A Lone Wolf in the Big City

Text: Jason Mylroie. Photographs: Jamie Thom. Article from the June 2012 issue of Compleat Golfer Magazine.

Jackal Creek opened its doors to the Johannesburg public in March 2010, and in doing so coined the phrase ‘modern golf estate living’. Two years down the line, Jason Mylroie visited this unique golf estate to sample the course and see what it had to offer.

Golf estate living has become one of the finer luxuries in life, mostly due to the exorbitant prices for plots and houses on these establishments. And this has been the trend globally for many years now. So it is no wonder that Jackal Creek in Johannesburg earned the title of No 1 – performing property development in South Africa in 2010 by Finweek, after becoming the first golf estate in the country to offer apartment-style living at a great value.

The initial success of the estate lay in the price of these apartments, with a two-bedroom loft home selling for under R1 million. This gave new homeowners the opportunity to break into the property market on a secure estate with larger than normal living areas and plenty of open space outside.

The initial plans for Jackal Creek were conceptualised in 2004 when the Van Zyl family, owners of the land for six generations dating back to 1902, met with Montagu Property Group to see how they could develop the land into a residential estate. Having been in the business for over 30 years and successfully developed the likes of Dainfern, Silver Lakes and Blue Valley golf estates, Montagu came up with the idea of a golfing estate with apartments and cluster homes instead of creating another ‘run-of-the-mill’ luxurious golf estate.

With the plans in place, construction began on the golf course as well as the living spaces, where every single one of the 2 300 apartments and 230 clusters look out onto the fairways from the front, with large parks situated at the back.

The estate has been open for just over two years and 1 136 apartments as well as 15 cluster houses are complete or near completion, along with many other sporting and leisure facilities that have opened. In total, the estate is approximately 50 percent complete and despite the economic recession, still appears to be growing.

The concept behind the golf course was also to avoid the traditional model of a golf estate, where the homeowners pay a monthly or annual levy towards the facility. At Jackal Creek, the running of the course is totally separate to the residential section and also has no committee or captains to speak of. The small golf team in the clubhouse, headed up by general manager Letitia Roestoff, run a tight ship and their hard work has seen the membership rise to just under 500 members in under two years, with that number growing steadily. There is no driving range, although a well-run indoor academy, practice nets and chipping and putting greens give golfers the opportunity to warm up and take lessons from the likes of Sunshine  Tour professionals Hendrik Buhrmann and Ashley Roestoff.

The golf course itself was designed by Douw van der Merwe of DDV Design Group. His team has been responsible for many other projects, such as Eagle Canyon and Koro Creek, with input on Legend Golf and Safari resort and Eye of Africa. The layout at Jackal Creek was the first design element of the estate, with the residential areas fitting into the course strategically, and Douw has managed to pull this off perfectly.

Every hole on the course is unique, with elements of links and parkland combining with the African bushveld grass for a completely, different experience. With the course being built on the side of a hill, elevation changes are obviously one of the bigger characteristics of the layout, with many of the holes making use of the creek running through the middle of the estate.

The 1st hole, a lengthy 558-metre par five, allows you to give your driver a healthy whack from the start, but you will still need to avoid the strategically placed fairway bunkers. The fairway initially slopes downhill and right-to-left before your second shot, and whether you decide to go for the green in two or just lay up, it plays uphill to an undulating green surrounded by more bunkers.

The par-four 2nd hole sees you heading sharply downhill and to the left to the green below. There isn’t much danger on this hole apart from the out-of-bounds left, where the apartments look onto the course and some fairway bunkers are ready to catch any stray drives. This is, however, the third-hardest hole on the course according to the scorecard, so treat it with respect.

The 162-metre 3rd hole is the first par three on the course and involves a carry over water, a green-side bunker and a green that slopes from right-to-left. The length of this carry can change drastically thanks to the six different tee-boxes on the hole. This is another feature that is apparent on the rest of the course and adds even more variety to this already exciting layout.

The next four holes all incorporate more doglegs and elevation changes, each offering different elements of danger as you manoeuvre through the estate.The par-three 8th then requires another carry over some undesired rough areas, with bunkers guarding the front and left edge of the green. The green is large so there isn’t much excuse for not finding the surface, especially considering the sand in front and large lake behind.

The par-four 9th requires you to manoeuvre your tee shot over some rocky ‘koppies’ to what looks like a dangerously narrow fairway from the tee. It is only once you have found that fairway that you realise how much space you had to work with. The green is guarded by water on the left and a bunker on the right, so make sure your aim is correct otherwise you may be walking to the halfway house with a grumpy outlook going into the second nine.

The 353-metre par-four 10th is a classic risk-and-reward hole. The longer hitters could find this green down the bottom of the hill, but stray in any other direction and you will need to reload on the tee-box. Lay up and you will have a relatively easy path to the green, provided you miss’all of the big bunkers on the hole – five of them to be exact.

The par-three 11th then lights up your round again. Six different tee-boxes and a short ladies tee-box gives this hole plenty of variety with some tee shots heading over water, while the others need to avoid bush and rough below. It is not a long hole at just 155 metres, but the three bunkers guarding the front of the green and the steep slope covered in rough foliage down to the green from behind make this target seem far smaller. And this doesn’t even take into account whatever wind may be around on the day.

Again, the next five holes meander their way up, down and around the hillside with interesting challenges along the way, but nothing too dangerous to ruin an enjoyable round so far. It is at this point that you arrive at the stroke 4 and 2 respectively to finish your round. The par-four 17th is another drive over a rock ‘koppie’ to a narrow fairway and for most a driver is most certainly not the club to hit here. Take a hybrid or long-iron off the tee and accept a longer approach as good course management.The green is guarded in front by the creek so accurate distance judgement is imperative. Par is a very good score here and again on the next hole.

The 537-metre 18th may be a par five, but again course management is a key factor. Don’t expect to reach the green in two. A really good drive up the hill (in excess of 250 metres) will still leave over 250 metres uphill to the green with water guarding the front and left. Find the fairway with your drive and second shot, then from here par is likely. Once you tap in and shake hands at the top, head off to the 19th hole with as little regret as possible.

Jackal Creek lives up to its billing as a place that offers modern golf estate living and plays the role of a South African socio-economic suburb, with the estate overlooking the rural area of Diepsloot. This aside, the course is a wonderful challenge and has breathed life into the area, providing the perfect platform and escape for those social golfers to live out the dream of residing on a golf course.

Likes:

• The layout of the course offers a different challenge on every hole with plenty of risk and reward.
• The houses don’t obstruct any shots on the course and don’t make you feel crowded at any time.

… And Dislikes:

• The halfway house lacks variety in its food offering.

Factfile

Getting there

Driving from the N1 off-ramp towards Honeydew, cross over Northumberland Road. At the next set of robots turn right into Honeydew West Road. At the turning circle take the first exit. Continue on Boundary Road for approximately 3km and you will arrive at Jackal Creek on your left.

Course

Par 72, 6 470 metres

Designer

DDV Design Group

General Manager

Letitia Roestoff

Club Professional

Ashley Roestoff

Course Superintendent

Sydney Hart

Greenfees

Weekdays – R185 (affiliated and non-affiliated). Weekends – R235 (affiliated), R370 (non-affiliated). Carts – R220.

Contacts

Tel-011 251 6721 E-mail: info@jackal-creek.co.za

www.jackalcreekgolf.co.za

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