Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate

Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate is a residential estate and golf club in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa. It is in the countryside outside Johannesburg and Pretoria. It includes the Els Club, a golf course designed by South African golfer Ernie Els. The estate is built on land that once belonged to Els’s grandfather, Ernie Vermaak.

Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate

Location in Gauteng, South Africa Show map of South Africa Copperleaf Golf and Country Estate (Gauteng) Show map of Gauteng
Club information
Coordinates	25.879805°S 28.046770°E / -25.879805; 28.046770
Location	Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa
Established	2004 (as Gardener Ross Golf and Country Estate)
Type	Private
Owned by	Investec Property
Operated by	The Els Club (African Golf Company)
Total holes	18
Events hosted	Tshwane Open (2013, 2014)
Greens	A1 bentgrass
Fairways	Kikuyu
Website	https://copper-leaf.co.za/
The Els Club at Copperleaf
Designed by	Ernie Els
Par	72
Length	7,315 m (championship tees)

The estate originally launched in mid-2004 under the name Gardener Ross Golf and Country Estate. In 2010, Investec Property bought the development, rebranding it as Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate.^[1]

The Els Club

The Els Club at Copperleaf is an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Ernie Els and opened in 2007. Conceived as a "modern classic" within South Africa's Highveld grassland, the design uses the estate's natural terrain, flanked by indigenous grasslands, rocky outcrops, and Magaliesberg panoramas.^[2] Stretching approximately 7,315 metres from the championship (black) tees to 5,117 metres from the forward tees, making it one of the longest courses in the world.^[3] Built to USGA standards, the course was the host venue for the 2013 and 2014 Tshwane Open on the DP World (formerly European) Tour.^[2]

The standout signature hole at The Els Club at Copperleaf is the 6th hole, a 375 metre par-4. Tee shots must favour the right side of the fairway, ideally not using the driver, to navigate the steep right-to-left slope. From there, players face an angled approach over water to a raised green.^[4]

Several other holes deliver challenges: the 3rd hole, a long par-3 for which from the back tees it plays more than 250 metres; the 4th, a 626 metre par-5, the longest in European Tour history, recently shortened. The 11th, a downhill par-5 with an elevated green, rewards distance off the tee, while the 14th par-3 stands out for its absence of bunker or water hazards, rare in South African golf, relying instead on length and a challenging green.^[5]

Tshwane Open:

Year	Tours	Winner	Score	To Par	Margin of victory
2013	AFR, EUR	Dawie Van der Walt	267	-20	2 Strokes
2014	AFR, EUR	Ross Fisher	268	-21	3 Strokes