Kirkwood Golf Club played 22 Feb 2020

Kirkwood Golf Course is or was not on our official schedule. We played Kirkwood about 2 years ago when Eza took me on my first visit to South Africa. Kirkwood is a little village about 100km north west of Port Elizabeth. It is a 9 hole course with slightly different tees for a round of 18 holes. It is not on Golf Advisors list nor the 50 most beautiful courses in the world and not either mentioned in the book of the 50 courses you need to play before you die. But I think that it is worth mentioning on this blog anyway, because our visit to Kirkwood is a great illustration of how golf can create friendship and lasting social relations

During my first visit to SA we played Plettenburg Bay Golf Club. A great club and a great golf course. After our round we got the chance to say hello to the golfers who played in front of us. That, we found out, was a group of farmers, most of them members of Kirkwood Golf Club. One of them the president of the club; Hermanus Potgieter. After a beer, discussing the round and especially my new PXG golf clubs, why a Dane came to SA and which courses we would play next we were invited to go to Kirkwood instead of the planned route toward Cape Town.

So we went to Kirkwood. Played a friendly match on the first day (a Friday) and participated in their Saturday club competition the next day. Since those days we have kept in contact and of course we made it part of our plan to visit our golfing friends again during our world trip. And that we did this Friday and Saturday.

About the golf club.

First of all Kirkwood is a members club. There are about 100 members that takes care of everything. It is a very active club with the A team in the second league and the B team in the third league.

The course is a woodland course with tall trees framing the fairways and mountains in the background on two sides of the course. It is a flat course and a very beautiful and very quiet place to walk.

It is not an easy course. Most fairways are a dogleg left or right, and not very broad. Your drive needs to be in position for your approach shot to find the green. Neither the fairways or greens are of the Tour standard, but fair – your skills will be rewarded and your weaknesses revealed.

Even it is only a nine hole course I think that the different tee boxes for the front and back nine makes a very interesting difference between the two parts of your round.

There are no driving range – that is, yes there are. There is a tee area to the left of the 9^th green. From here you will see – especially the younger and more ambitious players – hit balls in the direction of the 9^th tee box. Putting and short game are practiced on the 6th and the 9th green, close to the club house. All with due respect to players on the course.

The course record is 67 made by the then Kirkwood player Dennis Smith, now playing in the premier league for Wedgewood Golf Club.

67 might not sound of much but with a few members in plus handicap it tells something about the course. And also that it doesn’t require a variety of super practice facilities to develop talented golfers. For example Malan Potgieter, now 16 years old with a handicap of +1,8, is number 4 on the SA rankings under age 17. And no, Malan is not in family with the president Hermanus.

Why should you visit the course? Because it gives you most of the things that most golfers appreciate. The course is fair and challenging for golfers of all levels, it is a beautiful walk, not physical tiring. If out of fairway in most cases you will find your ball and no blind shots – meaning it will take you a little less that 4 hours to play 18 holes. You will get a warm and friendly welcome and won’t have to pay a million to play. The bar will not serve you exclusive dinner or lunch, but most of what you will need before, under and after your round.

Where to stay

If you should be tempted to visit Kirkwood we can recommend you to stay at Kronenhof Guesthouse. Here you can get a fine dinner you might be looking forward to after your round.

Evaluation of Kirkwood Golf Club played on 22 Feb 2020 – (9 hole course)

Short summary

Kirkwood is a 9 hole course built, developed, financed and maintained by the members. It is a parkland course with fairways framed by tall trees. On most holes your score will depend on your drive. Get the ball in the right position and you will have a good chance to play it to your handicap. If not, you make it difficult for yourself. 2 different tee-places for the first and second nine gives you a good variety of 18 holes. It’s a nice walk in the nature. But first of all you should play Kirkwood because of the authenticity and ambience. Fantastic, so different from the high profiled touristic golf courses.

Here you are among enthusiastic golfers playing serious golf – for fun. The bar is open for drinks and snacks – no food are served unless arranged beforehand. Should you have a chance, go to Kirkwood.

Comments, suggestions and questions are welcome !