Akabeko Golf Course

How to play the course… a perspective/opinion of the designer/builder…

The Course layout.

No 1/10.. 380 yd par 4.

Starting off on the first, a climb up to an elevated tee with a view over the course.(looks a lot longer and the kikuyu fairways don’t run that well from that height)

Take your driver with, this 380 yd is deceiving, a wide fairway sloping left to right, with problems if you go too far right.

the second shot should be a short iron in to the green, don’t over shoot there is a lot of dam next to and behind the green, with a bunker right.

No 2 .. 390 yd. par 4. No 11 .. 425 yd. par 5.

The second hole is a par 4 first round and a par five second round.

Why the short par 5 second round? This hole has water. First time round most can carry the first dam, second time round not that many. Carry the dam .. don’t go too far there is a stream ahead. Be accurate with your tee shot, between the two big poplars is ideal, making the shot in to the green a little easier. But the green is surrounded by 3 dams, left behind and right, so it’s not an easy shot. This is stroke 1 and 2.

An ideal view for your second shot, this is the line…

No 3 ..  500 yd. par 5 .. No 12 .. 420 yd. par 4

If you can hit a long drive to clear the stream and be accurate this is not a difficult hole. if you have to lay up short of the stream it plays long.

Second time round a little easier to clear the stream.

Ones second shot is into an elevated, level green, so fire in high or face the consequences of the trees behind the green.

No 4 .. 205 yd. par 3. No 13 .. 230 yd. par 3.

If you can’t hit this very receptive green leak left rather than right… too many trees to the right.

No 5 .. 290 yd. par 4. No 14 .. 300 yd. par 4

Yep .. you can drive this green, it is up hill all the way, but this is a difficult green sloping from back to front, and I mean sloping, so play below the hole as stopping a ball from the back if you miss the cup its off the green. ‘Bunker protected to the right and a lot of trees if you leak left make the hole more difficult than it looks. (Who put that tree in the way?)

No 6 .. 320 yd. par 4. No 15 .. 290 yd. par 4.

Sounds short? There’s a catch, it’s a sharp dog leg left.

You need a 220 yd drive to reach the corner, too long and you’re either deep in trouble or behind trees. You can go for the green if you carry the corner with a slight draw, but there is then a bunker on line as well as one right. Don’t carry the corner? you’ve got a heap of problems. The green slopes slightly front to back, no longer sounds such an easy hole specially with “out of bounds” behind the green.

Ideally this should be the view for your second shot to the green.

No 7 .. 250 yd. par 4. No 16 290 yd. par 4.

This hole is uphill but many can drive the green. The green is a small two tier, bunker protected left, right and front, that looks a little like “smiley face” from the air. When the trees planted on both sides of the fairway are bigger, the slight curve to the right will make the hole a little more difficult. Risk and reward is the name of the game on this hole.

No 8 .. 350 yd. par 4. No 17 .. 450 yd. par 4.

This hole is down hill to the trout dam well hidden from view. A 300 yd. drive from the 8th tee box is required to clear the dam. A lay up leaving 120 to 160 yd. second is recommended. The green is big and receptively built. Playing short will leave a uphill short chip, long, and there’s trouble.

An ideal second shot should have a view like this….

No 9/18 .. 90 yd. par 3

This is no easy hole. A small green (with many slopes) from a high elevated tee, makes for a trick shot requirement, or the short game capabilities of a Derrick James.

There are a few movable hazards on the course..

This is a course that can be walked and most of the time we recommend it. The scenery and peacefulness makes for a relaxing game of golf. With the chance of meeting up with our impala or Sable, walking is better, but there are golf carts available for the not so fitness fanatics. The ups and downs make for wonderful exercise.

Come and play the course, all are welcome. The Owner, Mr. George Tait gave this instrinstruction,   “Those that play, must enjoy themselves, relax and have fun.”

A bird called Lorna.. a fresh angle..

Before I start this post .. I’m off down to Cape Town for business for a few days so I will be missing from the blogs, but I’ll be taking my camera to capture some photos of our fairest Cape and what it will show me… see you in a few days time, or at the earliest Thursday next week… See you…

Table Mountain (photo courtesy of www.capetown.travel.co.za)

Their famous Waterfront (Courtesy of www.sharkbookings.com)

Now lets get back to a bird called Lorna…

I named a bird after Lorna of Lornasvoice (to see her blog click here)… she has a certain likeness to this bird. She has a very special sense of humour (The bird and Lorna) and this likeness comes through in her posts.

Here are a few more photos of the Grey Crowned Crane (different perspectives)…

Springbok.. Spring = Jump; Bok = antelope or goat..

Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) or Springing Goat..

