Highland Gate Golf Course Verified listing

Highland Gate has become the destination of choice in Mpumalanga and a bucket list course for many local and international golfers.

Highland Gate is one of South Africa’s newest courses, a spectacular one too which fully embraces the beautiful landscape of our country. It occupies a unique setting in a scenic mountain valley in the Drakensberg escarpment of Mpumalanga. The Ernie Els signature design provides adrenalin-pumping high altitude golf away from the beaten track.

At a height of some 2000 metres above sea level it is thought to be the highest Top 100 course in South Africa. Nearby Dullstroom is regarded as the highest town at 2076 metres.

It’s a destination that for a long time looked as if it might never happen. With the golf estate industry in decline in 2010, this residential development did not look promising. It was in the remote highveld, 18 kilometres from Dullstroom, at the end of a bumpy farm road that could only be described as torturous in any vehicle barring a bakkie. But then came along Ernie Els and his team to design and build a fabulous course, followed by Century Property Developments buying Highland Gate, building a superb tar access road, and relaunching it in 2015 as a getaway destination for outdoor enthusiasts. It is 2½ hours on good roads from both O R Tambo Airport and Pretoria.

Highland Gate has glorious views, bracing mountain air, and a golf course that is fun to play with generously wide fairways. With one exception though. The par-5 14th, one of Ernie’s signature holes, is the tightest driving hole on the course, with a stream running down the right side of the hole, and thick veld grass guarding the left side. It’s an expansive and creative design, with continuous changes in elevation, providing a rich variety of holes to enjoy. The first nine returns to the clubhouse, and ends with a special downhill par 4 which doglegs left around a large dam.

The topography means that nearly all golfers use carts. Most of the course is walkable, but there is a long climb on the back nine from the 14th green up to the par-3 15th tee, and then again to the 16th tee.