Mossel Bay rates highly in my book as both a challenging and enjoyable course. Don’t be fooled by Louis Oosthuizen having had a 57 here. It’s not an easy layout on which to score well if you’re unfamiliar with its superbly conditioned greens. Being relatively small, undulating, and often quick, they are the course’s chief defence. They add considerable character to the layout. Greens which grab my attention are those on the uphill par-5 fifth hole (this one is a bit extreme on a hole where golfers cannot see what awaits them), the par-4s six and seven, the par-5 11th (fabulous contours), the par-3 12th, the par-4 14th and par-5 17th. The elevated green at 14 sloping from back to front makes this one of the toughest holes to play for the club golfer. It curves gently around thick coastal bush left of the fairway, so the tee shot is crucial to set up a shorter approach. You need to draw it off the right side of the fairway and feed the ball down the slope. As for the green, there’s no such thing as an easy pin position!
