In stark contrast to a decade ago, when new golf estates were popping up on just about any piece of available land, there are not too many new golf layouts on the horizon these days. So when members of the media were invited to a sneak preview of the new Jack Nicklaus-designed Steyn City golf course, there was understandable excitement and intrigue among the golfing scribes.
Excitement quickly turned to awe as journalists grabbed their first glimpse of what is already a perfectly manicured golf course, together with a hugely impressive clubhouse and, of course, the R250-million home of the man from whom the entire development gets its name, billionaire businessman Douw Steyn.
Steyn City is located close to Dainfern, between William Nicol Drive and Cedar Road, slightly west of Johannesburg, and has remained one of Joburg’s best-kept secrets, with only snippets of information having trickled out to the public.
Giuseppe Plumari, the CEO of Steyn City Properties, explains that it was part of the plan to keep the development out of the public eye. He wanted to make sure the infrastructure was complete so that people could see what they were buying before the development was unveiled to the public.
“We wanted to sell a reality, not a pipe dream,” said Plumari.
As such, it’s hard to put the Steyn City development into perspective – because there is no obvious precedent in this country. Whereas developers typically launch projects off-plan with not much more than a piece of vacant land and some artists’ impressions, the strategy for the marketing of the homes at Steyn City seems quite simple – get the place looking like a million bucks, and only then start selling.
The numbers are mind-boggling, with some estimating that Steyn has ploughed R6 billion of his own money into the development before a single erf has been sold. Yes, that’s six billion!
Then there’s the golf course, which has been ready for play for some time, but will only officially open in March 2015 – again, different to the courses that have opened over the last three decades. Most did so too soon, and would have benefited from at least another growing season.
The layout is typically Nicklaus, bearing all his trademark design elements. There are generous fairways, large greens and a total of 74 bunkers, while the Jukskei River forms an integral part of the layout as it runs straight through the estate.
Arguably the most striking aspect of the design is the cool-season grass used on the course. While the rest of Johannesburg is slowly emerging from another dry winter, Steyn City’s fairways are lush green with criss-cross mowing patterns through the cool-season grass – reminiscent of two of Nicklaus’ other South African designs, Serengeti and Pearl Valley.
Another early impression is that the course is long – and according to the scorecard this layout can be stretched to 7 100 metres from the tips, which is in the same territory as most US Open courses. Certainly long enough to host a professional tournament, should they so wish.
It would seem that no expense has been spared in the construction of this course, with every detail seemingly taken care of. Over one million trees were initially planted on the estate, with more being added all the time and, while most of the trees have some maturing to do, they do enough to add definition to the holes. Certainly, in a few years’ time when the trees and rough have grown a little, the course will look even better.
Nothing here seems out of place: the hazards are neat, the cart paths are flawless and the tee boxes are good enough to putt on.
That the good news – the bad news is that it’s going to be pretty difficult to get a tee time on this impressive new layout. According to general manager Ken Payet, players will tee it up by invitation only until the launch early next year.
“Once the estate is up and running, homeowners and residents will be able to become members,” he explained, “and they will be able to invite guests.”
Apart from the golf course, the 800-hectare estate will feature high-end housing and a number of outdoor activities including cycling, tennis, as well as skateboarding.
To give you an idea of the scale of the development, the estate will eventually have 10 000 residential properties, including a retirement village, 80 000m2 of offices and 6 000m2 of retail. It will also be home to two primary schools, two high schools, two crèches, a hospital, clubhouse and spa.
No doubt when Steyn City is officially launched early next year it will be with a bang, as investors begin to turn Douw Steyn’s vision into reality. I expect that very few will be disappointed with what they see.
WHO IS DOUW STEYN?
Douw Gerbrand Steyn is the founder and director of Budget Insurance Company in the United Kingdom and owner of the Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas and Spa in Johannesburg. His other business interests include Auto & General and Shambala Game Reserve.
With an estimated net worth of £600 million, the 62-year-old is one of the wealthiest men in South Africa and the United Kingdom. He was also a close friend of Nelson Mandela, and it was to Steyn’s home in Sandhurst that the former president went after he was freed from prison. It was here that he finished his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.
Although Steyn is based in the United Kingdom, his Palazzo Steyn residence in Steyn City will be his South African residence.
“I could have invested in a luxury residence in Europe or in the States,” he explained, “but instead I chose to invest in South Africa. This is indicative of the confidence I have in our country and the success of Steyn City.”
