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Golf & Stay at Orion Hotels & Resorts
3 May 2019Golf & Stay at Orion Hotels:
Just imagine this for a second, the sound of birds chirping in the background, the smell of freshly cut grass and the African sun reminding us of the importance of sunblock.
You’re on the tee box, as you start to visualize your tee shot, you get this sudden surge of adrenaline and nervousness as you notice everyone is looking at you. We like to refer to this as the first tee jitters. All you keep telling yourself is please don’t slice it and that little voice inside your head is getting louder and louder. Eventually, you muster the nerve to start your setup as you approach your ball. You settle down and calm the nerves. All you keep telling yourself is to just keep your head down and the rest will take care of itself. You start your backswing and in your mind, you look like Tiger Woods…you hit the ball and suddenly a huge sense of relief kicks in as see the ball head straight down the fairway only for a sprinkler head to get in the way and launch your ball straight into the rough. All you think to yourself is “this is a great way to start a round of golf”.
At Orion Hotels & Resorts we don’t want to simply sell hotel rooms, we want all our guests to rather have experienced every time they visit one of our Boutique Hotels. One of the things we really wanted to do is partner up with a few of the local golf courses in and around some of our hotel. Therefore we are happy to announce that we now offer “Stay and Play” packages at 4 of our hotels namely The Devonshire Hotel, The Venue Country Hotel & Spa, Safari Lodge Hotel & Convention Centre and Ditholo Game Lodge.
The Venue Country Hotel & Spa:
We have partnered up with Pecanwood Golf Club in the heart of Hartbeespoort about an hour’s drive from central Johannesburg.
Pecanwood Golf Club: Pecanwood Golf and Country Club is a legend of South African golf and one of five Jack Nicklaus designed signature courses in the country. Situated on the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam this course has been carefully crafted to test your skills to the full. The fairways are generous and inviting and the Crenshaw bent grass greens are immaculate all year round. Although the course is flat, there are high mounds, carefully crafted water features and strategically placed bunkers that have been set amid the scenic mountain surrounds and vast expanses of water to create a challenging and interesting golf experience. The signature hole is the beautiful par 3, 13th hole that plays alongside the dam to a green flanked on both sides by bunkers. Pecanwood Golf and Country Club is a five-star experience and has all the golf facilities offered by world-class resorts including a driving range, pro shop and 3 practice greens.
We’ve partnered up with 3 very well known Golf Clubs in the Johannesburg area namely Parkview Golf Club, Observatory Golf Club and Killarney Country Club. All of which are in the top 200 Golf Courses in South Africa.
Parkview Golf Club: On a sunny Saturday afternoon in July 1916, about 200 of the city’s sports enthusiasts and business dignitaries gathered in the largely undeveloped veld about 10km north of the young town to officially open a golf club. They called it Parkview, probably because that is what it offered. The clubhouse had been built on a site where Parkview Junior School stands today and was an imposing building housing a comfortable lounge, change rooms and a bar. On the opening day a leading golfer of the time, CT Elliot, cracked a ceremonial drive northwards more or less down Denbigh Road. It’s a perverse irony perhaps that the man recognized as the original architect of Parkview golf course was Mr LB Waters. On all but one of the Parkview’s 18 holes is there a real chance of a golf ball getting wet.
Observatory Golf Club: Observatory Golf Course stands tall as the oldest club in Johannesburg still operating from its original grounds. The club started out life in 1912 as a 9-hole before being officially established in 1914 with the 18 hole layout it carries today. Of course over the years the layout has been changed and upgrades are a continuous part of the process for a club with such an immense history.
Today, the lush course offers an incredible test of intellectual golf with its narrow fairways and smaller greens. Popular South African talk radio presenter, John Robbie, has recently gone on record calling Observatory a “magnificent course which offers true value for money,” and indeed that is the case at Observatory Golf Club, though a fine course by any standard, Observatory isn’t interested in playing games of golfing opulence, just a great game of golf. The two signature holes are the par-five 7th for its beauty and view of Johannesburg and the par-four 10th for its intimidation factor. Hold your head here and you should make it out alive. Pop on down for a round at Observatory Golf Club the next time you’re in the area and add it to your list of must-plays.
