Heron Banks is a modern 18-hole par-71 Danie Obermeyer links-type style sanctuary that is situated right on the border of the Free State and Gauteng provinces along a three-kilometre riverfront stretch of the Vaal River in Vaalpark, Sasolburg, and just a 45-minute drive from Johannesburg.

The course is just over 6,600 metres long with beautiful greens and fairways in addition to a well-kept driving range and putting green. It is surrounded by stunning natural vegetation, amazing scenery and wildlife which feature a variety of birds including the famous Blue Heron.

This is how Obermeyer describes his design at Heron Banks: “Successful golf course design is site-specific and an astute designer utilises the topography of the site. This implies that the original contours of the site should be used as much as possible to its optimum potential avoiding ‘fighting’ the contours.

“One of my main design principles is to look at the natural drainage of the site, which to a large extent will determine the type of golf course I envisage. The Vaal River runs along the northern boundary of the site at Heron Banks. Immediate to the south side of the Vaal River were natural wetlands (in some areas up to 150 meters wide) created over many years of the river flooding its banks. In contrast, the southern side of the terrain was distinctly different and more like a typical Highveld terrain.

“It was clear that year and years of rain had molded the site to create it into quite a contrast. Further it was clear that at some point in time the flooding of the Vaal River along the northern side of the site became controlled; this is evident from the natural Highveld vegetation re-establishing itself immediately adjacent to the river.

“With the above in mind the philosophy was to keep these ‘natural’ features intact and to design nine holes within the wetlands area and the other nine holes on the more typical Highveld vegetative area. To keep a central theme, many wetlands areas were incorporated in the southern side (more Highveld conditions), in particular those areas where the summer floods from outside the property had an impact on the storm water movement in the area.

“The inward nine holes as well as the outward nine were designed so that the flow of the holes displayed a typical clock-wise and anti-clockwise flow, optimising wind and weather conditions placing a premium on a variety of shot values for the course. The unique bunkering style was incorporated into the course to optimise course management and provide a variety of options when playing the golf course.”

Heron Banks opened as a nine-holer in 2014 and a second nine has since been completed by the course owners and developers, father and son, Gary and Robbie Lance. Robbie not only runs the golf club; he is also responsible for the course maintenance.

Did you know

• Course record: 62, Bradford Vaughan, January 2017
• Club pro Vaughan, the 1994 SA Amateur champion, had a distinguished career on the Sunshine Tour, winning eight tournaments.
• Casey Jarvis won the 2020 Free State Open on 18-under-par 266, including a final round 64. Jonathan Broomhead won the 2023 Free State Open on 269. Altin van der Merwe shot 63.