Royal Oak Country Club

ROYAL OAK COUNTRY CLUB REVIEW

Royal Oak Country Club Review By Dale van der Merwe

Lengths :

Mens: 6182 Metres

Ladies: 5252

Championship: 6552

Situated in Brakpan is a truly beautiful and impressive golf course. The Par 72 (70 SAGU Rating) layout is a really enjoyable walk. Although Royal Oak Country Club is not one the toughest golf courses out there, it has its own unique features which stand out and that make it challenging enough for the day to day golfer. Any course that makes you think twice about your shot selection is good in our books.

The exceptionally manicured greens are some of the best greens we have played on in recent years. And if you are putting well can gain a few extra strokes during your round.

Royal Oak Country Club has a couple of reachable par 4s that are not too long for some of the big hitters, however a wayward tee shots often leave you behind some fairly large trees or in a difficult position where you’ll need a creative recovery shot to get yourself back in play. The shorter holes are protected by some well-placed bunkers.

There are quite a few doglegs at Royal Oak Country Club which are a real challenge with big trees protecting the greens and corners, and if you run wide of the fairways you are likely to spend a while looking for your ball in the unforgiving rough on certain holes.

The par 5’s are not intimidatingly long and a well-placed drive will leave you with a mid-iron into the green in two. The par 3’s all have their own unique risk too them, but the big difference maker on this course really is the wind, the course if fairly open and wind can indeed play havoc on your round if you are not careful.

Royal Oak Country Club Review (Holes)

Featured Holes:

The 7^th Hole – Par 4

The Stroke 1 starts off with an elevated tee shot to a very narrow fairway with trees on the left and bush on the right. If you find the short grass, your approach is to a narrow elevated green with a massive slope on the right hand side. Missing the putting surface right will put you into a runoff area with a testing chip shot back up the hill, and you will find yourself in trouble scrabbling to make par or bogey.

The 17^th Hole – Par 3

A short par 3 over water onto a sloped green that is openly exposed to the wind. The green is surrounded on either side by some enormous trees and a poor tee shot will definitely see you playing from the drop zone or reloading. Club selection is difficult as most times the wind makes club choice difficult. Plus, who likes an intimidating shot over a large body of water?