Jackal Creek, thanks to improved maintenance in the last two years with its outsourcing to Matkovich Group, is a vastly more pleasant layout to play. The Matko team have cleared out bushy areas and exposed more of the rocks and granite that are part of the rugged landscape. I like undulating terrain on a course and this delivers prodigiously in that department. There is not one flat hole; all 18 have an elevation change from tee to green. This can mean some awkward sloping lies, so it is a course at which low-handicaps will feel more comfortable. Happily, the downhill holes outnumber the uphill holes. It is part of a large residential estate, yet from the seventh hole onwards you move into attractive bushveld surroundings, and it stays that way until 17 and 18. Playability has been improved with the removal of more than 20 bunkers that cramped tee shots.
