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Hole 1

The first hole offers a very gentle introduction to the course. At 481 metres from the back tees, it is a short Par 5. Whilst a well positioned drive is required in order to set up the opportunity to go for the green in two, the average golfer starting his/her round will find the wide (very wide for Parkview) landing area very comforting. The greens complex also offers a relatively simple start, having a very generous opening into a large and minimally contoured green. Whilst the green is guarded by two very large bunkers, these will only trouble a very errant shot, and being fairly shallow they should be easy to recover from.

Hole 2

The second hole has lost its status as the Stroke 1 hole following the reconstruction of the greens, but it is however a very demanding Par 4. The new stroking (Stroke 7) should not be construed as suggesting that the hole is any easier than before - it only means that there are two other more difficult holes on this side of the course. The drive is one of the toughest on the course, with the narrow landing area being guarded on both sides by tall trees, and the ubiquitous Braamfontein Spruit looming as a hazard just a few metres to the right of the fairway. The green itself is one of the most subtle in terms of slope on the course. the green is uniquely unbunkered, instead being guarded by two swales - the one to the left is tightly cut and thus requiring a delicate pitch shot, whilst the kikuyu in the right hand one is left at semi-rough height.

Hole 3

With a very large teeing area and a deep green, the third hole is a very versatile design in terms of club selection. Having selected the correct club, the shot must be played with pinpoint accuracy - the green is the smallest of the Par 3's, and is surrounded by two bunkers to the front and one to the back, as well as a swale to the left and a steep drop-off to the right. The right front pot-bunker will gather up shots left short, and at over two metres in depth is one of the most difficult bunkers on the course. the putting surface is evenly contoured and will offer two-club rewards to good tee shots.

Hole 4

The fourth hole, affectionately known to club members as "The Wallers" - in memory of one of the club's founding members who was instrumental in obtaining land on which the hole is built - has deservedly become the Stroke 1 hole. The teeing area is high above the fairway, and a drive of over 170 metres is required just to reach the fairway from the back tee. For the long hitters, there are thickets of trees just metres to the left and right of the fairway, and the irrigation dam beckons for any ball leaked to the right. A solid drive down the right of the fairway is required in order to open up the entrance to the green. The green itself is one of the largest on the course, but it is also the most aggressively contoured, and will only reward shots played below the hole within the immediate vicinity of the pin. A misdirected shot to the green will leave a tricky putt across some steep slopes. The complex includes two small but tricky bunkers as well as several steep swales.

Hole 5

The fifth hole is a Par 3, and offers a long narrow target from an elevated tee some 167 metres distant. The tee shot is complicated by swirling winds caused by several large trees that frame the hole. The green is well guarded by four deep bunkers, one of which lies as a sentinel in front of the entire green. The left side of the green is protected by several swales, and out of bounds is just a slight pull away. The putting surface is relatively gentle after the fourth green, but is by no means an easy read.

Hole 6

There are three significantly better holes on the course since the reconstruction, and this is the first of them. The player is faced with a strategic decision on the tee - to play sensibly and lay up to avoid the fairway bunker that extends two-thirds of the way across the fairway at the 220 metre mark from the back tee, or to take out the big stick and have a go at clearing the left side of the bunker. Tee shots that are pushed or pulled will be punished by poor lies amongst groves of trees. A series of mounds have also been added to the right of the fairway. The greens complex is one of the prettiest on the course, being framed by a natural rock outcrop that has been planted with a colourful assortment of indigenous plants and trees. The green is the smallest on the course, at just over 400 square metres, has two distinct tiers, and is superbly protected by strategic bunkering to the front and back left. The back right of the green has a steep drop-off into some very thick rough.

Hole 7

This hole has been changed back into a Par 4, and will undoubtedly play as difficult as the stroke 5 rating suggests. From the back tee, the player is forced to choose between a safe shot down the middle of the fairway or risk a reward shot over a bunker some 220 metres distant. Balls carrying the bunker will bound forward off the slope, thus gaining valuable extra metres on this long 430 metres hole. The green itself is large to accommodate long second shots, but at the same time it is extremely penal to misdirect shots, being guarded by three large bunkers and a few swales. The sluit (Braamfontein Spruit) runs the full length of the hole on the right, and is an ever present danger, especially near the green where it is only 10 metres distant. The slope of the green is more subtle than most and will require an accurate read.

Hole 8

At 410 metres, after an accurate shot off the tee, this hole requires a long iron into one of the narrowest greens on the course. As always the sluit beckons on the right for any pushed or sliced shot off the elevated tee. At the same time there is no solace for a pulled to the left, where the best result is a bad lie behind many tall and thick trees that prevent any attempt at getting on the green, the worst result is out of bounds on the left. The small green is the major result for the Stroke 3 rating - whilst it is only guarded by a single bunker on the front left, it is also substantially elevated which means that swales and steep drop-offs protect the balance of the undulating putting surface.

Halfway house

Parkview Golf Club consists of uneven loops of eight and ten holes, so the small but comfortable halfway house is the next point of call, before moving on to tackle the balance of the challenging layout.

Hole 9

This short 339 metre Par 4 requires a definite choice of strategy off the tee - firstly, lay up and leave a mid-iron to a sighted green, secondly, go long off the tee and leave a short but blind shot to the green, or lastly, try to hit a driver over the high mound some 60 metres short of the green - beware the deep bunker set into the mound however. The smallish green is well protected by three large bunkers, as well as a very steep bank to the right. the putting surface is quite undulating, and definitely requires that approach shots are directed to the immediate vicinity of the pin.

