#18 · PAR FOUR
(Stroke 8) The greatest challenge of all is the pressure of the balcony, eagerly waiting to see where you've placed yourself.
#18 · PAR 4 · STOKE 8
Welcome to the 18th. With a stroke index of 8 this slight dogleg right presents golfers with one last challenge before they can experience what has been voted the best 19th in Gauteng. It’s not particularly long, and compared to the 17th its fairway is positively generous. But beware, between the reception from the balcony and some small tricky details, just like the 17th, it has a habit of using extra lead on the scorecard.
Tee Box
Take a driver off the box and you’ll have to navigate two bunkers on the left side of the fairway, strategically positioned around the 240-meter mark. FInd either one and you’ll have a 100 meter shot from sand to a difficult green. On the right an old lone crooked tree, held up by a wooden wedge, stands as a silent spectator, marking the right hand limit of safety. Right of the line of this stalwart is rough and the Sluit.
Approach
Aiming at the right edge of the bunkers, the brave hit a straight or drawing drive, to discount the slope of the fairway that takes all balls down into the rough on the right. Those with a fade will need to aim left of the aforementioned bunkers to avoid ending up in the deep rough on the right.
distance is vanity
Like so many holes at PV, distance is vanity. A low iron or a rescue is the smart choice, taking the bunkers and the sloping fairway out of play to leave you 150ish into the green. There is a generous spread of fairway between the crooked tree on the right and the big single tree on the left.
Hazards
The green is surrounded on all sides by a formidable array of hazards — a bunker front left, a bunker at the back, and a deep bunker on the right side. To the left, a car park marks the (potentially expensive) out of bounds boundary. To the right you’re going to end up below the cart path somewhere between the driving range the 9th tee box.
The greatest challenge
But perhaps the greatest challenge of all is the pressure of your fellow golfers on the balcony, eagerly waiting to see which of these traps will ensnare you, and how successfully you can extricate yourself. Whether playing from the back bunker or trying to avoid the famous front flag on a very false front, your shot will be met by an enforced silence from the audience. The loudest silence you’re likely to ever hear. And of course those who go long are in for a special treat: at PV finding the balcony means you’ll have to play it as it lies, with the help of a cushion of a mat and a deeply appreciative audience.