Serengeti and Pearl Valley are the only two Jack Nicklaus courses to have hosted the SA Open. Both have true championship credentials and are uncannily similar in the challenges they present, and I don’t mean the proliferation of bunkers. What they have in common are tough holes with greens guarded by water. At Serengeti you find them at three tricky par 4s (6-14-18), the par-5 16th and long par-3 ninth. Did you know that the first ace on the course was scored here in 2010, by Blue Bulls and Springbok rugby legend Burger Geldenhuys. There’s a plaque on the tee. It’s a course where if you don’t have power off the tee you must play forward to avoid perilous long approach shots into narrow entrances. The Signature plays longer than the card indicates with its carpeted kikuyu fairways, and there’s usually a breeze, which on a hot day brings delightful relief but can increase the challenge.
