The City’s Director of Events Management says the municipality chose to host the 2022 edition of the Joburg Open international showpiece at the Houghton Golf Club because of its lush greenery landscape and historical heritage. Bongi Mokaba says the City is proud of this decision, as the majestic Houghton Club was one of the most prestigious courses in Johannesburg. The annual tournament – co-sanctioned by both the Sunshine Tour and the World DP Tour – is being played at this premier golf club in the lofty northern Joburg suburb of Houghton for the first time since its inception.

​​Mokaba says the lush club’s hardened greens make it a perfect location for challenging and exciting all participating golfers.

“The Joburg Open does not belong to just one golf course,” she emphasises, “but is inclusive in terms of exploring all golf clubs in Johannesburg to showcase their beauty,” she highlights.

The Houghton Golf Club is one of South Africa’s premier golfing venues, steeped in the rich tradition of the esteemed sport. The course has a long history as a championship venue, having hosted eight South African Open events, the first of which was held in 1951. It has also hosted the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Championship.

The course is nestled in the most verdant side of northern Johannesburg, around Houghton Estate, and features magnificent views and artistic landscaping. It was built in 1923 and has hosted approximately 28 major tournaments since then.

The Houghton Golf Club was designed in 1926 and is a firm favourite among the Highveld golfing fraternity. The course was designed by A.M. Copland, the club’s first professional golfer. It was built on a densely forested plot of land with significant undulation.

The golf course was rebranded in 2007, shortly after a portion of the land was sold, and it reopened in 2010. The Houghton Golf Club’s modern design was pioneered by Jack Nicholas, a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer widely regarded as one of the game’s most talented players of all time.

The underlying qualities of Houghton as a test of golf have not changed significantly over the years; however, to keep up with developments in the game, a decision was made to appoint the Jack Nicklaus design group as the course architects for the new layout, according to Robby Richardson, the Houghton Club’s Chief Executive for the last 12 years.

Richardson says the facility has taken a step into the extraordinary over the years, cementing itself as one of a few golf courses where the club house is surrounded by breath-taking scenery.

The new Houghton Golf Club design is not overly long, especially given the Highveld’s rarefied air. Strategically placed bunkers have been used extensively to catch wayward drives to defend the golf course from longer hitters, making club selection critical.

The new greens have been contoured with rolling undulations and subtle slopes to preserve the course’s integrity.

The club has about 585 golfers as members and is open for everyone who wants to join. “The Houghton Golf Club provides its members, guests, and visitors with an extraordinary golfing experience within a superior and welcoming atmosphere. This we do with a team of well trained and highly motivated staff,” he adds.

The pristine course’s parklands and fairways are interspersed with ponds and dams. The course layout is made more interesting and colourful by the abundance of flowering shrubs.

The course has 18 holes, with most of them featuring distinctive features such as wide fairway slopes, a shortish par 4, magnificent scenery, a slight uphill, a small diagonal green, and a lone bunker guarding the right side for those hitting away from the water.

The site, which is adjacent to The Wilds’ greenbelt, is a natural extension of Joburg’s fauna and flora and has been designated as a bird sanctuary, with Egyptian geese, guinea fowl, dikkops, plovers, and a variety of waterfowl in residence.

Mokaba says it is to no surprise that the Houghton Golf Club is a major attraction to most golfers in Johannesburg, as it boasts magnificent views, green hills, and the verdancy that surrounds the leafy suburb of Houghton. It is truly epic and worthy of recognition.

“The golf course is adjacent to 300 apartments with thousands of people having direct access to it. Unlike most courses, the Houghton Golf Club is known for its inclusivity with its membership catering for all age groups,” says Mokaba.

Richardson notes that he’s honoured and excited to be given a platform to host the 2022 edition of the Joburg Open.

“We are delighted to work conjointly with the City to promote Johannesburg and South Africa as a whole, putting the country on a global map as an ideal golfing destination. I believe that with combined effort, the 2022 Joburg Open can bring back lively golf to the greens of Houghton,” Richardson says.

Written by Getrude Mamabolo