Killarney Country Club: The Club is perfectly positioned just off the M1 highway with the main clubhouse situated between the 11th Avenue and Glenhove Street off-ramps. This makes the Club very central and easily accessible, with secure parking on site. Our golf course is a Robert Trent-Jones designed narrow park-style course which is both challenging and well-manicured with a par 70 layout of 6154m for men, and a par 72 for ladies playing at 5294m. The greens are fairly generous in size, which affords the golfer an excellent chance of scoring well when playing from the fairways. There is nothing better than having a pub lunch or a sundowner after golf on the verandah overlooking the 18th green and dam – a bit of paradise in Joburg! Our golf course is a Robert Trent-Jones designed narrow park-style course which is both challenging and well-manicured with a par 70 layout of 6154m for men, and a par 72 for ladies playing at 5294m. The greens are fairly generous in size, which affords the golfer an excellent chance of scoring well when playing from the fairways.
Safari Lodge Hotel & Convention Centre:
Safari Lodge Hotel & Convention Centre is proud to announce that we have partnered up with Rustenburg Golf Club.
Rustenburg Golf Club: Nestling alongside the foothills of the Magaliesberg and situated among some of the largest and richest Platinum mines in the world, is Rustenburg golf club. The ever-growing Rustenburg community knows that this club offers a layout and camaraderie few clubs can equal. The course has Royal Blue Cynodon grass on the greens which make the putting a little different than other bentgrass courses. Recently completed dams on numbers 1 and 6 have made the course a little tougher but still fair. The great condition is evidence of a great greenkeeper and his dedicated staff. The club currently ranks as number 76 in the country, making steady progress in the last 3 years. In the clubhouse are two full sized snooker tables, two bars and various function halls that are very popular and very often fully booked thanks to a superb catering department. Anybody finding themselves in this part of the world must come and have a look for themselves, they’ll be pleasantly surprised. With the new N4 Platinum highway making the course easily accessible from Pretoria and Johannesburg, there is no excuse.
Ditholo Game Lodge is proud to announce that we have partnered up with both Elements Private Golf Reserve and Zebula Golf Estate and Spa.
Elements Private Golf Reserve: There are many non-residential, second home golf estates in South Africa and very few can match Elements Private Golf Reserve. A stunning, unique golf estate on 495 hectares of property located only one and a half hours drive north of Pretoria in the magnificent Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province. The setting for Elements Private Golf Reserve is one of the biggest factors that count in its favour. The surrounding bushveld terrain varies between natural hillsides and open plains, with mountain views and perennial streams. The golf course meanders through a fertile valley of indigenous vegetation and artful landscaping. The Clubhouse is located on a rise overlooking the golf course from which 11 holes can be seen and offers an unsurpassed view of the course and surrounding landscape. The reception, administrative offices, kids playground, bar, restaurant and main kitchen areas is located on the upper level. The lower floor houses the locker rooms, halfway house, golf shop, spa, conference room and covered patio. A small portion of the restaurant has been cordoned off to create a kids play area. This has become a popular addition to keep the kids occupied while mom and dad are enjoying drinks in the bar or a meal in the restaurant. It has play tables, ball games and even a full-size pool table for the older kids and young adults.
In addition to golf and excellent practice facilities, the estate offers mountain bike trails, tennis courts, hiking, game viewing, bird watching, swimming, a spa, conferencing, and a comprehensive food and beverage offering in the clubhouse. Limpopo golf at its finest.
Zebula Golf Estate and Spa: The Zebula Golf Course is located in a basin of the most pristine African bushveld. Surrounded by game lodges, nature and wildlife reserves, Zebula certainly boasts one of the best locations for a bushveld course. Zebula is the only 5 Star golfing resorts in South Africa. It’s not all looks though; the Peter Matkovich designed course reveals his usual flair for being both challenging and accommodating. Four tees are on offer for your preference with the longest one measuring 6829m. Peter went out of his way to ensure the lands natural contours were followed and the result is a seamlessly integrated bushveld course that is second to none. Peter’s approach to golf design is best expressed in his own words “Golf course design is an area where we have immense responsibility. Besides trying to create the most enjoyable and memorable courses for golfers to play on, we need to ensure that we do it in such a way that those who come after us, can do so with the same wonder and awe at all of nature’s beauty. Golf courses can and should have a positive impact on their surrounds, which is essential for the game to grow.” This sums up golfing at Zebula perfectly.
Make this weekend a golf weekend with Orion Hotels & Resorts; after all, it’s more than just golf!!
