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Golf guide • South Africa • Gauteng

Golf in Johannesburg: the great parkland courses of the Highveld, 1,750m up

Johannesburg, set at 1,750 metres on the South African Highveld, has four championship courses open to visitors within forty minutes of Sandton: the East Course at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, host of the Joburg Open, Glendower, designed by Charles Alison, Houghton, a Jack Nicklaus design, and Steyn City. Golfers come for tree-lined parkland courses where the ball flies further than at sea level, and for Soweto and the Apartheid Museum between rounds. The best periods run from March to May and from September to November.

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Johannesburg was born in 1886 from the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, and golf followed almost at once: Royal Johannesburg was founded in 1890, four years after the city. The result, more than a century later, is a series of great members' courses laid out among the residential suburbs, on a plateau at around 1,750 metres. The air is dry and thin, the ball carries, and you have to relearn your distances from the very first tee.

The historic clubs are members' clubs that welcome visitors by reservation. Royal Johannesburg & Kensington and Glendower, to the east, have hosted seventeen South African Opens between them; Houghton, in the heart of the leafy suburbs, plays a Jack Nicklaus layout. To the north, Steyn City, also a Nicklaus Design, and Dainfern, a Gary Player design, sit within residential estates. To the south, the more modest South Downs runs along the Bloubos Spruit.

You base yourself in Rosebank or Sandton, from where every course is less than forty minutes away, and travel by car with driver. Three to five nights are enough for three courses, a morning in Soweto and an afternoon at the Apartheid Museum. Sun City and the Gary Player Country Club, around two and a half hours' drive away, have a guide of their own.

The courses

Green and flag between two white sand bunkers, a reed-fringed pond, weeping willows and acacias at sunrise

Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, East Course

  • Architect: Robert Grimsdell
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The club founded in 1890 moved to Linksfield North in 1909, then merged in 1998 with Kensington Golf Club. Its East Course, designed by Robert Grimsdell in the 1930s and fully renovated in 2017, is the city's great championship course: 7,001 metres, par 72, kikuyu fairways and bentgrass greens. It has hosted nine South African Opens and eleven Joburg Opens. The West Course, shorter and more forgiving, completes the offer. A round for strong players who enjoy length.

Signature hole. The 10th and 11th are back-to-back par 4s of more than 500 yards; the 11th, played downhill with a second shot over water, ranks among the hardest holes in the country.

Official website

Glendower Golf Club

  • Architect: C. H. Alison
  • Opened 1937
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Opened on 7 March 1937 at Dowerglen, near Edenvale, on a course by Charles Hugh Alison, Harry Colt's partner. The grounds have been a nature reserve since 1973 to protect their birdlife, and you play among tall trees, 64 bunkers and water on eleven holes. The greens were remodelled in the 1980s. The club claims eight South African Opens, including those of 2013 and 2015 to 2018. Twenty minutes from the airport, it is the ideal course for your first or last day.

Signature hole. The 10th, a 468-yard par 4, calls for a long approach over a wide stretch of water to a green guarded by two bunkers.

Official website

Houghton Golf Club

  • Architect: Jack Nicklaus
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Houghton club, between Rosebank and the city centre, replaced its old course with a Jack Nicklaus layout: 6,656 metres from the back tees, par 72, over two loops of nine. The old course had hosted eight South African Opens. The design relies more on bunker placement than on length, taking the altitude into account. Ten to fifteen minutes from most hotels, it is the convenient course for a late afternoon, with a practice ground and academy on site.

Signature hole. The 15th, one of the club's signature holes, finishes with a downhill approach to a green defended by water.

Official website

The Club at Steyn City

  • Architect: Jack Nicklaus
  • Opened 2015
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The most recent course in the selection, opened in 2015 north of Fourways on the Steyn City estate, was designed by Nicklaus Design on a former quarry of some 90 hectares. A par 72, 7,054 metres from the back tees, 75 bunkers, water features and several holes that cross the Jukskei River. It has hosted DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour events. Tee times must be confirmed in advance with the pro shop, and the estate's hotel offers packages including a round.

Official website

Where to stay

Saxon Hotel

In the residential suburb of Sandhurst, a few minutes from Sandton, the former home of Douw Steyn spreads across four hectares of gardens planted with indigenous species, with a spa, a library, a wine cellar and the Qunu restaurant. Nelson Mandela stayed here for six months to edit his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, in the suite that now bears his name. Ask for a suite in the main building rather than a villa. Ten minutes from Houghton.

