Leopard Creek, one of only three South African courses in the World Top 100, symbolises the beauty and grandeur of African bushveld golf while at the same time evoking an exclusiveness comparable to Augusta National.

The property occupies a singularly unique site in golf, bordering the broad Crocodile River on the southern boundary of the vast Kruger National Park, and it is this remote location that has captivated television viewers around the globe while watching the annual hosting of the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European Tour. There is as much interest in the wildlife shown on their screens as on the golf itself.

Golf Digest ranks it among the Top 100 Courses in the World outside the United States, and Leopard Creek achieved its highest ever ranking of No 47 in their 2022-23 list of the World’s 100 Greatest Courses.

Unlike Augusta National, though, visitors are welcome, at a price. You firstly need to be a guest at one of several approved lodges in the area, and then the green fee itself is R5 750.

The course itself has recently undergone a major upgrade (by Golf Data) in terms of bunker design, greens complexes, and turf replacement which has both transformed the look and feel of the layout, and improved its playability for members. The par-3 12th was reconfigured, a different shaped green replacing the original Redan creation. The course was re-opened for play in May 2018 after being closed for eight months.

The biggest transformation was the wall-to-wall eradication of the thirsty kikuyu grass on the course and surrounds. It has been replaced by a more sustainable indigenous cynodon which not only requires less water and chemicals but thrives in the fierce heat of summer. It gives the course a greener look.

Kikuyu works well as a playing surface on fairways in the dry summer heat of Mediterranean climates like Gauteng and Sun City, but it never enjoyed the same compatibility in the humid conditions of the Mpumalanga Lowveld.

The holes at Leopard Creek have a wonderful flow to them, the design challenges varying all the time. What appears initially to be a relatively flat course suddenly presents surprise changes in elevation. Water is a hazard on eight holes, and the gently sloping greens are a visible strength of the course’s defence.

The new grass on the greens is Champion G-12, the newest strain of a genetically engineered ultradwarf Bermuda. It was planted at Quail Hollow (North Carolina) for the 2017 US PGA Championship.

Three par 5s are on the back nine, and these are among Leopard Creek’s most memorable holes. In tournaments this is where bold play can be rewarding or costly, as it is at Augusta in the Masters. The 13th is justifiably one of the world’s best holes, its green sitting high above the bank of Crocodile River, offering a dramatic vista of the park.

TV coverage of the Alfred Dunhill Championship has made the par-5 18th a compelling hole to watch. It’s one of the most daunting finishing holes in the game because of its island green. The hole swoops downhill, curving slightly from right to left, and every golfer who plays it faces the anxious hurdle of clearing the water and holding a green which might look wide and inviting, but has limited room from front to back. Many an approach shot has rolled over the back into the water.

Ernie Els concluded his final round of the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Championship with an 8 at No 18, losing the title by one shot to Englishman John Bickerton. Four-time champion Charl Schwartzel had a 9 at No 18 in the first round of the 2022 tournament, as did Darren Clarke in 2016. Welshman Sion Bebb, in the 2009 Dunhill, finished the final round with an 11 when a birdie would have given him a share of third place. Jacques Kruyswijk also had an 11 in 2016.

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