Played with new young greenkeeper Jordan Troughton who pounds a long ball off the tee. Into a breeze at the 310m sixth his high cut drive landed on the green. Admittedly this is a downhill par 4, but a course this short (5592m) is ripe for long hitters to demolish. However, Umdoni has a few tricks up its sleeve to protect a generous par of 72 (No 1 must be the shortest par 5 in SA at 402m off the back tee), and judging distances for severe uphill and downhill holes, and the unpredictable bounce of the greens, are among them. The four par 5s are fun holes for club golfers because a good drive can set you up to go for the green. The par-5 tenth (439) presents an awkward tee shot into the wind due to the sloping nature of the fairway. If you don’t carry your drive over a crest, the ball rolls backwards down a steep slope. Anything left runs towards long grass. Being a sharp dogleg left makes for an interesting long second into the green. The round ends with a 502m par 5, but if the wind’s behind, from the high tee this can play shorter than the first.
