is demanded and golfers will only be rewarded with the right amount of aggression and circumspection.
Sabelo Ndabazandile
31 December 2021
There was a time when Gauteng courses were generally closed on a Monday. Not these days. Kyalami has become a popular Monday venue for visitors, and it was busy when I played there in mid-morning, although the pace of play was excellent for a twoball. We began on the tenth to speed things up. Kyalami has had a record-breaking year with 50 000 rounds set to be played in 2021. That's a remarkable figure but not surprising when you consider the quality of the golfing experience at this tranquil "countryside" venue. It's a strong challenge for a wide range of golfers -- the fairway bunkering is excellently positioned for longer hitters -- and yet playable for those who stray off the fairways. Good quality greens, attractive aesthetics, a welcoming club, what's not to like about a day in the country.
Stuart McLean
23 November 2021
Kyalami has been in great condition. It's a well-balanced layout with variety in the shots required.
Leon Bevan
06 July 2021
A memorable golfing experience and startlingly excellent design considering this parkland course comes from humble beginnings without the benefit of having a "name" architect behind it. It has one good challenging hole after another on naturally flowing land. Undoubtedly the best course in SA never to have hosted a big tournament, possibly because the club kept a low profile for many years and is situated out in the "countryside." Saying that, there are two relatively weak par 3s in comparison to everything else, the sixth and 17th. This latter hole with a green alongside a dam is tough and slightly unfair for most golfers because of its length and bunkering, and there is much room for improvement.
Stuart McLean
05 May 2021
Kyalami has seen better days. Tees and greens were well below Gauteng course standards and have definitely gone backwards. Course and surrounds were really poor, rough was unkempt. There really has been very little improvement to the course over a long period. Everything needs a haircut!
Jamie Thom
25 March 2021
I enjoyed Kyalami, with the fairways running firm and fast and the conditioning lovely and green. That was prior to the big rains in Gauteng. The course throws length and accuracy to challenge you on every hole.
Chris Wood
14 January 2021
The better you drive the ball the more you will enjoy Kyalami. There's a real thrill to splitting fairways here. Gauteng is blessed with a wealth of wonderful parkland courses, and this is among the best in the region.
Stuart McLean
27 February 2020
One of the most under-rated courses in Gauteng.
Sabelo Ndabazandile
27 February 2020
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