Reading Country Club

Overview: On 18 woodland holes, Reading Country Club in New Redruth, Alberton, where mature trees give the round a settled, enclosed character. The club describes a par-71 layout measuring 6,552 metres, with Kikuyu fairways and Bent grass greens. Water is a recurring strategic feature, particularly across the closing stretch, while the tree-lined corridors reward a controlled tee shot more than indiscriminate length. It is a practical Johannesburg-area course with enough variety to make the routing feel thoughtful from start to finish.

History: The club’s roots reach back to a 1939 meeting at which a golf course was discussed and Sid Brews was engaged to prepare a plan. Reading Country Club’s course and clubhouse were opened in 1943. That early connection with Brews places the course within the formative period of South African golf architecture, while the present layout still reflects the original woodland setting rather than an estate built around a later resort concept.

Did You Know? Several of Reading’s water features are tied to the ground’s earlier clay workings. The old excavations were reshaped into golf hazards, so the ponds are part of the site’s industrial story as well as a test of club selection. The result is a course where local history is visible in the landscape, especially when the line to a green runs close to the water.