Wingate Park Country Club

Wingate Park is parkland golf in a picturesque Gauteng North setting, a regular tournament venue, and one of the country’s busiest courses, annually recording 50 000 rounds. The layout is one of four in Gauteng designed by Englishman Charles Hugh Alison, who worked with Harry Colt and Alister Mackenzie in between the two world wars. The others are Glendower, Bryanston and Riviera. Wingate began as a Jewish country club in 1947 in farmland. Four years later the course was built. It is a tranquil and attractive oasis in an area that has seen intense development. Wingate Park is an unbalanced layout by modern design concepts, which lends to its appeal. The front nine is short by highveld standards, 3059 metres off the tips, and a par of 35. It opens with a short par 4 and most of the other par 4s only require short-iron approaches. But the back nine, with three par 5s, is demanding at 3681 metres. There are no weak holes, some of the greens are small with tricky slopes, and two of the par-5s, 13 and 15, are proper 3-shotters for most. Wingate owes its popularity to exceptionally well-conditioned and quick greens.

Wingate Golf Club is a traditional member’s golf club and ...golf course, unlike so many of the modern courses which form part of an estate. Wingate is in the heart of Pretoria’s suburbs but only minutes away from the N1 highway, so its very accessible even for those travelling from Johannesburg.Wingate is a well established golf club and the course features many old, enormous blue gum trees which line a lot of the fairways. Its traditional design harks back to a simpler time in golf course design, where what you see is what you get and the shot you need to play is right there in front of you with no hidden tricks. That’s not to say that club selection is easy, the often firm ground means you can play shots expecting them to bounce forwards or run out more than on some other parkland layouts. The big trees also make gauging the wind a challenge that can affect your club selection significantly.If you prefer a traditional golf club then Wingate could be just what you are looking for. Read more