Wild Coast Sun, South Africa (pictures)

[Philip Gawith]

If you ever make it down to South Africa, this resort course is well worth the effort. It is about two hours south of Durban, down the east coast of the country, on the Indian ocean. A Robert Trent Jones design, it is South Africa's answer to Hawaii, as you can see from the tropical vegetation.

The feature of the course are the six one-shotters which include one or two really spectacular holes, especially the 13th.

I don't think it is any archictectural masterpiece - but it is a lot of fun to play and tends to be in good nick as they host a professional tournament annually.

 Unusually for South Africa, the course has a lot of women caddies - Tracy and Sheila were possibly the best caddies I have had anywhere and the green fee was worth paying just for the pleasure of their service.

Opening tee shot with Indian Ocean behind...



Approach to uphill 2nd hole



Tee shot on uphill par 5 third hole



The short fourth, back towards the sea



The two-shotter 5th hole has a blind drive and then you are faced with this approach. The bridge in the background marks the boundary between Kwazulu Natal and the Eastern Province.



Downhill short sixth...




Tee shot on the par 5 seventh hole



Tee shot on the par four 9th - a fun hole which invites you to cut the corner and drive the green



Approach to the 9th



The clubhouse has some wonderful views across the course...





The view over the 18th green with 10th hole in background



Spectacular elevated tee shot on par 5 12th



The magnificent 13th - a truly dramatic short hole over a ravine





Approach to the 15th..



Second shot on par 5 16th, a bit gimicky.



The short 17th, another striking short hole...



Homeward bound - tee shot on 18, with clubhouse evident in the background

[Jason McNamara]

Super pics, Philip...  what's the length on the 13th?

Happy New Year,

Jason

ps.  Any other upcoming photo sets?  :-)

[Mark Bourgeois]

Philip,

Please post pics of caddies.

Also, how far from Port Elizabeth?

Happy New Year,
Mark

[James Bennett]

Tee shot on the par four 9th - a fun hole which invites you to cut the corner and drive the green




Phillip

have you visited Portsea in Melbourne on your visits.  The 13th is very similar to the hole above.  Both holes look like great fun.  The Portsea hole also transfers play from one valley to another.

I suspect the Portsea hole looked even more similar to the South African version before Clayton and Bruce Grant did some vegetation removal on the lower, inside areas of the dogleg a few years ago.



James B

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

I played there a few times back in 1996.  This is a great piece of land that could benefit from some redesign work.  The course is definately not short on the dramatic.  On 12 and 13, you do not want to hit off line--snake infestested areas--cobras and mambas.  They may be fairly harmless because of their extremely small heads, but the trees slightly left of the fairway on 12 house quite a few green mambas--we recieved a very good snake education the first day there. Not a good idea to walk under trees in SA.

[Philip Gawith]

Jason - the 13th is 168m from the back tee, 145m from the centre. If you are into the wind it can be a long shot.

Alas, my travels have not been so ambitious this year so no upcoming  photo-sets, but we live in hope!

Mark - PE is about 1000km from Durban, so around 800 from Wild Coast Sun. This is not the best road in SA - but East London is en route and that is also supposed to be a course worth playing. Maybe we should do the drive one day!

I meant to take a pic of the caddies but forgot, but you can see them in the foreground of the last pic. Actually, because the course has such aggressive topography buggies are compulsory, so they are half-way between ball watchers and caddies (they are not carrying your bag) but that would be too diminish their skills - they look for balls as if their life depends on it, they read the greens unerringly, and they seem to enjoy doing their work.

James - I did not unfortunately get to play Portsea, though I drove past it as  I spent time on the Mornington Peninsula. Maybe next time South Africa are playing cricket in Oz I can fashion a reason to return. The holes do indeed look similar.

Robert - as a matter of interest, what sort of redesign work would you advise on the course?

And re you snake reference - that is the first time anyone has suggested that cobras and mambas are anything less than lethal! Your reference reminds me of a sign in the rough on the left of the 9th hole at Newcastle (Australia) warning you about the snakes!

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

The 18th is a very weak finishing hole.  There is room to change the shape of the hole.  The biggest thing I remember about the course was that the greens seemed very RTJ Jr. generic.  With the exception of 18, I think the routing is fantastic.  the greens complexes could be rebuilt to better blend into the terrain.   As for the snakes, I was definately being non-chalant---these snakes can be lethal.  Supposedly, the green mamba is more venomous than the black, but its head is so small with tiny fangs that it is supposedly not a threat.  On 12,  I nearly freaked after walking under the first 2 trees and my caddy pointed out a couple of well camofaged snakes in the 3rd tree.  The next day, the caddies in the group behind were chasing a cobra in the right heavy rough in the driving area.  There is anti-venom in the clubhouse, but I sure would not like to have to use the stuff!

[Philip Gawith]

Interesting thoughts Robert - I agree re the routing. I think 18 is quite a thrilling hole for many amateurs, but can see it is not so good for pro's. I hadn't though about the green complexes and their surroundings, though it is true that the greens are not too special, although I liked the shape of one or two of them. With that very dense putting surface you could get away with putting some quite dramatic slopes on them if you were so minded.

Re your snake anecdote, I did in fact hook my drive on the 12th right into the area you were talking about and spent five minutes looking for it. I declared it lost and played a provisional but my heroic caddie continued looking and did indeed find it. So my admiration for the caddies has only increased further since they obviously know the risks round there!

[Brad Tufts]

Great pics...that pic of the 17th looks almost identical to the 7th (?) at Princeville, even down to the canyon leading to the ocean on the left.  I'm guessing the shot at Princeville is a touch more exacting, and lacks the slightly downhill aspect as the 17th in the picture shown.