|
Number of Holes: |
18 |
| Length of Course: | 6864 yards |
| Par for the course: | 72 |
| Course Design: | Gary Player Design Group |
| Fairway Grass: | Kikuyu |
| Greens: | Bermuda Tifdwarf |
| Fairway Boundaries: | Kikuyu rough & waste bunkers |
| Distance from Tee: | White: Championship Tee: 6996 yards Yellow: Advanced Men: 6442 yards Black: Championship Tee Ladies: 6001 yards Red: Advanced Ladies: 5258 yards |
| Bunkers: | 73 |
| Water Hazards: | 9 holes featuring water hazards, including the Red Sea. |
| Practice Facilities: | 25 bay Driving Range 2 Pitching and 2 Putting greens |
| Maintenance: | 888 sprinkler heads, 75 maintenance staff |
| Course Superintendent: |
Grade A GCSSA |
| Principal Features: | Desert links course with extensive water hazards |
|
Hole 1:
|
white yellow black red |
425 403 392 294 |
The opening hole at The Cascades is a 425 yardsdog-leg to the right around one of the many lakes onthe Course. It provides a "First Encounter" with manyof the Course’s characteristic features: the waterhazards, the strategically placed bunkers, theshaped greens. |
| Hole 2: "Lions in Waiting" Par 5 Hcp 13
|
white yellow black red |
614 591 579 508 |
Named "Lions In Waiting", after the two lion-shaped sphinxes guarding the entrance to The Sheraton Soma Bay Resort. The Lions overlook the green of this challenging Par 5, which normally plays down-wind, but where water and deep bunkers straddling the fairway are to be avoided. |
Hole 3:
|
white yellow black red |
427 401 378 326 |
Although not the longest Par 4 on the Course, it quite often plays that way. The hole plays uphill with the wind usually coming from the left or against the direction of play. Accuracy in driving is important because the landing area is guarded by four bunkers on the left and five on the right. |
| Hole 4: "Green and Blue" Par 4 Hcp 9
|
white yellow black red |
438 413 387 352 |
From the elevated tee complex the blue waters of the Red Sea can be seen framing the green. Once again, bunkers protect the landing area, where the left side is preferred as it opens up the approach to the green. |
| Hole 5: "The Pebbles of Soma" Par 3 Hcp 5
|
white yellow black red |
207 170 146 132 |
This spectacular par 3 features a green protruding well into the sea and protected on three sides by a continuous narrow bunker and the breaking waters of the Red Sea. Playing usually into the wind, an accurate drive will hit the target; the less venturesome will aim for the landing area left of the green. |
Hole 6:
|
white yellow black red |
339 299 267 238 |
"Kosie’s Hole" is named after Kosie Mentz, Gary Player’s Design Co-ordinator for The Cascades, who successfully argued changing the original design of the course to allow for this beautiful par 4 that plays along the sea with an elevated green framed by the sea on two sides. |
Hole 7:
|
white yellow black red |
384 368 330 266 |
The seventh hole at The Cascades, requires a delicate approach shot to the elevated, shallow, kidney-shaped green. With two deep bunkers guarding the green, club selection is vitally important. Saving par from either of these jaw-like bunkers will require a great bunker shot. |
Hole 8:
|
white yellow black red |
190 177 159 114 |
This hole offers renewed hope of redemption, but care must still be taken especially if the wind is up. The rise up to the green offers a view of the Club House basking in sunlight. Late in the day, the setting sun highlights the contours of bunkers and green with extended shadows. |
| Hole 9: "Double Trouble" Par 5 Hcp 3
|
white yellow black red |
540 499 472 437 |
On this hole, hazards come in pairs. Two bunkers in the middle of the fairway, two more to the left of the fairway, and the green is protected by two water hazards. |
Hole 10: |
white yellow black red |
480 457 429 409 |
The layout of The Cascades is different from that of most other golf courses. Instead of zig-zagging, the course is laid-out as an extended figure eight, offering different perspectives on the many facets of the Soma Bay Peninsula. Hole 10 leads away from the Club House at the start of the reverse loop. |
| Hole 11: "Panorama Bay" Par 4 Hcp 8
|
white yellow black red |
426 420 395 350 |
|
Hole 12:
|
white yellow black red |
355 309 290 258 |
|
Hole 13:
|
white yellow black red |
502 473 440 391 |
Because the green is on a promontory with a downward sloping fairway ahead of it, an illusion is created that the green is surrounded by the Red Sea, whereas it is 20 meters higher and 300 meters in-land |
Hole 14:
|
white yellow black red |
186 178 154 131 |
|
Hole 15:
|
white yellow black red |
358 338 315 254 |
Another spectacular hole with the Red Sea paralleling the fairway along its entire left side. From the back tees, the drive has to carry over a sandy cove. And from the landing area, the approach shot has to carry over another, larger, sandy cove. The cart path is bordered by a retaining wall, reminiscent of China’s Great Wall, albeit on a more modest scale? |
Hole 16:
|
white yellow black red |
134 128 113 103 |
Gary Player was so taken by the rock work throughout Soma Bay that he created the concept of carving a green surrounded by a rock face. Miss the green or its protective bunkers, and the ball ricochets from rock to rock |
Hole 17:
|
white yellow black red |
470 449 419 379 |
A long par 4 whose length is mitigated by the following wind. Once reached, the green is split between two distinct levels by a swale of 1.5 meters, creating a double-dip effect. This hole has been nicknamed “never ending story” due to its length. The entire hole has striking views of Soma Bay’s northeast coastline from its elevated position. |
| Hole 18: "The Terminator" Par 4 Hcp 2
|
white yellow black red |
389 369 336 316 |
This challenging Par 4 requires two long and accurate shots, usually against the wind, to find the home green. The narrow fairway is protected by two deep bunkers on the left and a waste bunker with the dreaded "pampas" on the right. The elevated green is framed by The Cascades’ Club House and its Spike Bar. |