Clico Boutique Hotel

A century-old Cape Dutch-style house in Rosebank, a few steps from the Gautrain station. The scale is that of a guest house, with a large pool and a proper restaurant, SEC Restaurant, served indoors or on the terrace. Book its five-course tasting menu for your first evening, and keep Sunday morning for the market on the roof of Rosebank Mall. A quarter of an hour from Royal Johannesburg.

Steyn City Hotel by Saxon

At the centre of the Steyn City estate, the Saxon's sister hotel has fifty-two one- and two-bedroom suites laid out as apartments, with a rooftop pool, a spa and the Guild restaurant. Every suite has its own washing machine, a blessing after a round caught in a thunderstorm, and looks over either a tree-lined piazza or the lagoon. Packages include a round on the estate's Nicklaus Design course, at the cost of half an hour's drive to Sandton.

White gabled Cape Dutch-style house, a pool and blue loungers beneath a jacaranda in bloom

Where to dine

Marble

On Rosebank's Keyes Art Mile, chef David Higgs cooks over wood fire around a large grill brought over from Michigan: meat, fish, vegetables and breads all pass over the embers. The list runs to around a hundred wines, mostly South African. Arrive early for a drink at the bar: the view reaches the Magaliesberg mountains and, in summer, you watch the storms roll in over the city. The table for a group dinner.

The Grillhouse Rosebank

Since 1994, in The Firs centre in Rosebank, The Grillhouse has been an old-school steakhouse, the flagship of a small Johannesburg group: an intimate room, traditional service, private dining rooms for groups. People come for the steaks and the ribs, and choose their own bottle from the cellar. Save room for the brownie with ice cream. A few minutes from the Clico and from Houghton.

Sakhumzi Restaurant

In 2001, Sakhumzi Maqubela turned a shebeen, the township bar, into a restaurant on Vilakazi Street, a short walk from Mandela's house; the original doors, walls and floor are still there. The buffet serves Soweto home cooking: mogodu, slow-simmered tripe, umngqusho of samp and beans, and dombolo, the steamed bread. The room fills quickly and service slows, so arrive when it opens, at 11am. The lunch stop after a morning in Soweto.

Beyond golf

The Apartheid Museum

Opened in 2001 next to Gold Reef City, south of the centre, the museum traces South Africa's 20th-century history, from segregation to the democratic transition, on a seven-hectare site. The visit is dense and takes half a day; it fits well on a day without golf. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Soweto and Vilakazi Street

Half an hour's drive from Sandton, Soweto is best discovered with a local guide. In Orlando West, Vilakazi Street is the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners have lived, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu; Mandela's house is open to visitors. A morning is enough, with lunch on the spot.

The Cradle of Humankind

Some fifty kilometres to the north-west, around an hour's drive, the Cradle of Humankind has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The Sterkfontein Caves yielded Mrs Ples and the skeleton of Little Foot, and the Maropeng centre, opened in 2005, explains their significance. A fine rest day between two rounds.

Residential street beneath an arch of flowering jacarandas, purple petals on the road and low brick walls

When to go

Golf is played all year round. From October to April, the southern summer brings hot days, late-afternoon thunderstorms and cool evenings; most of the rain falls then, and the high-altitude sun is very strong. From May to September, winter is dry and sunny, around 16°C in the afternoon, with cold nights and occasional early-morning frost. The best periods run from March to May and from September to November.

Getting there

O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) is the gateway. Allow about 35 minutes by car to Sandton, longer at rush hour, and around twenty minutes to Glendower. The Gautrain links the airport to Sandton in a quarter of an hour and also serves Rosebank. Once there, all transfers to the courses are by car with driver.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Johannesburg?

The East Course at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, designed by Robert Grimsdell and renovated in 2017, host of nine South African Opens and the Joburg Open. Glendower, a Charles Alison design, is its great rival.

Are Johannesburg golf courses open to visitors?

Yes, by reservation. Royal Johannesburg & Kensington, Glendower and Houghton are members' clubs that welcome visitors, and Steyn City requires a tee time confirmed in advance with the pro shop.

When is the best time to play golf in Johannesburg?

All year round, with a preference for March to May and September to November. From October to April, play in the morning to avoid the afternoon thunderstorms; winter, from May to September, is dry but chilly early in the morning.

How many days do you need for a golf trip to Johannesburg?

Three to five nights: three courses, a morning in Soweto and half a day at the Apartheid Museum. You can extend the trip to Sun City, around two and a half hours' drive away.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Johannesburg?

O. R. Tambo airport (JNB), about 35 minutes from Sandton by car and around twenty minutes from Glendower. The Gautrain reaches Sandton in a quarter of an hour.

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Your golf trip: Johannesburg

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