There are many golfers who mourn the loss of the old Houghton layout, yet the Jack Nicklaus design (or is it a redesign?) on the same property has many terrific holes and deserves equal respect. The distinctive ups and downs of the terrain still evoke memories of the classic championship course and thus its heritage can never be entirely erased. I like the way Nicklaus creatively re-aligned the flow of play, so that some new holes play in the opposite direction to how we know the holes from past years. The undulating front nine is strong and every hole an enjoyable challenge. The back nine is a squeeze in places, yet what a grand finish starting with the par-5 15th; a superb collection of closing holes. No 16 is a thrilling downhill par 3 to a green guarded by water, then comes an uphill short par 4 carpeted with bunkers. The dogleg 18th might be the best par-4 closing hole in Gauteng.
