Regular rain in the East London area this summer has made for lush courses, notably at ELGC where there’s precious little run to be gained on the fairways. The longer holes were playing harder than usual, notably what I consider to be the strongest 4s, Nos 8 and 9 on the front nine, and 12 and 14 on the back. Eight is a sleeper hole which golfers underestimate at their peril. What a uniquely genius design, L-shaped, with a fairway running at right angles to the tee. Nothing quite like it in SA (No 2 at Humewood is a comparable mirror image). It says 335 from the white tees yet often plays longer due to the danger posed by a wall of coastal bush down the right side which eliminates any thought of a short cut. Golfers inevitably play away from it and can find themselves 150 to 175 metres out from a magnificent, raised green surrounded by bunkers. A wonderful feature of ELGC is the isolation of so many holes from each other, as in the fairway valley at No 8. You seldom stray on to another fairway. Good to see pruning of the coastal bush to allow better playability and views. From the back tee on 5 you now have a slight ocean view, while the mound left of the 12th green has been stripped of the ubiquitous coastal silver oak.
