Located in Gauteng, Houghton Golf Club plays host to the Sunshine Tour’s DP World Tour co-sanctioned Joburg Open for the third year in a row.

Founded in 1923, the club is steeped in tradition and is regarded as one of South Africa’s premier golfing venues. It has a proud history as a championship facility having hosted no fewer than eight SA Open events, the first of which took place in 1951. Houghton has also been the chosen venue for the prestigious Alfred Dunhill Championship.

To stay abreast of developments in the game, the decision was made to appoint the Jack Nicklaus design group as the course architects for the new layout to replace the old parkland course. A Jack Nicklaus Signature course was built on the same property and opened in 2010.

Nicklaus’ design included reversing the direction of several of the old holes, and the sloping greens and creative bunkering are a feature of the layout. One of the standout holes is the par-four 12th where the green has been built into the water hazard, so there is water on three sides, with a bunker on the left.

Houghton Golf Club is a feast for the senses, with ponds and dams dotted around with course, and an abundance of flowering shrubs providing great variety and colour. Situated adjacent to the greenbelt of The Wilds, the site is a perfect extension to the city’s natural fauna and flora, and is a proclaimed bird sanctuary with Egyptian geese, guinea fowl, dikkops, plovers and a variety of waterfowl present.

DID YOU KNOW?

• 62 by Tristen Strydom (11 birdies) in March 2020 Sunshine Tour Qualifying School; 62 by Thriston Lawrence, Nikhil Rama and Dean Burmester in 2023 Joburg Open.
• Gary Player won seven tournaments at Houghton – three SA Opens, three SA Masters and one SA PGA.
• Houghton Golf Club was ranked 30th in South Africa’s Top 100 Courses this year, a climb of two places from 2023.