San Lameer Country Club

I like courses like San Lameer, but to be honest, many people don't. It's tight. It's narrow. It's target golf that's short on yardage but still long on challenge. The first hole, climbing directly uphill, is a tough starter, but the reward is a view of the Indian Ocean from the sky-high second tee box. Most golfers will lose a handful of balls in the ponds and jungle the rest of the way, but they still generally come away happy with their day. A par-3 'mashie course' is available for families and beginners.
San Lameer - a holiday community located on the Umhlangamkulu Lagoon several hours drive from Durban - seems to be on the upswing. A new clubhouse provides members and guests a great space to relax. The halfway house serves traditional South African meat and chicken pies at the turn, and wood-fired pizzas are a good choice after golf. There are plans to upgrade the hotel's 40 rooms. The recently renovated Lagoon Bar and Grill, which serves a nice buffet for dinner, opened just days before my visit. The most impressive facility was the Camelot Spa and its Rasul chamber, a first of its kind in South Africa where guests can wash away their mud treatments with rain showers and then plunge into a cold pool. The beach is nice and loaded with surfers chasing big swells.