Arabella has always shown consideration for homeowner residences on the estate which might be struck by more than the occasional off-line golf ball. Generally, the houses don’t come into play here, other than on a few holes. A multitude of changes were made to the short par-4 16th to try and keep balls away from one particular home left of the fairway, and marker poles erected on certain holes to direct golfers away from other potential bad outcomes. Another troublesome hole has been the shortish par-4 12th where balls have struck homes on the left, all from reckless golfers trying to take the tiger line to the green. The left side of the fairway has increasingly become a no-go zone, with golfers now compelled to play out to the right of the fairway. The large fairway bunker on the left has been filled in and the area planted with trees and fynbos. In time it will become a beautiful feature of the hole, and a place to avoid. The fairway has been extended further right, leaving one solitary fairway bunker which serves as an aiming point off the tee, together with some mounding. The tee markers have been moved to the right, and it’s now clearly obvious where to aim. No 12 has one of the best greens at Arabella, raised in the front and guarded left and right by bunkers. The best angle to approach it has always been from the right half of the fairway.