Hole 10

The teeing area for this long Stroke 2 hole has been extended some 20 metres back, now bringing the two fairway bunkers back into play for the long hitters. The sluit has to be crossed with the tee shot, and is an ever-present lateral water hazard on the left side. From the landing area, players require a long iron or fairway wood into a very tight green complex. A new mound in front of the green will prevent most shots from running onto the green, instead channeling them either into the bunker guarding the left front of the green or else into the deep swales on the right hand side. The green itself is more subtle in character than most, and will require an accurate read of the gentle slopes.

Hole 11

This short Par 4 is perhaps the most deceptive hole on the course. The tee shot should be ideally hit over the tall willow tree on the inside corner of the dog-leg, although this strategy also brings the sluit directly into play for slightly mis-hit shots. Whilst the right side of the fairway is easy to hit, the left side offers the best approach into the exceptionally pretty greens complex. A feature of the bunkering on this hole is the elevated bunker to the back right. The green is well contoured, with some very interesting transitions between the different areas that the pin may be in.

Hole 12

As Stroke 16, this fairly short Par 4 is one of the easy scoring opportunities, although any pulled drive off the tee will end up behind or inside some very thick and tall trees on the corner of the dog-leg. The ideal position on the fairway is the right side, from where a short iron approach into the slightly elevated green can be easily executed. As with all of the greens, accuracy is required however, as the transition from the front to the back tier is fairly testing. There is a large and deep bunker guarding the entire front left of the green, and this is best avoided.

Hole 13

The Stroke 10 hole is a long uphill Par 5. It offers a daunting tee shot over the omnipresent sluit, which also turns and runs down the first 150 metres of the hole on the immediate right hand side. The ideal line is however down the right hand side of the fairway, but this obviously exacerbates the danger of the sluit. Tee shots hit to the left of the fairway will drift down to the middle, but this strategy sacrifices all-important distance. From the tee players cross the sluit via the "Bobby Locke Memorial Bridge" (Bobby was one of Parkview's more famous members). The second shot is all uphill, with only the tall trees behind the green visible as a line indicator. The majority of players will hit a short-iron third shot into the clover shaped green, which is guarded by a large mound on the left and a small but deep bunker on the front right. The putting surface is challenging, with several elevation changes.

Hole 14

This hole is another significant change to the course, having changed a drab short Par 5 into a possible opportunity, as befits the Stroke 18 status. However any misdirected second shot will find one either in the approach bunker or one of the other two large greenside bunkers. The green itself is appropriately small, and offers an interesting reverse tier into a very tight back left area of the green. There is a large depressed swale in front of the green to prevent shots easily running on, and the back of the green drops off steeply from large mounds.

Hole 15

This long 194 metre Par 3 is arguably Parkview's new signature hole, offering a vista that is both pleasing to the eye and daunting to the golfer. From the tee, one first has to negotiate a particularly pretty part of the sluit, before carrying the ball the balance of the distance over a newly constructed dam. Whilst there is a large bail-out fairway to the right, the approach from this area is less than optimal. Over-clubbing to avoid the dam is not a good option, since the green is angled forward toward the tee in order to be receptive to the long tee shot, and a pitch shot from the back will have to be perfectly executed to avoid running through the green and into the water. The green is a mixture of subtle and obvious contouring, and the birdie opportunity has to be earned by an accurate tee shot into the immediate vicinity of the pin.

Hole 16

Over the years the short 304 metres from tee to green has ruined many a scorecard. The green is reachable for long-hitters, but any deviation off line is severely punished by thick plantings of willow trees (on the left) or tall pine trees and thick rough (on the right). The safe play is to tee off with a mid-iron, and then hit am accurate short iron to the relevant part of the green. On the green, there is a severe slope from back to front, but the "shelves" between the transitions are large enough to enable the ball to stop where desired.

Hole 17

This long 417 metre Par 4 offers the hardest driving challenge on the course, thus earning its Stroke 4 rating - any drive that is slightly pushed or faded will end up out of bounds or amongst the thick trees guarding the boundary, whilst shots missing to the left side will be either in the sluit or behind some very tall willow trees. The entire left and right hand sides of the fairway are lined with trees, in most cases just a few metres from the closely-mown area. The fairway also slopes severely to the left, leaving a challenging side hill stance for the long second shot. The green is guarded on both sides by some very large bunkers, and there are also several mounds and swales, especially to the right. The putting surface is undulating in parts and subtly sloped in other areas.

Hole 18

For matches going down the last hole, this is a suitably challenging hole. The tee shot has first to be threaded between several trees on the left and the sluit on the right into a large landing area. A good tee shot will leave a short iron to the green for most players on this 335 metre hole. The greens complex has been specifically designed to be pleasing to the eye from both the fairway and clubhouse veranda, which is just 9 metres from the back of the green - good shots into the green will be rewarded with ebullient applause from the sociable Parkview membership. The complex itself is very well guarded, having three of the biggest bunkers on the course, as well as a particularly deep and daunting swale on the front right of the green. The putting surface consists of both slow and quick transitions between the various areas that the pin may be situated. All in all, a great finishing hole.