Mbombela Golf Club

Mbombela Golf Club (previously known as Nelspruit Golf Club) was founded in November 1928 and moved to its present location in 1939. The bushveld course is a Bob Grimsdell design, built among rocky outcrops of land in the suburbs of Nelspruit, and the course has a curious history. It was a 9-holer for nearly 30 years before Grimsdell returned to complete a second nine in 1967-68. The course was left largely untouched until 1998 when Peter Matcovitch upgraded the course and the adjacent “Matumi Golf Estate” was established.

With a par of 71 and measuring 6 063 metres it is not long or overly difficult to play, but Nelspruit Golf Course has an unusual start to the front nine in that the first is a par 4, the second a par 5, the third a par 3, the fourth a par 5 and the fifth a par 3, before closing off with four straight par 4s.

The back nine, save for the two par 3's on 13 and 17, is either played uphill or downhill, with the signature hole being the 498-metre 14th, the only par 5 on the back nine. From an elevated tee, a generous tree-lined fairway runs away gradually to a green surrounded by bunkers. There is the option of going for the green in two, but for high handicappers the safe bet is to lay up.