Some holes a little over the top for my liking but a good layout with strong memorability factors.
Yellow 6640 metres, CR75.2/150
White 6214 metres, CR73.1/145
Blue 5785 metres, CR71.0/138
Red 5347 metres, CR68.5/136
Women’s blue, CR77.3/154
Women’s red, CR74.5/148
Affiliated
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday R350
Wednesday-Friday AM R350 & PM R380
Weekend R500
Non-affiliated R600 weekday; R710 weekend
Peter Matkovich 1993
012 809 0430
www.silverlakes.co.za
62
Silver Lakes was created in the bushveld east of Pretoria, around an early Peter Matkovich golf course project, and it has become one of Africa’s biggest golf estate developments, with 1700 homes. It was Tshwane’s first golf estate, and the area itself is today a major residential hub adjoining the N4 highway.
Silver Lakes is a golf & wildlife estate. It has its own game reserve with a variety of buck, including sable antelope, kudu and nyala; rich in birdlife, headed by the African Fish Eagle. The animals use the estate dams as watering holes. Estate streets are named after famous courses and players.
The golfing challenge at Silver Lakes has always had an adventurous association with water hazards from the day the course opened in 1993. Water comes into play on 11 holes, and adds both scenic values and risk-and-reward opportunities for brave golfers. Several greens edge up against water hazards, so golfers need to balance aggression with caution. The Slope at Silver Lakes is a high 150 from the back tees, a good indicator of how challenging the course is for the club golfer.
A large dam on the back nine provided Matkovich with the inspiration to create exciting and novel design features. On the par-5 14th he built an island in the middle of the dam which serves as an alternate fairway. Taking the bold island route off the tee leaves golfers with a shorter approach to the green, but it’s an extreme carry over water and not for the faint-hearted. There is another double fairway on the par-4 eighth.
61 by Shaun Norris
Palm trees and water give Silver Lakes something of a tropical look in places, notably at the par-3 ninth where the green shares a man-made island with that of the par-5 18th green. The ninth asks for a 150-metre shot from the club tees over water against a backdrop of the clubhouse, while the 476-metre final hole has a wetland guarding the right of the fairway before opening up into a larger hazard protecting the green. The 13th is a magnificent 179-metre par 3 from the back tee to a green pushed out into the main dam.
There are seven guest houses within the estate.
There is an excellent range and short-game facility adjoining the first hole, used by the Silver Lakes Golf Academy which has PGA qualified teachers with Flightscope swing analysis technology. Andrew McKenna is head teaching pro. There is an extensive practice putting green.
2020 Driekus Joubert & Lameez Kourie
2019 Joshua Koekemoer & Marlie le Roux
1/ Silver Lakes was named by Golfscape website as one of the Top 10 most eco-friendly golf courses in the world. It was voted Best Golf Course in Pretoria for four years by Rekord Readers’ Choice Awards.
2/ Silver Lakes is home to the African Turf Academy, run by Andrew McKenna, which targets young aspiring pro golfers keen on understanding golf course management. It provides the only internationally recognised greenkeeping qualifications in Africa. The students do practical hours at Silver Lakes.
3/ Silver Lakes has long been home for Sunshine Tour veteran Shaun Norris who grew up on the estate with younger brothers Alain and Kyle. The three made history in 2002 by competing in the SA Amateur at George. Shaun has the course record, and posted a 59 in a 2015 club competition.
4/ The tournament course record is 62 by Wilco Nienaber in January 2019. He had eight birdies and an eagle in the final round to win the Gauteng North Open. His card included ten 3s and eight 4s.
5/ Silver Lakes hosted the men’s SA Amateur in 2015. Scotsman Daniel Young beat Jovan Rebula (nephew of Ernie Els) in the 36-hole matchplay final.
Conditioning Ratings
Facility RatingsSome holes a little over the top for my liking but a good layout with strong memorability factors.
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