This antelope has a special meaning to most South Africans.. it used to be the emblem worn by all our sportsmen and women…

An antelope that can reach speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph), leap 4 m (13 feet) into the air and jump a distance of up to 15 m (50 feet) has to be what our sports people are all about..

It stands about 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in) high. Springbok males weigh between 32 and 48 kg (71 and 110 lb.) and the females between 25 and 35 kg (55 and 77 lb.). Not that big an antelope..

When the male springbok is showing off his strength or to attract a female, or maybe to ward off predators, he starts off in a stiff-legged trot, jumping up into the air with an arched back every few paces and lifting the flap along his back. Lifting the flap causes the long white hairs under the tail to stand up in a fan shape, which in turn emits a strong scent of sweat. This ritual is known as stotting or pronking from Afrikaans meaning to boast or show off.

Rams are slightly larger than ewes, and have thicker horns; the ewes tend to have skinnier legs and longer, more frail horns.

When feeding the ewes will sometimes leave the young in a crèche.. It was while shooting one such crèche, that I noticed how long the ears are of a springbok really are.. once the horns grow it seems to be less obvious… shame, talk about “Big ears” and “Noddy”, he had nothing on these little buck…

Kudu..

Greater kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Following on yesterdays post (one that was done for a quick post) I hope to enlighten you a bit more, with photos I’ve taken over time…

The Kudu bull is a solitary animal and only usually joins a herd for breeding.. their fights for the right to breed are normally just a show of size and hair raising, but if they do, it is a clash of horns. This clash has been the demise of some as when those twisted horns interlock there is not always a way out. At Skukuza camp in the Kruger National Park there is a bronze life size depiction of such an encounter.

These magnificent antelope can so easily blend into their surrounds, which is acacia bush or densely forested areas.. they are not often seen in the open savannahs of Africa, this is to avoid the predators.. but as they are browsers, eat leaves, they will be found in the shrubbery of their choice… How’s this for camouflage..????

There are two females eating in there…..

The males are much bigger than the females.. and more vocal..using low grunts, clucks, humming, and gasping.

Males weigh 190–270 kg (420–600 lb.), with a maximum of 315 kg (690 lb.), and stand up to 160 cm (63 in) tall at the shoulder. Females weigh 120–210 kg (260–460 lb.) and stand as little as 100 cm (39 in) tall at the shoulder; they are hornless, without a beard or nose markings (don’t have to shave).

The following two photos I took very quickly.. older males that don’t stand around to see what the Bulldog is going to do next.. so these were LUCKY captures and are not quite as sharp as I would have liked.. but that is the result of us surprising each other…

The above photo I had actually stopped to light a cigarette when I spotted him before he spotted me.. he was walking towards me and I squatted down and sat still, there is no zoom here and he almost walked right into me before he turned and ran.. the camera probably frightened him when the shutter sounded.. I must admit I nearly dirtied my pants with joy of this capture.. never been so close to one so big in the wild before, without it having been shot as a trophy.

And for the final photo… one I just love.. don’t ask me why.. I just do… it might just have something to do with the horns.. this is an old bull, one that has survived the twists and dangers of life in the Kruger National Park.. a magnificent pair of horns …their large horns with two and a half twists, which, if they were to be straightened, would reach an average length of 120 cm (47 in), with the record being 187.64 cm (73.87 in).

Delicious Monster, Split-leaf Philodendron and Mexican Breadfruit..

Monstera deliciosa also known as all of the above.

Monstera deliciosa is a creeping vine native to tropical rainforests of southern Mexico south to Colombia, also found in many gardens and offices in South Africa.

My Daughter has two growing in her garden and I have never seen the flowers before. When they opened a fantastic aroma of what I thought as liquorice could be detected. A few days later the flowers closed up again. I had to find out more about this plant and turned to the Internet. This is what I found…

The reproductive organ consists of a spadix grown at the center of a reproductive layer called the spathe. The spathe is sometimes mistaken to be a flower, but it is really a modified leaf that serves to protect the spadix. The spadix is divided into three sections: fertile male flowers at the tip, sterile male flowers at the center, and fertile female flowers toward the end of the flower chamber. The sterile male flowers in the midsection serve to prevent self-fertilization and to produce heat. Pollination is done by a Cyclocephala beetle species. The sterile male flowers produce and maintain a constant temperature that is 30°C above that of the environment during the two days the entire flower structure is open. (Wikipedia).

The fruit may be ripened by cutting it when the first scales begin to lift up and it begins to exude a pungent odour. It is wrapped in a paper bag and set aside until the scales begin popping off. The scales are then brushed off or fall away to reveal the edible flesh underneath. The flesh, which is similar to pineapple in texture, can be cut away from the core and eaten. It has a fruity taste similar to jackfruit and pineapple. (Wikipedia).

I took some photos…