Hans Merensky Golf Club

Hans Merensky is a great place to start a South African golf holiday in the Kruger region. The course is located at the north end of the Kruger National Park, just a short flight from Johannesburg to Phalaborwa.  Bordering the Kruger National Park, many of the parks’ inhabitants pay scant regard to the dividing fence! Expect to see all manner of antelope, and even warthog, zebra or giraffe in the course of your golf round.

We recommend Hans Merensky at the start of our Kruger golfing safari holidays, staying at a nearby lodge which also offers guided game drives into the Kruger Park. You can enjoy a round of golf in the morning and then a late afternoon game drive or ‘bush braai’.

The golf is spectacular at Hans Merensky, with tranquil pools and lush fairways contrasting against the backdrop of the natural bushveld. Several holes have water features that you need to drive over, with added croc and hippo hazards! It can be a bit disconcerting on the 17th as you tee off on the par 3, with the hippos submerging and remerging in the water next to you. Do you watch your ball or be distracted by these magnificent creatures?

It doesn’t pay to stray off the fairways, the ‘rough’ is actually quite scrubby bush with a gritty substrate – not great on your clubs. But don’t be put off, this course is wonderful and has been described as ‘the sort of golf course David Attenborough would design’. It’s best to time your round to early morning or to finish as the evening starts to draw in. The light is fantastic and the animals start to venture onto the fairways oblivious to the golfers around them.

Hans Merensky has some accommodation on site but we have found recently that the hotel has begun to concentrate on the conference market and non delegates can be over whelmed by large numbers of people that are staying for the conference, which can be off putting and noisy. For this reason we recommend staying at another lodge nearby, but this has no impact on your enjoyment of the golf course.

In recent times the golf course has lacked sufficient funding to keep it in really good condition. It was never in the same league as the likes of Leopard Creek or Fancourt and since then it has declined some what. We still think it has its charm and is a novel experience but it should be treated as a fun round.

For more information about South Africa golfing holidays  and playing golf at Hans Merensky, contact us here or call our South Africa golf holidays team on +44 208 249 5919.