Eshowe Country Club

Overview: Eshowe Country Club, also presented as Eshowe Hills, is a parkland course in the old Zululand town of Eshowe. The Eshowe scorecard is par 72 across 18 holes and measures about 5,798 metres from the championship tees. Dlinza Forest and the surrounding green hills help give the course a cooler, more wooded atmosphere than many KwaZulu-Natal layouts, while five water features and the varied ground keep the round from becoming a simple straight drive exercise.

History: Golf was established at Eshowe in 1907, and the club’s current history distinguishes that early course from a new course built by Bob Grimsdell in the 1950s. Jeff Hawkes later upgraded the layout. This makes the 1907 date a club and local golf origin rather than the opening year of every part of the present routing. The result is a course with an old regional identity and a later design framework.

Did You Know? The short 11th is a particularly memorable piece of course strategy. It is listed as a short par four where water and trees influence the decision from the tee, showing how Eshowe can ask for restraint even when a hole appears to offer an easy birdie chance.